Penn State wrestling U20 World Championships preview: Who does each Nittany Lion face first?

Five Penn State wrestlers will compete on the international stage at the U20 World Championships Sunday-Wednesday in Samokov, Bulgaria. They are part of the Team USA contingent in the men’s freestyle tournament, which is split over four days. Bracket draws are now out for all 10 weight classes. We preview what lies ahead for each Nittany Lion below.

Who is on the men’s freestyle Team USA at the U20 World Championships?

Penn State has the most team members, but all 10 will compete for a college program this winter. Here’s the full list:

57 kg – Anthony Knox – Cornell

61kg – Marcus Blaze – Penn State

65 kg – Luke Stanich – Lehigh

70 kg – PJ Duke – Penn State

74 kg – Ladarion Lockett – Oklahoma State

79 kg – William Henckel – Penn State

86 kg – Max McEnelly – Minnesota

92 kg – Connor Mirasola – Penn State

97 kg – Justin Rademacher – Oregon State

125 kg – Cole Mirasola – Penn State

What is the tournament schedule?

The action starts Sunday with competition in four weight classes. It closes Wednesday with medal matches for the final two. Here’s the schedule (all times Eastern):

Sunday, August 17

3 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 70-74-97-125 kg)

11 a.m. – Semifinals (MFS 70-74-97-125 kg)

Monday, August 18 

3 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 57-65-79-92 kg), Repechage (MFS 70-74-97-125 kg)

10 a.m. – Semifinals (MFS 57-65-79-92 kg)

11 a.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 70-74-97-125 kg)

Tuesday, August 19 

3 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 61-86 kg), Repechage (MFS 57-65-79-92 kg)

9:45 a.m. – Semifinals (MFS 61-86 kg)

11 a.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 57-65-79-92 kg)

Wednesday, August 20 

3 a.m. – Repechage (MFS 61-86 kg)

11 a.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 61-86 kg)

Previewing each Penn State wrestler at the U20 World Championships

All brackets start with a qualification round, followed by a second round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and ultimately the finals.

Marcus Blaze (61 kilograms: Tuesday/Wednesday): Blaze was third at this event a year ago, where he lost to new teammate Masanosuke Ono of Japan, who went on to win gold. The Nittany Lion is also part of the U.S. Senior World Team after finishing true third at Final X earlier this summer. He enters this year’s U20s as the favorite. His tournament starts opposite Sandro Hungerbuehle of Switzerland in a qualification round bout.

PJ Duke (70 kilograms: Sunday/Monday): The New York native will represent the U.S. here and then at Senior Worlds before starting his time at Penn State. He took bronze at this event a year ago. Duke’s tournament starts opposite U17 bronze medalist Umut Uslu of Turkey in the qualification round. He’s favored to win the bracket, though a semifinal with Iran’s Ebrahim Elahi, a former U17 gold medalist, looms if the bracket chalks out.

William Henckel (79 kilograms: Monday/Tuesday): Another member of the Penn State Class of 2025 like Blaze and Duke, Henckel won U20 Pan Ams this summer but has never competed on this stage. His tournament begins with Maksat Tabyldyev of Kyrgyzstan in the qualification round.

This week’s Nittany Lions wrestling show from Blue-White Illustrated can be watched in the embedded YouTube player below. It is also available on BWI’s YouTube Channel (click here to access it). A podcast version is also available on popular platforms like Apple and Spotify.

Connor Mirasola (92 kilograms: Monday/Tuesday): The Penn State won U20 and U23 Pan-Ams this year and was fifth at U20 Worlds last year. He is part of an absolutely loaded weight class. His tournament starts with a qualification round match against China’s Zixu Yuan.

Cole Mirasola (125 kilograms: Sunday/Monday): The next Penn State starter at heavyweight, Mirasola won U20 Pan-Ams this year, but he’s never competed on this stage. After a qualification round bye, his tournament will start opposite Sertac Aksoy in round 2.