Wrestling: A Dozen Huskers Entered for U20 and U23 World Team Trials This Weekend

Nebraska will have a full dozen current and future Husker wrestlers competing this weekend at the U20 and U23 Freestyle World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio. The freestyle portion of the tournaments will start on Saturday, June 1 and will conclude on Sunday, June 2.

Nebraska will have five guys in the U20 field and seven more in the U23 tournament which doubles as both the U23 US Open and the World Team Trials. The winners will represent Team USA at their age-level World Championships this fall.

Nebraska will be led at U20 by last-year’s U20 World Bronze Medalist Camden McDanel at 97 kg and Antrell Taylor at 70 kg, a finalist last year at both the U20 US Open and the World Team Trials.

At U23, Nebraska will be led by starters Bubba Wilson and Lenny Pinto. Both have qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice in their careers.

While these are the Huskers who are currently registered, there’s always the possibility that some may withdraw or register late. The late registration deadline for both U20 and U23 freestyle is Friday at 5 p.m. I don’t foresee any late additions, but you never know. Check out my twitter @DguenthWrestle for updates leading up to the tournament.

The U20 field is much smaller because each wrestler had to qualify to be in the field, while the U23 field is larger since it’s technically the US Open. The U20 tournament will start and finish on Saturday, while the U23 tournament will start Saturday morning and conclude Sunday afternoon. Here’s the breakdown.

Live coverage of the tournament with every mat available at FloWrestling (subscription required). It’s also available on your TV through their app.

U20 and U23 Freestyle World Team Trials Schedule

Saturday, June 1

Session I — 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

U20 challenge tournament - prelims, quarterfinals, semis, finals and consolations

U23 - prelims and consolations

Session II — 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

U20 - all medal matches, best 2-of-3 finals

U23 - prelims and consolations

Sunday, June 2

Session III — 9 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

U23 - quarterfinals, semifinals, consolations

U23 - all medal matches, best 2-of-3 finals

U20 World Team Entries

70 kg (154 pounds)

Antrell Taylor

A year after making if to the best-of-three final of the U20 World Team Trials, Antrell Taylor is returning in search of a spot on the U20 World Team at 70 kg. Last season, Taylor made it to the final of both the U20 US Open and the U20 World Team Trials, falling in both finals to the same guy — eventual 2023 U20 World Gold Medalist Meyer Shapiro of Cornell. See his US Open final loss below.

With freestyle being his preferred style, Taylor went on to win gold at the 2023 Pan-Am Championships at 70 kg for Team USA.

This year, Shapiro isn’t in the field, but Taylor will need to make it through the (currently) 15-person challenge tournament field if he wants to get to US Open Champion PJ Duke of New York, the top-overall-ranked 2025 recruit and a Penn State commit. If Taylor makes it to the final, he’ll need to win a best-of-three final against Duke.

In his first college season as a redshirt freshman at 165 pounds this past year, Taylor finished eighth at NCAAs to earn All-American honors, earning the distinction of being named Nebraska’s Male Freshman of the Year. He’s currently ranked #7 in the country at 165 pounds by FloWrestling, but he’ll soon be in the 157-pound top five.

I’d imagine Taylor will be a top seed this weekend with his accolades, so he should be considered the favorite to emerge from the challenge tournament to take on Duke in the final series. Facing a field consisting largely of 149 and 157-pounders after a college season in the Big Ten at 165, Taylor won’t be overpowered by anybody. He may be the biggest guy in the field, dropping from 165 in March to 154 this weekend.

Other notable wrestlers registered at 70 kg:

• Tyler Kasak who is ranked #4 at 157 pounds. Kasak started last season at 141 pounds before moving up to 149 to start for Shane Van Ness after injury, finishing third at NCAAs. He’s expected to move up to 157 next season. I just don’t know if Kasak has the size to contend with Taylor — Kasak wrestled at 149 and Taylor at 165 just two months ago.
• Kannon Webster is ranked #11 at 149 pounds in the way-too-early rankings after redshirting a year ago, going 20-1 with his only loss a 4-2 decision to All-American Ty Watters of West Virginia. Again, probably too small to challenge Taylor.
• Top-Ranked High Schoolers: PJ Duke (#1 at 157), Brock Mantanona (#1 at 150) and Landon Robideau (#2 at 150). Duke is going to Penn State, Mantanona is committed to Michigan, and Robideau is going to Minnesota. This kid is the real deal, could be a fun series.

Kody Routledge

Much like Taylor in 2023, Kody Routledge was a U20 US Open finalist a month ago. He fell in the final to Duke via 10-0 tech fall (watch that match starting at the 27:40 mark below).

Routledge just won his first Oklahoma state title this past March as a junior. In freestyle, he won a Fargo National Championship in 2022.

With his runner-up finish at the US Open at 70 kg, Routledge should get one of the top seeds.

One of the best recruits in his class (#16 on the 2025 Big Board by MatScouts), Routledge is ranked #7 in the country at 157 pounds and still has one year of high school wrestling ahead of him to get better. He’ll be a contender to start as soon as he gets to Lincoln in the fall of 2025.

Ethan Stiles

A 5th-place finisher at last year’s U20 World Team Trials at 70 kg, Stiles is set to be a redshirt freshman this season after going 15-3 as a redshirt at 157 pounds in 2023-24.

He’s currently in the transfer portal but has not announced a new school. Sometimes guys enter the portal only to return to their original institution, so there’s still a chance he returns to Lincoln. I’ll be interested in seeing who is in his corner this weekend — should tell us a lot.

79 kg (174 pounds)

Ethan DeLeon

After finishing sixth at the U20 US Open last month, DeLeon qualified for these Trials. He made it to the semifinal round before losing three in a row.

A two-time Iowa state finalist, DeLeon went 17-6 while redshirting for the Huskers this last year.

He should be in the conversation for the possibly open job at 174 or as a backup at 184 next season.

97 kg (214 pounds)

Camden McDanel

One of the biggest favorites of the weekend will be Nebraska’s incoming freshman Camden McDanel. A 2023 signee, McDanel took a grayshirt this past season, delaying eligibility to train at the US Olympic Training Center in the Early Accelerator Program.

Last year, McDanel was a U20 US Open and World Team Trials champion, going on to win bronze at the U20 World Championships and gold at the U20 Pan-Am Championships. He just won his second U20 US Open title in late April, earning a spot in the best-of-three finals this weekend against the challenge tournament winner. In his last two US Open runs, McDanel has outscored his opponents 91-4.

This year, McDanel also won gold at the Henri Deglane, a very difficult senior-level tournament overseas. He then made it to the final of the US Olympic Last Chance Qualifier at 97 kg in early April, falling one win short of qualifying for the Olympic Trials.

As a returning world medalist at this age group, McDanel is the favorite to again secure a spot on Team USA’s U20 World Freestyle team, possibly bringing a World Championship with him to Lincoln this fall.

McDanel comes to Nebraska as college ready as they come. I imagine he’ll redshirt behind Silas Allred but it’s going to be hard to keep him out of the lineup in 2025.

Other notable wrestlers registered at 97 kg:

• Justin Rademacher of Oregon State is ranked #22 in the country at 197 pounds going into next season. As a freshman last season, he went 19-11 and qualified for NCAAs. McDanel’s lone college loss this past season in open tournaments came to Rademacher 8-5 in sudden victory at the Reno Tournament of Champions. That was folkstyle, but it’s still relevant.
• Top High School Heavyweights: #2 Cody Merrill and #3 Cole Marisola. Merrill is going to Oklahoma State, and Mirasola is going to Penn State. McDanel just beat Mirasola 5-1 in the Open final. Merrill doesn’t wrestle a lot, but he hasn’t lost a match in years. I’ll be really interested to see who comes out of the challenge tournament and how McDanel fares against them. Personally, I think it will be Merrill. That will be a tough series for McDanel who will enjoy the added benefit of his bye to the final series.

U23 World Team Entries

57 kg (125 pounds)

Alan Koehler

In high school, Koehler had a standout career in Minnesota where he won three state titles. On the freestyle scene has been where he’s done much of his best work, earning six All-American honors at Fargo nationals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman over the years. In 2022, he finished third in both styles. He’s also a two-time junior Pan-Am gold medalist, winning in both freestyle and Greco in 2021.

Here’s Koehler beating Penn State’s eventual true freshman 2024 Big Ten Champion at 125 pounds Braeden Davis in the 2023 Fargo Junior National Championships in the 3rd-place match. Koehler was dominant in the 12-2 tech fall win.

This past season for Nebraska, Koehler went 7-1 while redshirting with his only loss to former NCAA finalist Matt Ramos.

In the last two U20 US Opens, Koehler has finished in the bloodround, one win shy of placing each time. This has prompted Koehler to join the U23 ranks where he’ll face a stacked field.

With #6 Caleb Smith returning for his senior year at 125 pounds, Koehler will likely serve in a backup role this season, possibly making a couple starts to keep Smith fresh, before taking over in 2025. I have total confidence in him as a future starter.

65 kg (143 pounds)

Ismael Ayoub

A former Fargo freestyle finalist, Ismael Ayoub is going into his sophomore season. After suffering an injury at last year’s U20 World Team Trials, Ayoub didn’t wrestle this past season. He was consistently in the room practicing though.

At last year’s U20 WTT, Ayoub made it to the quarterfinal round at 61 kg but was injured during a match where he was leading. He ended up getting pinned because of the injury and forfeited out.

Ayoub has a lot of potential, especially in freestyle, so I’ll be interested to see how he does this weekend moving up to U23 competition.

With Brock Hardy and Ridge Lovett at 141 and 149, Ayoub will be a backup this coming season but could compete to replace Lovett in 2025. Or if Hardy moves up to 149 when Lovett’s gone, Ayoub could stay down at 141 and challenge for that spot as a junior.

70 kg (154 pounds)

Scott Robertson

A former Nebraska state champion for Millard South, Robertson just took his redshirt season and went 13-8.

Robertson wrestled at 149 pounds this past season but may be moving up to 157 since he’s registered at 70 kg (154 pounds). He’ll likely be a backup for now but could work himself into a starter role over the next couple years.

74 kg (163 pounds)

Jagger Condomitti

A former state champion from Pennsylvania, Jagger Condomitti came to Nebraska as the #13-ranked wrestler on the 2021 Big Board. He was ranked #2 in the country at 160 pounds. Here’s a highlight reel from 2018-19.

The blue-chip recruit hasn’t had much opportunity since arriving on campus as he’s dealt with concussion issues. After redshirting, Condomitti went 3-5 in 2022-23, including an 0-2 record in duals. This past season, he seemed to be back to form as he went a perfect 9-0 in open tournaments, notching two pins, two tech falls and a major decision.

Condomitti will wrestle this weekend at 74 kg. I’m excited to see how he looks against top competition again.

With Taylor moving down to 157 from 165, that leaves an opening there. Condomitti could be the front-runner for the starting spot at 165 as a junior if he stays healthy. He may have to battle Bubba Wilson (among others) for that spot if he decides to go back down to 165.

79 kg (174 pounds)

Bubba Wilson

Speaking of Bubba Wilson, he’s registered at 79 kg (174 pounds), so I think that points to him staying at 174 for his senior season. Although, that’s not a certainty.

A two-time NCAA qualifier, Wilson has a 44-40 career record after going 16-12 last season at 174, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

Getty Images

In freestyle, Wilson put together one of the most incredible tournaments last year at the U23 WTT at 74 kg. After winning his first two matches as the 23-seed, Wilson dropped his next match 9-7 to 10-seed Matt Lee. In the consolation bracket, Wilson rattled off eight straight wins to finish in third place, pinning 6-seed Cael Swensen of SDSU in the 3rd-place match. He finished the tournament with a 10-1 record.

He showed last year that he’s not to be underestimated in this tournament, making him one of the storylines to watch for me.

Lenny Pinto

In possibly the most surprising news from Nebraska’s entries is that Lenny Pinto is registered at 79 kg (174 pounds). As a career 184-pounder for Nebraska, does this mean Pinto is planning to go down in weight? Or is he just cutting down in an attempt to make a World Team? Test the waters? I do know that he doesn’t cut much weight at all to make 184, so it’s possible he’s moving down. I just don’t know who would be a viable replacement at 184 pounds.

Honestly, the only scenario I can think of where Pinto moving down to 174 makes sense is if Nebraska is making room for McDanel at 197 pounds by sliding Pinto down to 174 and Silas Allred down to 184. I’m not sure Allred could even get to 184 as he’s been at 197 his entire career (he has wrestled one match at heavyweight) and even wrestled freestyle in the past at 92 kg (203 pounds). Most likely, Pinto is just moving down for this tournament and will return at 184 next season. It just seems strange.

Here’s a video of Pinto putting together an insane comeback against current Ohio State starter Seth Shumate at last year’s U23 US Open at 86 kg.

Pinto possesses great strength and explosiveness and will be a load to handle for anyone in the field at 79 kg. He normally overpowers other 184-pounders, so he should be a man amongst boys at this weight class. I’ll be very interested in how he looks and how he carries this weight.

Adam Thebeau

A junior-to-be, Adam Thebeau holds a career 16-8 record. Last year, he started briefly at 174 pounds, going 1-0 in a dual before going 4-1 at the Navy Classic and 1-2 at the Cliff Keen Invitational. He was eventually overtaken by Wilson in the starting lineup.

He’s wrestling at 79 kg this weekend, meaning he’ll likely stay at 174 this season.