By USA Wrestling

Four-time World champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) has officially accepted his berth in Final X. He will battle for the 74 kg spot on the 2023 U.S. World Team in men’s freestyle wrestling in Final X, presented by Tezos, on Saturday, June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

Dake is a four-time World champion, winning World gold medals in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. He won a bronze medal at 74 kg at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. To make the U.S. Olympic Team, Dake beat Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials championship series. He was a 2018 World Cup champion and won U.S. Open titles in 2016 and 2018. Dake was a four-time NCAA champion for Cornell, winning titles in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was the first wrestler to win four NCAA Div. I titles in four different weight classes. Dake received the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 2013. A native of Lansing, N.Y., Dake won two New York state titles and posted a runner-up finish for Lansing High School.

It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat The Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

This will be the fourth time Dake has competed in a BTSNY Annual Benefit event. His most recent BTSNY victories were in 2022 Final X New York, with a two-match sweep over Jason Nolf, 4-2 and 2-1 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

There are a variety of options for Final X wrestling-only event tickets, with prices starting at $40 on Ticketmaster. 

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (wrestling event plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023. For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny.org.

Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY, which provides a safe, positive atmosphere for student-athletes to learn the essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through wrestling.

The team selection procedures for the U.S. World Teams in each style allows for 2022 Senior World medalists to advance directly to Final X at a specified weight class. Dake has met this requirement and accepted his qualification. 

The Final X opponent for Dake will be determined at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., April 26-30. The champion in men’s freestyle at 74 kg at the U.S. Open will qualify to face Dake in Final X.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcasting partner for Final X, presented by Tezos.

*Please note if Prudential Center's tenant, New Jersey Devils, hosts a Stanley Cup Final game on June 10 the contingency date for Final X would be Friday, June 9.

Final X, presented by Tezos

At Prudential Center, Newark, N.J., Saturday, June 10

Declared qualifiers to date:

Men’s Freestyle 74 kg – Kyle Dake (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Men’s Freestyle 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 79 kg – Jordan Burroughs (Philadelphia, Pa./Sunkist Kids/Pennsylvania RTC)

KYLE DAKE

Residence: State College, Pa.

Club: Titan Mercury WC

Regional Training Center: Nittany Lion WC

College: Cornell University

High School: Lansing, N.Y.

Born: Feb. 25, 1991

• Four-time World champion (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• 2020 Olympic bronze medalist
• 2018 World Cup champion
• Two-time Pan American Championships champion (2021, 2022)
• 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up
• Three-time U.S. World Team Trials runner-up (2013-14, 2017)
• Two-time U.S Open champion (2016, 2018)
• Four-time NCAA champion for Cornell (2010-13)
• First to win four NCAA Div. I titles in four different weight classes
• 2013 Dan Hodge Trophy recipient, as nation’s top college wrestler

Kyle Dake BTSNY Annual Benefit History (4-0 record)

2013: Hassan Tahmasebi (Iran), WIN 2-0, 1-0

2018: Livan Lopez Azcuy (Cuba), WIN tech. fall, 13-1

2022: Jason Nolf (USA), match one, WIN, 4-2

2022: Jason Nolf (USA), match two, WIN, 2-1