LAS VEGAS – The Penn State wrestling program and Penn State Regional Training Center will have three athletes represent Team USA at the United World Wrestling 2026 U23 World Championships in the men’s freestyle competition this Friday through Sunday, October 16 through 18, from the Thomas and Mack Center.
Penn State RTC athlete and Nittany Lion signee Jayden James will represent the United States in the 74kg weight class, while junior 57kg wrestler Luke Lilledahl and junior 79kg athlete Joe Sealey will compete in their respective brackets. James gets action underway on Friday in the 74kg bracket, opening with qualification rounds beginning at 1:30 p.m. (ET), followed by semifinals at 7:45 p.m. (ET). Action at 74 kg proceeds with repechages on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (ET), with the finals and award ceremony to be held beginning around 9 p.m. (ET).
Both Lilledahl and Sealey will begin their tournaments on Saturday with qualifying rounds at their respective weight classes at 1:30 p.m. (ET). Semifinals for both the 57kg and 79kg weight classes will take place at 7:45 p.m. (ET) on Saturday before repechage action gets underway for both groups on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (ET). The finals and award ceremonies for both Lilledahl and Sealey’s weight classes will commence at 4 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. All Penn State-affiliated bouts, as well as the remainder of the U23 World Championship contests, will stream live in the United States via FloWrestling and the FloSports app for subscribers on connected devices.
A native of St. Charles, Missouri, Lilledahl heads into the 2026 U23 World Championship bracket at 57kg boasting a trio of age-group world championship finishes in his career, as well as five age-group world medals. Lilledahl returns to the U23 World Championships for the second year in a row, fresh off a gold-medal result at the 2025 event in Novi Sad, Serbia. Lilledahl also owns a U20 World Gold Medal from 2024, a 2022 U17 World Gold Medal finish, as well as silver-medal results at the U20 level in 2023 and the U17 level in 2021. Already boasting a dominant set of freestyle results in the 2026 campaign, Lilledahl picked up the gold medal at the Poland Open earlier this fall in addition to a U.S. Open Championship and Final X runner-up finish during the summer months.
James, a native of Westwood, New Jersey, continues a challenging 2026 freestyle schedule with his second age-group World Championship of the fall this week in Las Vegas. The Penn State signee is fresh off a silver medal result at the 2026 U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. James took home championship finishes earlier this year at the U20 World Team Trials, as well as the U20 U.S. Open, adding a runner-up result at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. James is a two-time age-group world medalist, adding a U17 World Gold Medal at the 2025 event in addition to his showing in Slovakia back in August.
Hailing from Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania, Sealey returns to the freestyle circuit this fall with his first age-group world championship since 2022. The third-year Nittany Lion seeks his second age-group world medal, looking to pair a strong finish in Las Vegas with his 2022 U17 Gold Medal result. Sealey has registered three consecutive third-place finishes at the U20 World Team Trials in 2023, 2024 and 2025, in addition to back-to-back runner-up results at the U20 U.S. Open in 2024 and 2025. Sealey burst onto the scene in 2022 and established himself as one of the strongest freestyle competitors in the United States with his U17 World Championship in Rome, as well as a U17 U.S. Open title in the same year.
The Penn State wrestling program and Penn State RTC were dominant at the 2025 U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, a season ago. The Blue & White battled their way through the brackets to secure four medals last year, highlighted by a trio of U23 World Champions in Lilledahl at 57kg, Mitchell Mesenbrink at 74kg and Levi Haines at 79kg, as well as a U23 World Bronze Medal finish for PJ Duke at 70kg. The Nittany Lions and Penn State RTC sent seven athletes to the 2025 U23 Worlds last year, with all seven athletes representing the United States. The Penn State RTC is already off to a strong start at age-group World Championships this freestyle circuit, with James recently representing the Blue & White at the U20 event and taking home the silver medal at 74kg.
ABOUT PENN STATE WRESTLING
The Nittany Lion wrestling program, under the direction of 18-year head coach Cael Sanderson, is fresh off a record-setting 2025-26 season in which the Blue & White took home their fifth consecutive national championship and 13th NCAA team title in the last 15 events. Penn State reset the NCAA Championship team scoring record for the third consecutive season, registering 181.5 points in Cleveland during the 2026 event, passing the program’s and NCAA’s previous record of 177.0 set the year before in Philadelphia. PSU saw a quartet of student-athletes book undefeated national championship seasons in 2026, with 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl, 174-pounder Levi Haines, 197-pounder Josh Barr and 165-pound Dan Hodge Trophy winner Mitchell Mesenbrink hauling in those honors.
In men’s freestyle competition, Penn State has established itself as the premier training facility for world-level athletes at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Penn State Regional Training Center. The NLWC/Penn State RTC are responsible for one half of the 2026 United States men’s freestyle national team, highlighted by a current Nittany Lion in Marcus Blaze. Current Penn State student-athletes, as well as alumni and NLWC/Penn State RTC athletes have multiple freestyle events on the docket following James’ showing at the U20 World Championships, with the Poland Open (August 26-30), U23 World Championships (October 12-18) and UWW Senior World Championships (October 24-November 1) highlighting the upcoming calendar.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUsports.com for more information on Penn State wrestling. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion wrestling team on X and Instagram @PennStateWREST, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PennStateWrestling.
The 2026-27 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.