Penn State-affiliated wrestlers will represent half of the men’s freestyle U.S. World Team starting lineup after winning at Final X on Friday in Newark, New Jersey.
Five of six competing Penn State wrestlers and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members earned spots on Team USA in international competition throughout the upcoming freestyle cycle, most notably at the 2026 Senior World Championships in Kazhakstan this fall.
Levi Haines, Marcus Blaze, Zain Retherford, Kyle Snyder and Kyle Dake each won their best-of-three Final X matchups to secure World Team positions. They also will join Luke Lilledahl, who came up short on Friday, on the U.S. National Team.
Rising Nittany Lion sophomore Blaze met reigning NCAA 133-pound champion Jax Forrest at 61 kg. Blaze rallied to tie the opening bout 2-2 and won on criteria before Forrest evened it up with a 6-1 victory in the second. In the final bout, Blaze trailed 1-0 after one, but took control in the second for a 5-2 victory to win the series.
Blaze, who previously won U17 and U20 world titles, earns his first Senior World Team spot and defeated Forrest for the third time in four meetings.
Haines, who recently completed his Penn State career as a two-time NCAA champion, cruised to a 6-1 victory in his opening bout against Chance Marsteller at 79 kg. A four-point move in the second period of their second bout helped Haines to a 6-3 win and a spot on the World Team.
Penn State alum Retherford won his opening 70 kg bout against Ridge Lovett 2-1 on the strength of a first-period takedown. The Nittany Lion three-time NCAA champion dominated the second bout 8-2 to win the series and his fourth Senior World Team spot. Retherford won gold at 70 kg in 2023.
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club/Penn State Regional Training Center member Kyle Snyder handily defeated Stephen Buchanan 5-2 in the opening bout at 97 kg. Buchanan, however, bounced back with a late comeback in the second bout for a 5-5 win on criteria. Snyder controlled the rubber match for a 9-3 victory and a series win. The two-time Olympic medalist made the World Team for the 12th time and will be seeking his fifth world title.
Fellow NLWC/RTC member Kyle Dake dropped the opening 86kg bout to Zahid Valencia. Dake, though, came back with a 4-1 win in the second and a dominating 4-0 effort in the third to claim his sixth World Team spot. He’ll also be seeking his fifth world championship.
Rising Nittany Lion junior Lilledahl and reigning NCAA 125-pound champion met Spencer Lee at 57 kg. Lee took the first bout 7-1, and after Lilledahl took an early lead in the second, stormed back for an 8-4 win to claim the World Team spot. Lee swept Lilledahl for second consecutive year at Final X and avenged his April loss to the Nittany Lion at the U.S. Open.
