Penn State wrestlers are in action at the U20 World Wrestling Championships. Here's how the first two performed.
The U20 World Wrestling Championships kicked off early Sunday morning in Bulgaria. Two of the five Penn State wrestlers who are part of Team USA started their quest for a gold medal then. Incoming freshman PJ Duke is in the 70-kilogram (154.3 pounds) men’s freestyle bracket, while redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola is in the 125-kilogram (275.5 pounds) bracket. Follow their tournament with our live updates below.
Note: This page does not update automatically. So, please refresh your browser accordingly for the latest information. These posts flow starting with the latest information first. You can also discuss the results with fellow Penn State fans inside The Wrestling Room forum.
Who does each Nittany Lion face in the semifinals?
08/17/2025 06:33:59 AMDuke and Mirasola both have expected foes in their respective semifinals. The former will face Iran’s Ebrahim Elahi in a highly-anticipated 70-kilogram semi. The Iranian is the 2025 U20 Asian champion and a 2022 U17 world champion. As for Mirasola, he draws Kazakhstan’s Yedige Kassimbek, who is a two-time U17 silver medalist.
The semifinals start at 11 a.m. ET. This post will be updated once those matches take place.
Full session one results for Penn State wrestlers and Team USA
08/17/2025 06:35:25 AMAgate courtesy of Jason Bryant of USA Wrestling:
70 kg – PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center)
WIN Umut Uslu (Turkiye), tech. fall 11-0
WIN Gabriel Alejandro Sanchez Zepeda (Mexico), fall, 0:43.
WIN Abdoullah Nakaev (France), tech fall, 14-4
74 kg – Ladarion Lockett (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) #
WIN Tolui Munkhbat (Mongolia), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Ismael Khaniev (UWW), dec. 5-2
97 kg – Justin Rademacher (West Linn, Ore./ Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) #
WIN Ibrahim Benekli (Turkiye) fall, 5:50.
WIN Nikolaos Karavanos (Greece) dec., 9-1
vs. Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia)
125 kg – Cole Mirasola (Jackson, Wis./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Sertac Aksoy (Turkiye), tech fall, 10-0.
WIN Inal Gagloev (UWW), dec. 3-0
Penn State wrestlers Duke and Mirasola win quarterfinal bouts
08/17/2025 06:30:09 AMDuke knocked out Abdoullah Nakaev of France by technical fall, 14-4, in the quarterfinals to reach the semis. The Penn State freshman led 8-3 after the first period before scoring more in the second to reach the margin of victory with 1:43 still to go in the match.
As for Mirasola, he also won his quarterfinal to reach the semis. In the final match of session one, the Nittany Lion beat Inal Gagloev of Russia 3-0 on the strength of an early takedown and then step out point.
Team USA overall was 8-1 in session one and has three semifinalists:
“P.J. Duke, Justin Rademacher and Cole Mirasola all reached the semifinals as Team USA went 8-1 in the first session of men’s freestyle at the U20 World Championships,” Jason Bryant writes for USA Wrestling.
The other Team USA competitor on Sunday morning, Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett, is waiting to see if he’ll be pulled back into repechage to wrestle for third tomorrow based on the outcome of the 74 kilogram semifinals later this morning.
Duke decks his Round of 16 opponent
08/17/2025 06:28:52 AMThe new Nittany Lion is no stranger to pinning his opponents, as Gabriel Alejandro Sanchez Zepeda of Mexico found out in the Round of 16. The Penn State freshman decked his Round of 16 foe in a tidy 43 seconds to join Mirasola in the quarterfinals.
Duke and Mirasola cruised early
08/17/2025 06:26:22 AMDuke, who comes to Penn State as both a member of the U20 Team USA and also the Senior-level team, smashed Umut Uslu of Turkey 11-0 in the qualification round to start his tournament at 70 kilograms. Mirasola had a bye into the Round of 16 at 125 kilograms. He had no issue with his first opponent, as he won 10-0 over Sertac Aksoy of Turkey in just 42 seconds.
The action started early this morning on the east coast
08/17/2025 06:24:03 AMThe first wrestlers took the mat around 3 a.m. ET. Team USA had four of its team members in action to start the tournament. Oklahoma State’s Ladarion Lockett led things off for his country with a win. But, he’d go on to be the only Team USA member to lose in the session as he fell in the Round of 16.
Category: General Sports
