2023 U20 World Championships

U20 Worlds Success = NCAA Wrestling Stardom

U20 Worlds Success = NCAA Wrestling Stardom

A history of the U20 Wrestling World Championships since 2010 and how the results relate to success at the NCAA D1 level.

Aug 10, 2023 by Jon Kozak
U20 Worlds Success = NCAA Wrestling Stardom

The 2023 U20 World Championships will be held in Amman, Jordan from August 14-20. This event has become the premier competition for the world’s top talent under the age of 20. In this article, we’ll explore how America’s best wrestlers have performed at U20 Worlds (formerly Junior Worlds) in men’s freestyle since 2010 and how that has translated into NCAA Division 1 and senior-level success.

U20 World Medalists To NCAA Success

Since 2010, there have been 38 individuals who have won a medal at the U20 World Championships. Of those 38 individuals, 31 have gone on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division 1 level. On top of that, 16 of those have gone on to win an NCAA Championship, and 10 of those won multiple NCAA titles. Take a look below to see all of the U20 World medalists since 2010 with their NCAA success:


Junior Worlds FinishNCAA Career
Chris Perry2010 Bronze2X NCAA champ and 3X All-American
Logan Stieber2011 Silver4X NCAA Champ
Pat Downey2012 SilverAll-American
Kyle Snyder2013 Gold & 2014 Bronze3X NCAA champ/4X All-American
Alex Dieringer2013 Silver & 2012 DNP3X NCAA champ 4X All-American
Adam Coon2014 Bronze3x All-American
Thomas Gilman2014 Bronze & 2013 DNP3X All-American
Joey McKenna2014 Silver & 2015 DNP3X All-American
Gabe Dean2014 Bronze2X NCAA Champ, 4X All-American
Aaron Pico2014 Silver & 2015 BronzeDid not wrestle in College
Spencer Lee2015 & 2016 Gold3X NCAA Champ, 4X All-American
Stevan Micic2015 Bronze3X All-American
Nathan Butler2015 Bronze4X National Qualifier
Mark Hall2016 and 2017 Gold, 2015 DNPNCAA Champ, 4X All-American
Daton Fix2016 & 2018 Bronze 2017 Gold3X NCAA Finalist. 4X All-American
Mitch McKee2017 SilverAll-American
Ryan Deakin2017 SilverNCAA Champ, 3X NCAA All-American
Zahid Valencia2017 Silver & 2015 and 2016 DNP2x NCAA champ, 3x AA
Gable Steveson2017 Gold & 2018 DNP2X NCAA Champ, 3x All-American
Kollin Moore2017 Bronze & 2016 DNP4X All-American
Brady Berge2018 Bronze3X National Qualifier
Mekhi Lewis2018 GoldNCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Aaron Brooks2018 Silver, 2019 DNP3X NCAA Champ
Zach Elam2018 SilverAll-American
Vito Arujau2019 SilverNCAA Champ, 3X All-American
David Carr2019 GoldNCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Trent Hidlay2019 BronzeNCAA Finalist, 3X All-American
Lucas Davison2019 Silver2X All-American
Mason Parris2019 GoldNCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Beau Bartlett2021 BronzeAll-American
Bryce Andonian2021 Bronze2X All-American
Keegan O'Toole2021 Gold2X NCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Rocky Elam2021 Gold3X All-American
Braxton Amos2021 Gold2X National Qualifier
Jore Volk2022 GoldNational Qualifer
Mitchell Mesenbrink2022 SilverEntering Freshman Season
Bennett Berge2022 SilverEntering Freshman Season
Ben Kueter2022 GoldEntering Freshman Season


Beyond the clear NCAA success that U20 world medalists have, seven athletes have gone on to wrestle at the world/Olympic level with 6 winning medals. Logan Stieber (2016 World Champ), Kyle Snyder (Olympic Gold, 2X World Gold, World/Olympic Silver, World Bronze), Adam Coon (2018 World Silver in Greco), Thomas Gilman (2017 World Silver, 2020 Olympic Bronze, 2021 World Champ), Gable Steveson (2020 Olympic Gold), and Daton Fix (2021 world silver) have medaled at both the U20 and senior-level. 

Watch Gable Steveson win a U20 World title in 2017:

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Spencer Lee's second U20 World Title in 2016:

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Keegan O'Toole's U20 World Finals Match in 2021:

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What About The Non-Medalists?

U20 Worlds is, of course, an age-level competition and many of the competitors are still in the development stage of their careers. With that in mind, it’s clear to see how U20 Worlds played a huge role in those who failed to medal. 24 wrestlers who competed at U20 Worlds since 2010 (and did not medal) went on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division 1 level. More than that, 4 of those who failed to place at U20 Worlds went on to win an NCAA title. Take a look at those who didn’t find success at U20 Worlds but went on to find success on the D1 level:


Junior Worlds FinishNCAA Career
Matt McDonough2010 DNP2x NCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Jason Chamberlain2010 5th2X All-American
Conrad Polz2010 DNP2X All-American
Jeremy Johnson2010 5th2X All-American
Josh Kindig2011 5thNCAA Finalist
Tanner Hall2011 & 2012 DNPAll-American
Joey Dance2012 DNP2X All-American
Earl Hall2012 DNP2X All-American
Austin Marsden2012 and 2013 DNP2X All-American
Ethan Lizak2012 and 2013 DNPNCAA Finalist, 3X All-American
Jason Tsirtsis2013 DNPNCAA Champ, 3X All-American
Sammy Brooks2013 DNP2X All-American
Anthony Valencia2014 DNPAll-American
Anthony Cassar2015 DNPNCAA Champ
Seth Gross2016 DNPNCAA Champ
Alec Pantaleo2016 DNP3X All-American
Jordan Wood2016 DNP2X All-American
Dom Demas2018 DNPAll-American
Lou Deprez2018 DNPAll-American
Jacob Warner2018 DNPNCAA Finalist, 3X All-American
Yahya Thomas2019 DNPAll-American
Brayton Lee2019 DNPAll-American
Jesse Mendez2021 DNPAll-American
Wyatt Hendrickson2021 5thAll-American

This Year’s Squad

You can view the full list of this year’s U20 World team in all styles for Team USA by clicking here. This year’s men’s freestyle squad is relatively young with most of the wrestlers still possessing all 4 years of college eligibility. The U20 World Championships are the perfect opportunity to get an early look at those wrestlers who will be competing for NCAA titles and world/Olympic team spots for years to come.  

Some Other Fun U20 World Facts

  • Every Men’s Freestyle Tokyo Olympian competed at U20 Worlds (David Taylor DNP’d in 2007 and Kyle Dake DNP’d in Greco in 2008)
  • 9 of the 13 Jr World Gold Medalists have made the NCAA Finals (8 of 13 have won NCAA Titles)
  • 2017 Most Medals - 3 Golds, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
  • 2017 Best Team Finish - Gold
  • Daton Fix, Zahid Valencia, and Mark Hall were the only wrestlers to make 3 U20 World teams
  • Daton Fix is the only American to win 3 U20 world medals