By USA Wrestling

2022 World silver medalist Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) has officially accepted his berth in Final X. He will battle for the 70 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

Retherford won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia at 70 kg. He has competed in three Senior World Championships (2017, 2019, 2022). He won a title at the 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Tournament in Egypt. Retherford was a 2012 U17 World champion in freestyle. He was a three-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American for Penn State, claiming the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 2017 and 2018. A native of Benton, Pa., he was a two-time Pennsylvania state champion for Benton 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 second time Retherford has competed in a BTSNY Annual Benefit event. His most recent BTSNY match was in 2017 in Times Square in New York City, where he defeated Daichi Takatani of Japan, 8-2.

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. Retherford has met this requirement and accepted his qualification. 

The Final X opponent for Retherford will be determined at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., April 26-30. The champion in men’s freestyle at 70 kg at the U.S. Open will qualify to face Retherford 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 70 kg - Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 65 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC)

Women’s Freestyle 50 kg – Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC/USOPTC)

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)

ZAIN RETHERFORD 

Residence: State College, Pa. 

Club: Titan Mercury WC 

Regional Training Center: Nittany Lion WC 

College: Penn State 

High School: Benton, Pa. 

Born: May 21, 1995 

• 2022 World silver medalist
• Three-time Senior World Team member (‘17, ‘19, ‘22) 
• Third at 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
• 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Tournament champion (Egypt)
• 2012 U17 World champion
• Two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner as nation’s top college wrestler (2017 and 2018) 
• Three-time NCAA champion at Penn State (2016, 2017 and 2018) 
• Four-time NCAA All-American (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018) 
• Two-time Pennsylvania state high school champion

Zain Retherford BTSNY Annual Benefit History (1-0 record)

2017: Daichi Takatani (Japan), WIN, 8-2