Five members of Penn State wrestling/Nittany Lion Wrestling Club will be representing Team USA on the world stage.
At 61 KG, Marcus Blaze had arguably the most anticipated series of the tournament, and he got the best of Jax Forrest.
In the deciding bout, Blaze was down 2-1 with 1:15 left, but took the lead with a takedown to make it 4-2 and eventually sealed a 5-2 win.
At 70 KG, Zain Retherford grinded out a 2-1 win in his first bout against Ridge Lovett, then picked up eight unanswered points in the second out to get an 8-2 win and seal his place on the World Team.
Less than a year removed from finished runner-up at Worlds, Levi Haines qualified once again at 79 KG.
He took care of Chance Marsteller 6-1 in the first round, then came back from a 3-2 deficit at the break to win the second bout 6-3.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.At 97 KG, Kyle Snyder will have a chance to win his fifth world championship, getting there by beating Stephen Buchanan twice. Snyder took the first bout, 5-2, then lost on criteria (5-5) in the second bout (Buchanan scored the highest amount of points on one particular move, which allowed him to advance).
In the third match, Snyder won, 9-3, and a strive for five continues.
Finally, Kyle Dake will look to win a fifth world championship and do so at a third weight, moving up to 86 KG. He avenged his 2025 Final X losses to Zahid Valencia by taking two of three, the last bout being a 4-0 shutout.
At 57 KG, Luke Lilledahl fell to reigning Olympic Silver Medalist Spencer Lee, 7-1 and 8-4, making it the second straight year Lilledahl has fallen to the more experienced Lee at Final X.
The 2026 Senior World Championships are scheduled for Oct. 24-Nov. 1 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
