2023 U17 World Championships

U17 Worlds Will Feature NCAA Wrestling's Next Stars

U17 Worlds Will Feature NCAA Wrestling's Next Stars

A history of the U17 Wrestling World Championships since 2011 and how the results relate to success at the NCAA D1 level.

Jul 28, 2023 by Jon Kozak
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The 2023 U17 World Championships will go down in Istanbul, Turkiye July 31-August 6. Since 2011, Team USA has sent a team to the U17 World Championships (formerly Cadet Worlds). This age-level competition gives wrestling fans a first look at the best wrestlers in the world and gives USA fans a preview of the next generation of NCAA All-Americans and Champions. In the article below, we take a deep dive into how current American wrestling stars fared at the Cadet world championships (in men’s freestyle), ultimately proving how their success translates to the next level.

U17 World Medalists Show-Out At NCAAs

Since 2011, Team USA has sent 110 representatives to cadet worlds on the men’s freestyle side and brought home 49 total medals (24 golds, 19 silvers, 15 bronze). 43 wrestlers are represented in those 49 cadet world medals considering Spencer Lee, Yianni Diakomihalis, Daniel Kerkvliet, Kurt McHenry, Alex Facundo, and Luke Lilledahl medaled twice. 20 of the 43 have already gone on to earn All-American honors at the Division 1 level. On top of that, 9 of the 43 have won NCAA titles. Take a look at the wrestlers who medaled at Cadet Worlds and have gone on to experience success on the NCAA scene.

WrestlerYear At Cadet WorldsFinishCollegeNCAA Finishes
Years of Eligibility
Adam Coon2011GoldMichigan3X AA - 2nd, 3rd, 2nd0
Sammy Brooks2011BronzeIowa2X AA - 4th, 8th0
Zain Retherford2012GoldPenn State4X AA - 5th, 3X NCAA Champ0
Spencer Lee2013/2014DNP/GoldIowa3X NCAA Champ, 6th0
Mark Hall2014GoldPenn State1X NCAA Champ, 2X 2nd0
Jordan Wood2014SilverLehigh2X AA - 4th, 3rd 0
Daton Fix2014/2015DNP/BronzeOklahoma State3X NCAA Runner-Up, 4th1
Yianni Diakomihalis2015/20162X GoldCornell4X NCAA Champ0
Gable Steveson2015/20162X GoldMinnesota2X NCAA Champ, 3rd1
Vito Arujau2016SilverCornell3X AA - NCAA Champ, 3rd, 4th 1
David Carr2016BronzeIowa StateNCAA Champ, Runner-up, 3rd 1
Travis Wittlake2016BronzeOklahoma State1X AA - 4th 1
Jacob Warner2016BronzeIowa4X AA - 7th, 4th, 2nd, 5th0
Jacori Teemer2017BronzeArizona State2X AA - 4th, 6th2
Aaron Brooks2017GoldPenn State3X NCAA Champ 1
Will Lewan2017GoldMichigan2X AA - 5th, 8th2
Gavin Hoffman2017BronzeOhio State1X AA - 6th1
Daniel Kerkvliet2017/2018Gold and SilverPenn State3X AA - 2nd, 7th, 4th2
AJ Ferrari2018BronzeOklahoma StateNCAA Champ3
Matt Ramos 2018GoldPurdueNCAA Runner-Up2

It’s clear to see the correlation between past/present college stars and cadet medalists from the above list. Gable Steveson, AJ Ferrari, Yianni Diakomihalis, and many others dominate the college landscape but were first cutting their teeth and breaking onto the scene at U17/Cadet worlds. It’s safe to assume that the next generation of stars will begin to show themselves at this year’s Cadet World Championships.

Watch Gable Steveson win Cadet World Gold in 2016:

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The Medalists Who Haven’t Found NCAA Success...Yet

Of the 23 remaining wrestlers who haven’t earned All-American status yet, all but 4 have eligibility left in college. In fact, 15 have all four years of college eligibility left with 11 still in high school! When looking at how past medalists have fared, it won’t be surprising if most (or all) of the remaining cadet world medalists go on to All-American on the collegiate level. 

It’s also worth noting that 2 of the wrestlers a part of this list have experienced athletic success outside of NCAA Division 1 wrestling. Aaron Pico made the finals of the 2016 Olympic trials and has since transitioned to an MMA career. Pico is currently working his way up the ranks in Bellator’s organization and is 10-3 as a professional MMA fighter. Mason Manville made a senior-level Greco-Roman world team for Team USA in 2017 and went 1-1 at those world championships.

Take a look at the wrestlers below who medaled at Cadet Worlds but haven’t earned All-American status or have yet to wrestle in college:

Cadet Medalists Who Haven't AA'dYearCadet Worlds FinishCollegeNCAA Finishes
Years of Eligibility
Aaron Pico2013GoldNoneNoneNone
Mason Manville2014GoldPenn StateNoneNone
Jarod Verkleeren2015GoldPenn State/VirginiaNational QualifierNone
Owen Webster2015BronzeMinnesotaRound of 12None
Kurt McHenry2016/20172X GoldPenn State-2
Richard Figueroa2018SilverArizona State-3
Alex Facundo2018/20192X BronzePenn StateNational Qualifier3
Abe Assad2018BronzeIowa3X National Qualifier1
Marc-Anthony McGowan2019GoldPrincetonEntering freshman season4
Bo Bassett2021GoldHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Luke Lilledahl2021/2022Silver/GoldHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Meyer Shapiro2021GoldCornellEntering freshman season4
Jim Mullen2021SilverHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Nate Jesuroga2021BronzeIowaNo longer wrestling4
James Rowley2021SilverPurdueEntering freshman season4
Domenic Munaretto2022GoldHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Christian Castillo2022SilverHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Jax Forrest2022SilverHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Tyler Kasak2022SilverHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Joe Sealey2022GoldHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Zack Ryder2022BronzeHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Max McEnelly2022BronzeHigh SchoolStill in high school4
Koy Hopke2022GoldHigh SchoolStill in high school4


Just Because They Don’t Medal, Doesn’t Mean They Won’t Be NCAA Stars

While it’s clear success at Cadet Worlds is an early indicator of collegiate success, many who make the cadet world team are young and will continue to improve. On top of that, some might be better versed in folkstyle compared to the international syles. In the list below, you’ll see a variety of wrestlers who came up short as cadets but earned All-American honors as college athletes. 

NCAA stars like Bo Nickal, Seth Gross, and Roman Bravo-Young all failed to medal at Cadet Worlds but would go on to reach the top of the podium at NCAAs. Maybe more impressive, Stevan Micic and Thomas Gilman didn’t bring home a cadet medal but both have incredible senior-level success. Thomas Gilman won an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo and followed it up with a world title at the 2021 World Championships. Stevan Micic has found great success wrestling for Serbia winning a senior world medal in 2022, qualifying for the Olympics, winning bronze at the European Championships (2018 and 2020), and silver at the European Games (2019).

WrestlerYear At Cadet WorldsCollegeNCAA Finishes
Thomas Gilman2011Iowa3X AA - 4th, 2nd, 3rd
Zane Richards2011Illinois2X AA - 7th, 4th
Mitch McKee2012Minnesota1X AA - 6th
Tommy Thorn2012Minnesota1X AA - 8th
Joey McKenna2012Stanford/Ohio State3X AA - 3rd, 3rd, 2nd
Seth Gross2012South Dakota St./WisconsinNCAA Champ, 2nd
Chance Marsteller2012Oklahoma St/Lock Haven2X AA - 4th, 3rd
Austin Gomez2013Iowa State/Wisconsin1X AA - 4th
Jon Jay Chavez2013Cornell1X AA -7th
Bo Nickal2013Penn State4X AA - 3X NCAA Champ, 2nd
Stevan Micic2013Michigan3X AA - 4th, 2nd, 3rd
Dylan D'Emilio2015Ohio State1X AA - 8th
Roman Bravo-Young2016Penn State
4X AA - 2XNCAA Champ, Runner-Up, 8th
Jesse Mendez2019Ohio State1X AA - 6th


The Cadet World Championships will give wrestling fans a first look at future NCAA Champions, All-Americans, and even world/Olympic champions. Whether the athletes of Team USA bring home a medal from Rome, they are sure to be front and center at some of the best wrestling events for years to come.