Final X 2026 matchups set after World Team Trials

Final X 2026 is set for Newark, New Jersey on June 19th after the World Team Trials were finished on Friday. All the matchups on the men’s and women’s side of things for freestyle wrestling promise to be good ones.

All the finals will be wrestled in a best-two-out-of-three format to determine the Team USA rep for the 2026 World Championships. The talent is recognizable, old and new.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the Final X matchups for the 2026 edition. We start with men’s freestyle.

Men’s Freestyle Final X 2026 matchups

57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
61 kg – Marcus Blaze (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg – Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bo Bassett (Windber, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)
70 kg – Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho/Nebraska WTC/Training Mercury WC) vs. Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
74 kg – James Green (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
79 kg – Levi Haines (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Chance Marsteller (Reading, Pa./New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Michael Macchiavello (Northampton, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Air Force WCAP) vs. Mason Parris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

These matchups can be broken down until the cows come home. Lilledahl and Lee will rematch after their scrap at the US Open last month, won by the current Nittany Lion and NCAA champion. Penn State/The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club have seven members in the Final X event across seven weights.

That includes Blaze, who will take on Forrest, the 2026 NCAA champion. Both were true freshmen this past season and Forrest was the 2025 World Team member, taking 5th on the Senior Level as a high schooler last year.

Another young star, Bassett, will go for the Senior Level as well when he takes on Woods. Woods is a World Bronze Medalist and like Bassett, a current feature on Real American Freestyle. But Bassett could certainly steal the show at Final X .

Hidlay won a gold medal at the World Championships last year and takes on a fellow NC State alum in Macchiavello for the 92 KG spot. Snyder has been the mainstay at 97 KG for Team USA for over a decade and that might not change any time soon. The former Ohio State Buckeye was the 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist.

Women’s Freestyle Final X 2026 matchups

50 kg – Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Morgan Turner (Chicago, Ill./ All I See Is Gold Academy/ Titan Mercury WC)
53 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Elena Ivaldi (Rocklin, Calif.)55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC) vs. Areana Villaescusa (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)
57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Scottsdale, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)
59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)
62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Macey Kilty (North Liberty, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)
68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Isabella Mir (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)
72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Menlo Park, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

Final X features a lot of talent on the women’s side too. Maroulis, like Snyder, has been a mainstay for Team USA and is an Olympic Gold Medalist. Also like Snyder, she’s the current champ at her weight in Real American Freestyle.

Blades might be the hottest name in women’s wrestling in this country right now. The Hawkeye was an NCAA champ this past season, now that the NCAA recognized the sport officially, and won a Silver Medal at the 2024 Olympics. 

Her Iowa teammate Welker joins her at 76 KG as well. But how about at 72 KG where 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist Amir Elor is back? She just gave birth to her child three months ago!