Photo: James Green made his eighth Senior World Team and his first at 74 kg after defeating David Carr in a best-of-three showdown. Photo by Sam Janicki.
NEWARK, N.J. — When the dust settled inside Newark’s Prudential Center on Friday evening, 15 Senior World Team spots were solidified with just three remaining slots up for grabs.
Kyle Dake, at age 35, was one of several headliners of the evening, defeating reigning Senior World champion Zahid Valencia in a best-of-three showdown for the ages. Dake, who lost to Valencia at the 2025 US Open and in two-straight matches at last year’s Final X, took matches two and three after suffering a 3-2 setback to the Cowboy RTC athlete in the opener.
Spencer Lee turned the tides on Luke Lilledahl, clinching victories in two straight bouts after falling to the NLWC wrestler in the US Open finals just under two months ago.
Meanwhile, Marcus Blaze won a three-match thriller over 2026 true freshman NCAA champion Jax Forrest to earn his first Senior World Team berth.
In addition to Lee, also returning from the 2025 Senior World Team will be Wyatt Hendrickson, 2025 World silver medalist Levi Haines and 2025 World champs Trent Hidlay and Kyle Snyder.
The 65-kg World Team slot is still yet to be decided between Bo Bassett and Real Woods after Woods requested a delay.
On the women’s side, promising young superstars Morgan Turner (50 kg) and Everest Leydecker (55 kg) earned their first Senior World Team distinctions.
Abigail Nette made her first Senior World Team since 2022 with dominant back-to-back victories over Alexis Janiak at 59 kg.
In what became the most hotly contested series in Senior women’s freestyle, Adaugo Nwachukwu came from behind in match three against Macey Kilty after the pair traded victories in match one and two to earn her second straight World Team slot.
The 2026 UWW Senior World Championships are set for Oct. 24-Nov. 1 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Men’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series Results
125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Air Force WCAP) over Mason Parris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC), W 9-5, W 7-1
70 kg – Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho/Nebraska WTC/Training Mercury WC), W 2-1, W 8-2
79 kg – Levi Haines (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Chance Marsteller (Reading, Pa./New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC), W 6-1, W 6-3
74 kg – James Green (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) over David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC), W 6-3, L 6-5, W 4-1
97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Stephen Buchanan (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC), W 5-2, L 5-5, W 9-3
61 kg – Marcus Blaze (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), W 2-2, L 6-1, W 5-2
57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Luke Lilledahl (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC), W 7-1, W 8-4
86 kg – Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), L 3-2, W 4-1, W 4-0
Women’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series Results
65 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) over Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC), W 7-2, W 5-2
55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC) over Areana Villaescusa (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP), W 2-1, W 3-1
59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) over Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC), W Fall 1:41, W 10-0 (2:05)
53 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC) over Elena Ivaldi (Rocklin, Calif.), W 10-0 (5:07), W 9-0
72 kg – Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit over Alexandria Glaude (Menlo Park, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)
50 kg – Morgan Turner (Chicago, Ill./All I See Is Gold Academy/Titan Mercury WC) over Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC), W 7-2, L 3-2, W 8-2
62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) over Macey Kilty (North Liberty, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC), W Fall 3:00, L 4-0, W 4-3
57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Scottsdale, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) over Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC), W 8-1, W 8-0
Men’s Freestyle True-Third Match Results
70 kg – Landon Robideau (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit over Caleb Henson (Cartersville, Ga./Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
79 kg – Evan Wick (Madison, Wis./Titan Mercury WC) over Patrick Kennedy (West Concord, Minn./Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC), 8-4
86 kg – Parker Keckeisen (Glendale, Wis./Panther WC-RTC) over Aeoden Sinclair (Columbia, Mo./Tiger Style RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 5-5
92 kg – Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) over Seth Shumate (Dublin, Ohio/Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 10-0 (2:25)
61 kg – Austin DeSanto (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit over Benjamin Davino (South Elgin, Ill./Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg – Beau Bartlett (Hoboken, N.J./New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit over Joey McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
Women’s Freestyle True-Third Match Results
50 kg – Samara Chavez (Arlington, Texas/Army WCAP) over Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC), TF 10-0 (1:44)
57 kg – Alex Hedrick (Pollock Pines, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) over Amani Jones (Jonesboro, Ga./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 5-3
65 kg – Reese Larramendy (Reno, Nev./Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit over Emma Bruntil (Vernon, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)
68 kg – Latifah McBryde (Buffalo, N.Y./Cobra Wrestling Academy) over Jasmine Robinson (Allen, Texas/Army WCAP), 8-2