U17 World Championship Men's Freestyle Preview
U17 World Championship Men's Freestyle Preview
Everything you need to know to get ready for the 2023 U17 World Championships.
The U17 World Championships have kicked off with Greco and will wrap up this weekend with men’s freestyle. Below is almost everything you need to know for men’s freestyle. I say almost because, with Russia and Belarus’ recently lifted ban, it’s hard to find data on their athletes and many of the ones going to Worlds did not compete at the European Championships. However, it’s probably safe to assume anyone they are bringing (they will show up in the entries and brackets as AIN), will be pretty good.
And a special thank you to Kyle Klingman for collecting all of Team USA's athletes' info.
The Team
45 kg: Ignacio Villasenor
48 kg: Paul Kenny
51 kg: Christian Castillo
55 kg: Marcus Blaze
60 kg: Benjamin Davino
65 kg: Brock Mantanona
71 kg: Ladarion Lockett
80 kg: Zack Ryder
92 kg: Aeoden Sinclair
110 kg: Sampson Stillwell
The Schedule
Friday, August 4
4:00 am - 8:00 am: qualification rounds - 48-55-65-80-110 kg
10:00 am - 10:45 am: semifinals - 48-55-65-80-110 kg
4:00 am - 8:00 am: qualification rounds - 45-51-60-71-92 kg and repechage - 48-55-65-80-110 kg
10:00 am - 10:45 am: semifinals - 45-51-60-71-92 kg
11:00 am - 1:00 pm: medal rounds - 48-55-65-80-110 kg
Sunday, August 6
9:30 am - 10:45 am - repechage - 45-51-60-71-92 kg
11:00 am - 1:00 pm - medal rounds - 45-51-60-71-92 kg
45 kg: Ignacio Villasenor
Hometown: Longmont
High School: Pomona
Grade: Entering ninth
Club: Pomona Elite
Instagram: @ignaciovill4636
Championship series: Villasenor over Kavin Muyleart, 2-0
Ignacio Villasenor, the pride of Colorado, will be competing in his first World Championship. He represented Team USA at the Pan Ams last year and went undefeated. 45 kg can be quite unpredictable at the World level as it is almost always first-year U17 guys. The two most accomplished wrestlers in Villasenor’s bracket will be Jafar Jafarov of Azerbaijan and Ahora Farhad Khateri of Iran who both dominated their continental championships this year. Jafarov also won U15 Euros last year. Mate Tsinadze of Georgia has lost to Jafarov at Euros the past two years.
48 kg: Paul Kenny
Hometown: NJ
High School: Christian Brothers
Grade: entering ninth grade
Instagram: @paulkenny_1
Championship series: Kenny over Grey Burnett, 2-0
Only now entering 9th grade, Kenny is on the younger side of this team, but don’t let that fool you - he’s ready. Kenny defeated this year’s Fargo champ Grey Burnett in the finals two matches to none, but in order to get there, he had to defeat 2022 U17 World champion Dom Munaretto. I really like his chances of bringing home a medal. Sam Reza Sayar of Iran won Asians but was pushed by Yamato Furusawa of Japan and Rupesh of India.
51 kg: Christian Castillo
Hometown: Glendale, Arizona
High School: Valiant Prep
Grade: entering eleventh
Club: Thorobred WC
Instagram: @crissy_day_kid
Championship series: Castillo over Seth Mendoza, 2-0
After coming home with a silver medal from the U17 World Championships last year, Christian Castillo isn’t going to Turkey for anything less than gold. The Azerbaijani who defeated Castillo last year won’t be there this year. Instead, the Japanese wrestler, the Indian, and the Georgian will be Castillo’s main opposition. I’m just hoping this year’s run isn’t as nerve-racking as last year's.
55 kg: Marcus Blaze
Hometown: Perrysburg, Ohio
High School: Perrysburg
Grade: entering eleventh
Club: Perrysburg WC
Instagram: @123marcus
Championship series: Blaze over Anthony Knox, 2-0
If you beat Anthony Knox, you’re ready to perform on the World stage. Now, this is going to be a tough weight in Turkey, so a medal won’t come easy. Akhmad Musakhadzhiev is one of the few Russians I’m familiar with as he took 5th at U17 Worlds last year. Haji Karimov of Azerbaijan dominated Euros while Ankush, the Indian, narrowly won Asians over Amirreza Teymorizad of Iran. Allan Oralbek of Kazakhstan is also tough.
60 kg: Benjamin Davino
Hometown: St. Charles
High School: St. Charles East
Grade: entering twelfth grade.
Club: St. Charles WC
Instagram: @bdavino22
Championship series: Davino over Jax Forrest, 2-0
Who’s Number One, WTT, Super 32, Fargo, Ironman, etc. Ben Davino has won everything there is to win domestically. Now, it’s time to do it internationally. Standing in Davino’s way will be European champion Jamal Abassov of Azerbaijan and Asian champion Omurbek Asan Uulu of Kyrgyzstan as well as Japan National champion Akito Maehara.
65 kg: Brock Mantanona
Hometown: Palm Desert, California
High School: Palm Desert
Grade: entering twelfth grade.
Club: Coachella Valley WC
Instagram: @mock_brantanona
Championship series: Mantanona over Kollin Rath, 2-0
Brock Mantanoa is a wild card. He could win this thing or go 0-1 and I wouldn’t be surprised. Luckily for USA fans, this doesn’t appear to be the deepest of weights. The German, Manuel Wagin, actually won Euros. He also finished in 8th place at Worlds last year. Sina Mahdi Khalili of Iran won Asians. In 2021 Brock’s brother Beau represented Team USA at the Cadet World Championships but fell to Azerbaijan.
71 kg: Ladarion Lockett
Hometown: Stillwater, Oklahoma
High School: Stillwater
Grade: entering twelfth grade
Club: Cowboy WC
Instagram: @deemoneylockett
Championship series: Lockett over Vince Bouzakis, 2-0
Ladarion Lockett will be representing the United States for the first time this weekend. However, already going into his senior year of high school, the Oklahoma native is bringing a solid domestic resume into the World Championships with him. The top international guys in the bracket will be Seyedabolfazl Seyed Ayyoub Hosseini of Iran, Narek Nikoghosyan of Aermenia, and Islam Kazharov of Russia.
80 kg: Zack Ryder
Hometown: State College, Pennsylvania
High School: Minisink Valley
Grade: entering twelfth grade
Club: M2 Training Center
Instagram: @zackryder.5
Championship series: Ryder over De'alcapon Veazy, 2-0
Zack Ryder will be trying to improve upon his bronze medal performance last year at the U17 World Championships. The Iranian who defeated Ryder last year, won’t be in the bracket, but the other bronze medalist from the bracket, Alexandru Bors from Moldova, will be. With how repechage works, the two did not see each other last year. The new Iranian in the bracket will be Abolfazl Rahmani. He dominated his way through the European Championships this year.
92 kg: Aeoden Sinclair
Hometown: Milton, Wisconsin
High School: Milton
Grade: entering twelfth grade
Club: Askren Wrestling Academy
Instagram: @aeoden_sinclair97
Championship series: Sinclair over Dreshaun Ross, 2-0
Aeoden Sinclair is one of my favorite prospects in the class of 2024, and I have high expectations for him in Turkey. Max McEnelly brought a World bronze back to the state of Wisconsin at this weight last year and I think Sinclair can repeat that performance, if not do better. The continental champions in the bracket will be Toohid Noory of Iran and Sandro Kurashvili of Georgia.
110 kg: Sampson Stillwell
Hometown: Centerview, Missouri
High School: St. Michael The Archangel
Grade: entering eleventh grade
Club: Kobra Kai Training
Instagram: @sampsonstillwell
Competing at heavyweight for the US will be Sampson Stillwell. He’ll be up against a loaded field. Sigh Jaspooran of India took bronze at the weight last year, but lost Yedige Kassimbek of Kazakhstan at Asians. Yusif Dursunov of Azerbaijan is probably the favorite. He won bronze at this tournament in 2021 at 92 kg and won U17 Euros this year while also taking silver at Junior Euros. He narrowly beat Henrik Haykyan of Armenia, 4-4, in the finals of U17 Euros.