LAS VEGAS – Penn State wrestling, the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Penn State Regional Training Center wrapped up competition at the United World Wrestling U23 World Championships in men’s freestyle competition on Sunday afternoon from the Thomas and Mack Center.
The Nittany Lions saw current student-athletes Luke Lilledahl and Joe Sealey make the trip to Nevada, as well as Penn State signee and current Penn State RTC athlete Jayden James. James, a native of Westwood, New Jersey, headlined the PSU-affiliated trio with a silver-medal result at 74 kilograms. Lilledahl fell one win shy of the podium in the 57kg bracket, while Sealey came up short in the opening qualification round against an eventual semifinalist in the 79 kilogram tournament.
James led the way for the Penn State RTC at the Thomas and Mack Center, booking a mirrored finish to his U20 World Championship run at 74kg with another age-group silver medal. James got things started with a qualification round pin of Kyrgyzstan’s Adilet Nurbekovich Akylbekov in just 4:54 before rattling off a dominant 8-0 result over Uzbekistani wrestler Fazliddin Nasritdinov. In the quarterfinals at 74kg, James squared off against Ion Marcu of Moldova, registering a 7-4 decision just before booking his second pin on the path to the finals with a 2:48 fall over Ali Manouchehr Karampour of Iran. James battled tough in the final against Magomed Baitukaev of Russia, but the challenger was able to come away with the gold by way of a 5-3 decision to conclude James’ run in Las Vegas with a silver-medal finish.
Defending U23 World Champion Luke Lilledahl opened his run in Las Vegas at 57 kilograms on Saturday but was downed in a 3-1 decision by Kazakhstan’s Merey Bazarbayev. After Bazarbayev punched his ticket to the finals later in the day on Saturday, Lilledahl was able to secure a placement in the repechage competition at 57kg. His bout on Sunday morning against Rassoul Galbouraev of France resulted in a 5-0 decision, culminating in a placement in the Bronze Medal Match later in the day. Japanese wrestler Daito Katsume faced off with Lilledahl for one of two bronze medals, with the Japanese representative ultimately coming away with a 7-2 decision. Additionally, current PSU student-athlete Joe Sealey made an appearance at U23 Worlds as an injury substitution for the U.S. team at 79 kilograms. Sealey dropped an 11-0 technical superiority result in 4:12 of elapsed time to India’s Chandermohan, with the Nittany Lion ultimately eliminated from competition after Chandermohan fell in the semifinals on Saturday night.
Penn State wrestling, the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Penn State Regional Training Center enter the home stretch of the 2026 freestyle season later this month. Five of the 10 United States team members for the United World Wrestling Senior World Championships are either alumni of or currently train with the Penn State RTC. Current Nittany Lion Marcus Blaze headlines the group at 61kg, with 70kg wrestler Zain Retherford, 79kg athlete Levi Haines, 86kg wrestler Kyle Dake and 97kg performer Kyle Snyder set to represent the NLWC and Penn State RTC at the event in Astana, Kazakhstan, running from October 24 through November 1. The 2026-27 Penn State wrestling season begins in earnest less than two weeks following the Senior World Championships when the Nittany Lions play host to the Bloomsburg Huskies inside Rec Hall on Thursday, November 12.
WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
UWW U20 World Championships
Thomas and Mack Center – Las Vegas, Nevada
Jayden James (USA) | Men’s Freestyle | 74kg Silver
QUAL | Jayden James (USA) fall over Adilet Nurbekovich Akylbekov (KYR) 4:54
R16 | Jayden James (USA) dec. Fazliddin Nasritdinov (UZB) 8-0
QF | Jayden James (USA) dec. Ion Marcu (MDA) 7-4
SF | Jayden James (USA) fall over Ali Manouchehr Karampour (IRI) 2:48
F | Magomed Baitukaev (RUS) dec. Jayden James (USA) 5-3
Luke Lilledahl (USA) | Men’s Freestyle | 57kg
R16 | Merey Bazarbayev (KAZ) dec. Luke Lilledahl (USA) 3-1
REP2 | Luke Lilledahl (USA) dec. Rassoul Galbouraev (FRA) 5-0
BRNZ | Daito Katsume (JPN) dec. Luke Lilledahl (USA) 7-2
Joe Sealey (USA) | Men’s Freestyle | 79kg
QUAL | Chandermohan (IND) tech over Joe Sealey (USA) 11-0, 4:12
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.