UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Four members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman, competed at the United World Wrestling U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, this weekend. The Nittany Lion youngsters brought home three medals with all four finishing in the top five at their weights.
True freshman Luke Lilledahl won the U20 crown 57 kg. Lilledahl began the tournament on Friday with a 10-0 technical superiority over Turkmenistan’s Kabe Matjanov. He followed that up with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Ankush Ankush of India to advance to the semifinals. He took on Armenia’s Hayko Gasparyan in the semifinals and used a second period takedown to ice a 4-1 win and advance to Saturday’s title bout.
Lilledahl met Lev Pavlov (AIN) in the finals. He scored first on passivity and led 1-0 after the first period. Lilledahl gave up a point on the same call and then earned a second point on a second passivity from Pavlov to with 2-1. The victory earned Lilledahl the 2024 U20 World Championship after a 4-0 run in Spain.
True freshman Zack Ryder brought home a Silver Medal at 79 kg. Ryder rolled into the semifinals on Friday with three straight technical superiorities. He beat China’s Jinju Li 10-0, Brazil’s Leandro Araujo and Paulius Lescauskas of Lithuania to move into the semis. Ryder led early, and the scored the bout’s final points to post a 6-3 win over Said Saidulov in his semifinal bout.
Ryder battled Alp Begenjov of Turkemistan in the finals. The Nittany Lion freshman dropped a hard-fought 5-0 decision in the finals, ending his run in Spain with a 4-1 record. He heads back to Happy Valley with the World Silver Medal at 79 kg.
Redshirt freshman Josh Barr earned a Silver Medal at 86 kg. Barr began his tournament on Saturday, rolling to three straight wins by technical superiority. Barr downed Sachin Sachin of India 10-0 in his first bout, then took out Ryago Asano of Japan 10 in the quarters. Barr picked up a third straight 10-0 tech in the semifinals, this time over Turkey’s Ahmet Yagan to advance to the finals on Sunday.
Barr faced Ibragim Kadiev (AIN) in the finals. Kadiev opened up a 3-0 lead and Barr trailed 3-1 at the break. Barr and his corner challenged a takedown midway through the second period and lost the challenge, eventually falling 8-2. Barr went 3-1 in Spain and returns with a World Silver Medal at 86 kg.
True freshman Connor Mirasola finished one win shy of a medal at 92 kg. Mirasola began his tournament on Saturday with three straight wins. He downed Grigori Tomaili of Moldova with a 10-0 technical superiority in his first match and then teched Sultan Begenjov of Turkmenistan 14-4 in the quarters. Mirasola battled Bulgaria’s Sali Saliev in the semifinals. Mirasola was called with a very late passivity and lost the bout 5-4 on that passivity call with just :06 left on the clock, falling into the Bronze Medal match.
Mirasola took on Anar Jafari of Azerbaijan in the Brone Medal bout. He battled through a close first period before a couple Jafari takedowns in the second period led to a 6-2 loss for Mirasola. The Nittany Lion true freshman went 3-2 in Spain, with two tech superiorities, just missing out on a medal.
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