Let's take a look at the international buzzsaws looming for our eight-man team at the junior world championships.

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50kg

Looking out over the 50kg field this year, three names stick out. Two of them have wins over Alireza Goodarzi, the Iranian who Spencer Lee met in last year's finals.

Yerbulan Sarkytbayev (KAZ) won the Asian championships and put up 31 points in just three matches. On a positive note for Spencer, he typically gives up a bunch of points, a la Soslan Ramonov, during the regular season.

Aliabbas Rzazade (AZE) won a shootout over Goodarzi in the gold-medal match of the AWF Cup after tech'ing his way to the finals. He also racked up two impressive techs at Euros, but lost by a point in the first round to the backup of Spencer's No. 1 contender for the 50kg championship belt.



Viktor Khan (RUS) emerged as the favorite to become Russia's junior representative when he won the Roman Dmitriev Memorial in March. A month later, the second-year junior obliterated the field at Russian nationals with two pins and two techs. If anyone can end Spencer's ridiculous run of dominance at this weight, it is the great Khan.

55kg

There is little doubt that Daton Fix is a high-level freestyler; he has the most international matches of anyone on this team. But the rising senior will need to reach deep into his bag of tricks in what may be the deepest weight in the field.

Andriy Yatsenko (UKR) has been very impressive on the senior level this year by taking silver medals at the European championships as well as the Ukrainian Memorial tournament. At Euros, he beat the favorite to win 60kg.

Ravi Kumar (IND) is the returning silver medalist at this weight. There is perhaps no one in this division who can match Kumar's pace--he stayed in constant attack mode in the second period of his matches last year at Worlds.



Gulomjon Abdullaev (UZB) walked through the junior Asian championships without giving up a point. He tech-smashed Kuatbek Mukhambet, a Kazakh with two wins over Fix. It appears he has bulked up since not medaling last year at 50kg at Cadets.

60kg

Seth Gross' weight appears to be headed for a Euro vs. Asia final, draws pending of course. 

Takuto Otoguro (JPN) is up at Juniors now after winning Cadet Worlds in Sarajevo. He and Spencer Lee have a relationship; Lee wore Otoguro's singlet in Akron last year. Given Rei Higuchi's performance at the Olympics, the Japanese lightweights will probably be eager to follow his lead.

Makhir Amiraslanov (AZE) is almost definitely the best guy in this weight. He took an upset down a weight at Junior Euros, but he has spent the better part of the last two years competing on the senior level and is the defending 55kg champion.

66kg

Though Pico may be gone from this weight, his memory lives on in two former opponents for his replacement Alec Pantaleo to contend with.

Yuhi Fujinami (JPN) is probably tired of getting second. In 2013, he took home silver from Cadet Worlds at 63kg, where he lost to Pico in the finals. The next year at Junior Asians, he lost to future Olympic gold medalist Hassan Yazdani Charati. At Juniors a year ago, he lost a nail-biter in the finals.

Enes Uslu (TUR) is in his final year of junior eligibility. He has made the finals of Euros at this age level each of the past two years, and lost in the bronze-medal match to Pico in Brazil.

74kg

The original biggest hammer in Mark Hall's weight, Zaurbek Sidakov, has been pulled, but that still leaves at least one concerning opponent.

Carlos Arturo Izquierdo Mendez (COL) is the only wrestler in the field who competed at the Olympics. He is a tall, rangy athlete with another year of junior eligibility left. He was in the finals of both the Pan Am championships and Pan Am qualifier.

84kg

Zahid Valencia enters his second Junior Worlds much bigger with a season of senior-level competition under his belt.

Gadzhimurad Magomedsaidov (AZE) ran through Junior Euros and has a devastating leg lace. Azerbaiijan is deep at this weight at the senior level, and may have even more of a log jam over the next few years when Magomedsaidov joins the mix.



Arsen-Ali Musalaliev (RUS) is the one who ended Zahid's run and is back again to compete in Macon. American fans should be ready for a potential matchup against a returning bronze medalist who made the Yarygin finals.

96kg

Team USA has seen the high of Kyle Snyder winning a world title and Anthony Cassar ripping up his shoulder at this weight the past few years. Here's who Kollin Moore might have to topple to reach the heights Synder did.

Yuri Vlasko (RUS) is a two-time Euro champ who has been knocking on the door for years to make a Russian age-level team. Despite not winning Russian junior nationals, he was named their representative to compete this week in France.

Givi Matcharachvili (GEO) was Vlasko's opponent in the Euro finals this year, and they also met in the Martyrs Cup dual meet tournament. U.S. fans might recognize him as the guy who beat Jordan Wood in the 2014 Cadets final. He won the Azerbaijan Wrestling Foundation Cup in April and the Champions Cup in May.

Khusanboy Rakhimov (UZB) is almost certainly the tallest wrestler in the bracket. The cadet world silver medalist from a year ago presents immense matchup problems for anyone he faces.

120kg

Championship-caliber teams generally need strong performances from their heavyweights, which is exactly what U.S. coaches are expecting from Jordan Wood.

But those are the same expectations for Iran as they go for a team trophy three-peat. Amir Reza Amiri appears to be the favorite entering the day. He was undefeated at the Martyrs Cup, and won the AWF Cup and junior Asian championship. He even got a silver at the Dan Kolov, a senior-level tournament in Bulgaria. Wood will have his hands full if they meet.