2026 U17 World Championships

Boldbaatar Wins Mongolia's First U17 World Gold

By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 30) -- Mongolia crowned its first U17 women's world champion, Uzbekistan claimed its second, the United States secured two gold medals, and Saika UCHIDA (JPN) emerged as another rising star as five titles were decided on the fourth day of the U17 World Championships in Baku.

Ariunzul BOLDBAATAR (MGL) made history by becoming Mongolia's first U17 world champion in Women's Wrestling after defeating Aisha ABDIMALIK (KAZ) 4-0 in the 65kg final.

The two had previously met at the U17 Asian Championships, where Boldbaatar cruised to an 11-2 victory. Neither wrestler had a lengthy international resume heading into Baku, but both advanced to the final, with Boldbaatar already guaranteeing Mongolia its best-ever finish in the event.

Boldbaatar opened the final with a stepout and added a passivity point before capitalizing during a scramble to score two exposure points for a 4-0 lead, which she held until the final whistle.

Boldbaatar's historic title run featured two victories by fall and two wins on points.

Wrestling Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB)Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB) scores a takedown on Finja STRAUCH (UZB) during the 43kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Uzbekistan also celebrated another milestone as Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB) became the country's second U17 women's world champion with a 4-1 victory over Finja STRAUCH (GER) in the 43kg final.

The Uzbekistan wrestler scored two takedowns to build her lead and then successfully defended against Strauch, who struggled to create scoring opportunities. Although Masharipova conceded an activity-clock point in the second period, Strauch never looked to threaten.

Masharipova follows Shohista SHONAZAROVA (UZB), who became Uzbekistan's first U17 women's world champion by winning the 40kg title in Athens last year.

Wrestling Epenesa ELISON (USA)Epenesa ELISON (USA) waits for the fall to be confirmed in the 57kg final against Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

U.S. Wins Two Golds

Epenesa ELISON (USA) went one step further after settling for silver at 53kg last year, capturing the 57kg world title with a dominant performance in Baku.

Elison defeated Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND) by fall in the final after racing to a 6-0 lead, capping an impressive campaign in which she won all five of her bouts in commanding fashion.

At 73kg, Kaili MANUEL (USA) claimed the gold medal with an 8-1 victory over U17 European champion Solomiia PETRIV (UKR).

Manuel controlled the match from start to finish, scoring five stepouts, forcing Petriv onto the activity clock for another point, and adding a takedown to complete the convincing victory.

The bronze medals at 73kg went to Aisha WILLIAMS (PAN) and U17 Asian champion GARIMA (IND). Williams made history by becoming the first Panama wrestler to win a world medal after defeating Bianka BARANY (HUN) by fall.

At 49kg, Saika UCHIDA (JPN) showcased her immense potential by winning the world title in dominant fashion. The younger sister of Asian champion Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) overwhelmed Olena KOLUBAI (UKR) in the final, using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 12-2 technical superiority victory.

Wrestling Photos UWW

RESULTS

43kg
GOLD: Mukhlisa MASHARIPOVA (UZB) df. Finja STRAUCH (GER), 4-1

BRONZE: Sera FURUICHI (JPN) df. Maya NAICKER (CAN), 10-10
BRONZE: Daria MASLENNIKOVA (RUS) df. Tola RUDNIK (POL), 10-0

49kg
GOLD: Saika UCHIDA (JPN) df. Olena KOLUBAI (UKR), 12-2

BRONZE: Kamna BABAL (IND) df. Irina TSYDEEVA (RUS), 3-2
BRONZE: Isla Belle SILVA (USA) df. Ayanat MEINAMBAY (KAZ), 6-3

57kg
GOLD: Epenesa ELISON (USA) df. Nikita SEHRAWAT (IND), via fall (6-0)

BRONZE: Rion SUZUKI (JPN) df. Gurleen DHILLON (CAN), 10-0
BRONZE: Mariia POLTORAK (UKR) df. Su SOYALP (TUR), 4-2

65kg
GOLD: Ariunzul BOLDBAATAR (MGL) df. Aisha ABDIMALIK (KAZ), 4-0

BRONZE: Margarita LISITA (MDA) df. Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE), 5-0
BRONZE: Palina BRAHINETS (BLR) df. Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR), 11-0

73kg
GOLD: Kaili MANUEL (USA) df. Solomiia PETRIV (UKR), 8-1

BRONZE: Aisha WILLIAMS (PAN) df. Bianka BARANY (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: GARIMA (IND) df. Paula BENAIXA (ESP), 10-0

#WrestleCoralville

U.S. Completes Pan-American Team Title Sweep

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, IOWA, United States (May 10) -- The United States captured six out of seven gold medals in Freestyle to close out the Pan-American Championships in Coralville, Iowa.

After winning the Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling team title, the U.S. also won the Freestyle title with 240 points and Puerto Rico finished second with 150 points. Canada was third with 129 points.

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The three 2025 world medalists in action on Sunday for the U.S., all came back with gold medals. World champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) won gold medal at 92kg, defending his Pan-Am title, world silver medalist Levi HAINES (USA) won gold at 70kg while world bronze medalist Real WOODS (USA) prevailed at 65kg to win the title.

Other three champions were Liam CRONIN (USA) at 57kg, improving from his bronze medal last year, Ridge LOVETT (USA) at 70kg and Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) who defended his 125kg title.

Arturo SILOT (CUB) was the only wrestler to deny the U.S. gold medal as he defeated Stephen BUCHANAN (USA), 15-4, in the 97kg final. This was his first-ever Pan-Am gold after being denied for four straight years in the finals.

In the marquee match of the night, Woods faced Peiman BIABANI (CAN) in the 65kg final, a rematch of the World Championships bronze-medal bout which Woods won 3-1.

On Sunday, Woods dictated the pace of the final, getting the first point for Biabani's passivity in the first period. Woods opened the second period with a quick leg-attack before elevating Biabani's leg as the Canadian tried to defend on one leg. Woods did not let go and scored a takedown to lead 3-0 with 2:33 left.

Under pressure to score, Biabani got rewarded when Woods was put on the activity clock and when the American did not score, Biabani got a point. But Biabani could find a takedown which would have given him the win and the gold medal. He only managed a stepout as the clock expired.

Hidlay was in a five-wrestler round-robin bracket at 92kg and the world champion was clearly the best among all. He opened with an 11-0 win over Lucas BORDEAUX (BRA) in Round 1 before scoring a similar 11-0 win over Pool AMBROCIO (PER) in Round 2.  Andrew JOHNSON (CAN) wasn't spared either as Hidlay added another 11-0 win in Round 3.

Shane JONES (PUR) managed to score two points on Hidlay who remained unfazed and worked on a 13-2 win but secured the victory fall in Round 4, thus outscoring his opponents 46-2 in four bouts.

Haines was also in a round-robin bracket with five wrestlers at 79kg and followed a similar path like Hidlay to the gold medal. He scored an 11-0 victory over Michael LABRIOLA (PUR) before beating Sergio ESPINOZA (MEX), 10-0, in Round 2.

Patrick LEDER (CAN) almost pinned Haines when the Canadian blocked his head between the legs lace using his legs but Hains quickly escaped before winning 13-2. In Round 4, Haines picked an easy 10-0 win over Jhoan SERNA (VEN) to claim gold.

The 125kg final between Hendrickson and Jorawar DHINSA (CAN) was all fireworks as both wrestlers went for the throws. Dhinsa managed an arm throw for four points against Hendrickson who countered two other lateral drop attempts to score his points. When Dhinsa tried another lateral drop, Hendrickson landed on top and kept the Canadian's back on the mat to win the final via fall.

Cronin upgraded his bronze to gold after a close 5-4 win over Darian CRUZ (PUR) in the 57kg final. In an actionless first period, Cronin went up 1-0 at the break as Cruz was put on the activity clock in which he failed to score.

Cronin was put on the activity clock in the second period but eight seconds in, he countered Cruz to score a stepout and lead 2-0. Cruz fired a takedown with a minute left and took a 2-2 criteria lead. However, that was short lived as he hit a deep attack and Cronin caught him in a tangle with his legs and scored two points. Cruz challenged the decision but lost as the reviews showed that Cronin was the only one with control in the exchange.

Down 5-2 with 22 seconds left, Cruz managed a stepout and a point for Cronin's fleeing as the clock expired.

Ridge LOVETT (USA) earned a gold medal at 70kg with a win over Victor SOTO (PUR) in the final. He secured the fall over Soto after building an 11-0 lead. Lovett did not give up a single point in the tournament.

Silot Wins 97kg Gold

Kyle SNYDER (USA) denied him for three years and then Justin RADEMACHER (USA) stopped him last year. But Silot made sure that Zagreb Open champion Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) did not stop him from winning his first Pan-Am gold after four disappointments.

In the 97kg final, Silot came out firing and hit an arm throw for four points before Buchanan scored a takedown and lace to make it 4-4. However, Silot continued the exchange and used double armlock to throw Buchanan again for four points and then turned him to lead 10-4 at the break.

Silot needed 25 seconds in the second period to once again throw Buchanan using double arm locks and score four points. The U.S. challenged the four-point call but it was upheld, the lost challenge adding one more point to Silot's score to make it 15-4.

Photo

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Liam CRONIN (USA) df. Darian CRUZ (PUR), 5-4

BRONZE: Edwin SEGURA (GUA) df. Justin ROSALES (NCA), 8-6
BRONZE: Pedro MEJIAS (VEN) df. Juan RAMIREZ (DOM), via inj. def.

65kg
GOLD: Real WOODS (USA) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), 3-2

BRONZE: Joseph SILVA (PUR) df. Joshua KRAMER (ECU), 5-4
BRONZE: Shannon HANNA (BAH) df. Tommy GARCIA (DOM), 7-3

70kg
GOLD: Ridge LOVETT (USA) df. Victor SOTO (PUR), via fall (11-0)

BRONZE: Michael ZALE (CAN) df. Mauricio LOVERA (ARG), via inj. def.

79kg
GOLD: Levi HAINES (USA)
SILVER: Michael LABRIOLA (PUR)
BRONZE: Patrik LEDER (CAN)

92kg
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA)
SILVER: Shane JONES (PUR)
BRONZE: Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)

97kg
GOLD: Arturo SILOT (CUB) df. Stephen BUCHANAN (USA), 15-4

BRONZE: Cristian SARCO (VEN) df. Steven BURRELL (JAM), 6-5
BRONZE: Luis PEREZ (DOM) df. Edwin MORALES (PUR), 4-3

125kg
GOLD: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Jorawar DHINSA (CAN), via fall (12-4)

BRONZE: Gabriel DE SOUSA (BRA) df. Brandon ANGUIANO (MEX), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Jose DIAZ (VEN) df. Jonovan SMITH (PUR), 2-1