Prepare to lock in, wrestling fans, Final X is finally here! Friday, June 19, Team USA determines its men’s and women’s freestyle squad for the 2026 World Championships.
Knicks and Hurricane fans will need to get all their celebrating done by then, while baseball and World Cup watchers must pause their schedules to focus on USA Wrestling’s most important event.
Each weight class will be contested as a best-of-three series, with men and women on two separate mats, wrestling simultaneously. The main event begins Friday at 2:00PM ET, with the first bouts of the series. Round 2 is scheduled for 5:00PM ET, with any third round bouts occurring, if necessary. soon thereafter.
There will be several true-third bouts scheduled at 12:00PM ET, which will determine who makes the US national team and serve as an appetizer to Final X’s main course. There’s also a press conference on Thursday that you can watch live at 11:00AM ET for anyone looking to quench their thirst for wrestling content on Final X Eve.
And If you’re reading after June 19th, then Final X is over. Hope you didn’t miss it, but at least you will have learned the valuable lesson of always opening your FloWrestling newsletters the instant they hit your inbox.
Men’s Freestyle Matchups
Technically, Final X started last Saturday with a special wrestle-off at 92kg between US Open champ Michael Macchiavelllo and reigning 92kg world gold medalist Trent Hidlay. The series was rescheduled due to extenuating circumstances.
Hidlay won two matches to zero (or two to nil, for those in World Cup mode), and you can watch those bouts here: https://www.flowrestling.org/nextgen/events/15966677/videos?tab=matches
There will also be a special wrestle-off at a later date to be determined between 2025 world bronze medalist Real Woods and US Open champ Bo Bassett at 65kg. Woods requested the delay on account of a knee infection that required a hospital visit. Stay tuned for more details.
Here are the other highly anticipated men’s freestyle matchups:
57 kg: Luke Lilledahl vs Spencer Lee
Lilledahl, the national champ from Penn State with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining, shocked Spencer Lee, the Hawkeye legend and Paris silver medalist, with a lefty headlock in the closing seconds of their US Open finals bout last April. Lee will be looking for revenge on Lilledahl to secure his third straight world and Olympic team.
61 kg: Marcus Blaze vs Jax Forrest
The next generation of USA wrestling will be on display at this weight. Forrest won the NCAA title at 133lbs for Oklahoma State while Blaze placed fourth in the same bracket representing Penn State. Both were true freshmen for their respective programs. The future is bright in Stillwater and Happy Valley.
70 kg: Ridge Lovett vs Zain Retherford
Few wrestlers are on a hotter streak right now than 2025 NCAA and 2026 US Open champ Ridge Lovett. But the Cornhusker by way Idaho will have Penn State’s two-time Hodge Trophy winner and 2023 world gold medalist Zain Retherford as an opponent. The clash of styles between the funky Lovett and freighttrain Zain should provide ample opportunity for fireworks.
74 kg: James Green vs David Carr
David Carr was tantalizingly close to medaling at the 2025 World Championships, nearly defeating two Olympic medalists on the way. The two-time NCAA champ from Iowa State will have to defeat a two-time world medalist in James Green to get another crack at worlds.
79 kg: Levi Haines vs Chance Marsteller
Chance the Mat Maestro Marsteller last made a world team in 2023. His opponent is the reigning world silver medalist and fellow Pennsylvanian, Levi Haines, a two-time NCAA champ at Penn State. This series has slugfest written all over it.
86 kg: Zahid Valencia vs Kyle Dake
Dake won two straight against Zahid in 2018’s Final X. Dake would go on to win his first world gold medal that year in Budapest. But that was 2018. In 2025, Zahid beat Dake at the 2025 Open and then twice in a row at 2025’s Final X, later winning gold himself at Worlds in Zagreb. Does Kid Dynamite have enough left in the tank for another gold medal run? Or will Zahid prove that he has dominion over 86kg?
97 kg: Kyle Snyder vs Stephen Buchanan
Kyle Snyder has been so consistently good at the senior level that it’s easy to lose track of his greatness. So there’s never a bad time to be reminded that Captain America has five world and Olympic gold medals and 10 medals overall, and is still just 30 years old. Stephen Buchanan, a recently minted NCAA champ at Iowa, will attempt to do what no American has done in over a decade and usurp Snyder from his 97kg throne.
125 kg: Wyatt Hendrickson vs Mason Parris
Mason Parris, a 2023 Hodge Trophy winner at Michigan, was the US heavyweight rep at the 2023 Worlds (where he won a bronze) and at the 2024 Parris Games. Wyatt Hendrickson, a 2025 Hodge Trophy winner for Oklahoma State, was Team USA’s anchor at the 2025 Worlds. Here’s to many more years of this rivalry between two of the best heavies in recent American history.
The Highly Anticipated Women’s Freestyle Matchups
Two women’s series will also be postponed due to injuries. Because they won medals at the 2025 Worlds, Kennedy Blades (bronze at 68kg) and Kylie Welker (bronze at 76kg) have the option of postponing their series on the recommendation of a doctor.
If healthy, both will be favorites. Welker, an NCAA champ for Iowa, will have savvy veteran Dymond Guildford to contend with. Welker defeated Guilford in two straight bouts in last year’s Final X.
Blades, also a 2026 NCAA champ at Iowa, will face-off against another 2026 NCAA champ in Bella Mir, who transferred two years ago from Iowa to rival North Central University.
The time and location of those series is to be determined, so watch this space for updates!
50 kg: Katie Gomez vs Morgan Turner
The future of 50kg is here now, as Turner is 18 years old and Gomez is 22. California native Katie Gomez defeated Chicagoan Morgan Turner 4-3 at the 2026 US Open. Lucky for us fans, we’ll get at least two more bouts from this burgeoning rivalry.
53 kg: Cristelle Rodriguez vs Elena Ivaldi
The youth movement continues in the lightweights, as the combined age of this matchup is just 43 years. It’s also a battle between Californians. Roderiguez made her first world team in 2025, while Ivaldi, a two-time age-level world teamer, is looking to make her first senior squad.
55 kg: Everest Leydecker vs Areana Villaescusa
Everest Leydecker, the phenom from Phoenix, is just 18 years old, though she has already acquired an impressive collection of accolades, including a 2025 U20 world gold. Villaescusa made the 2024 senior world team and has been a contender on the senior level for the better part of a decade. Leydecker beat Villascusa at the last two US Opens, and will look to extend that streak in New Jersey.
57 kg: Helen Maroulis vs Amanda Martinez
There is only one choice when it comes to the American women’s wrestling GOAT, and that is Helen Maroulis. Her resume speaks for itself, with three Olympic medals (including 1 gold) and seven more world medals (four of which are gold). Amanda Martinez is a worthy challenger, but the deck will be stacked against her. The four previous meetings between these two ended the same way: pins for Maroulis.
59 kg: Abigail Nette vs Lexi Janiak
Another instance of a veteran in Abby Nette and an up-and-comer in Lexi Janiak. Janiak will be looking for revenge, as Nette teched Janiak at the 2026 US Open. Nette, a 2022 World Teamer will look to repeat the feat against a three-time age level world medalist.
62 kg: Adaugo Nwachukwu vs Macey Kilty
Nwachukwu and Kilty are 23 and 25, respectively, putting them in the prime of their competitive careers. Nwachukwu made her first world team in 2026, having picked up a 2022 U20 bronze medal along the way. Kilty is a 2018 U17 gold medalist with six total age-level work medals and a pair of senior world medals from 2023 and 2024.
65 kg: Kayla Miracle vs Jennifer Page
Both Miracle and Page have managed to fend off the youth movement at 65kg for at least one more season. Miracle is a two-time world medalist looking to make her fifth senior world team. Page is a 2023 world bronze medalist attempting to make it back to Worlds for the second time in her career.
72 kg: Alexandria Glaude vs Amit Elor
Maroulis may be the current undisputed GOAT, but if anyone has a chance at running down her medal counts, it's Amit Elor, as the 22 year-old Californian already has two senior world golds and an Olympic gold. She will also likely receive two forfeits and make her fourth senior world or Olympic team, as Glaude is unfortunately reported to be injured and unable to compete.
It’s going to be an electric evening in the Garden State. Set your alarms and we’ll see you then!