Young U.S. World Team Set for World Championships in Paris

It will be a young but talented U.S. Senior World Team competing in the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France, August 21-26.

Headlining the U.S. team will be all three Olympic medalists from the 2016 Rio Games: Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder in men's freeestyle at 97 kg, Olympic gold medalist Helen Maroulis in women's freestyle at 58 kg and Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox in men's freestyle at 86 kg. Also in the lineup is 2012 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg in men's freestyle.

Also headlining the U.S. team is 2016 World champion Logan Stieber at 61 kg in men's freestyle, 2016 World silver medalist Alli Ragan at 60 kg in women's freestyle and 2015 World bronze medalist James Green at 70 kg in men's freestyle.

There are 10 American wrestlers who will be competing in their first Senior World Team or Olympic Team in Paris. If you don't count the Olympics, there are 13 first-time Senior World Team members.

However, this team has vast international experience, as all 24 have represented the United States at a previous World Championships/Olympics on the Senior or age-group level, and 21 of them have won a World medal.

The average age of the 2017 U.S. World Team during the competition in Paris will be 24.5 years old. The youngest team will be the women freestylers, at 23.4 years old, while the men freestylers will be 23.8 and the Greco-Roman will be 26.2. The worldwide trend towards younger star athletes is alive and well in the United States.

In men's freestyle, Snyder is competing on his third-straight U.S. Senior-level World team and gunning for his third gold medal. In 2015, he won a World gold medal, the youngest American to win a World title at age 19. In Rio, his gold medal came at 20 years old, the youngest American wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal.

Cox made his second-straight U.S. team, after making the 2016 Olympic Team and winning his first medal. Cox needed to defeat one of the most successful international wrestlers at his weight class, David Taylor, to qualify for the World Team.

Burroughs is competing on his seventh-straight U.S. World or Olympic team, the most of any active athlete on Team USA, regardless of style, and one of the longest streaks in USA history. Green is competing in his third-straight World Team, while Stieber is on his second-straight World Team.

On the men's freestyle side, the newcomers are Zain Retherford (65 kg), Thomas Gilman (55 kg) and Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kg). Retherford, a 2017 Dan Hodge Trophy winner for Penn State, was a 2012 Cadet World champion while in high school. Gilman, a Junior World bronze medalist and Cadet World Team member, was a three-time NCAA All-American at Iowa. Gwiazdowski won two NCAA titles for NC State before turning his focus onto freestyle.

Past NCAA champions on the men's freestyle team include Stieber (4x for Ohio State), Cox (3x for Missouri), Retherford (2x for Penn State), Burroughs (2x for Nebraska), Snyder (2x for Ohio State) and Gwiazdowski (2x for NC State). Burroughs, Stieber and Retherford all won Dan Hodge Trophies as the nation's top college wrestlers.

Among the women freestylers, Maroulis has won four World-level medals in her career. In addition to her Olympic gold, Maroulis was a 2015 World champion, 2012 World silver medalist and 2014 World bronze medalist.

Ragan is competing on her fifth U.S. Senior World Team. Ragan won two Junior World bronze medals on the way up. Also on the team is 2016 U.S. Olympian Haley Augello at 53 kg, a Cadet World champion and Junior World Team member in her youth. Victoria Anthony (48 kg), a two-time Junior World champion who was also fifth at the 2013 World Championships, is on her second Senior World Team

There are four first-time U.S. Senior Team members in women's freestyle, including Becka Leathers (55 kg), Mallory Velte (63 kg), Tamyra Mensah (69 kg) and Victoria Francis (75 kg). Leathers and Francis are past Junior World bronze medalists. Mensah won a 2014 University World silver medal. Velte was fifth at the Junior Worlds in 2015.

The WCWA college national champions on the team include Maroulis (3x for Simon Fraser and 1x for Missouri Baptist), Anthony (4x for Simon Fraser), Ragan (2x for King), Augello (2x for King), Velte (2x for Simon Fraser), Mensah (2x for Wayland Baptist), Francis (2x for Lindenwood) and Leathers (1x for Oklahoma City).

The Greco-Roman team includes four past Olympians, including two-time U.S. Olympian Ben Provisor at 85 kg, 2016 U.S. Olympian Robby Smith at 130 kg, 2008 U.S. Olympian Ellis Coleman at 66 kg and Ildar Hafizov at 59 kg, a 2008 Olympian for Uzbekistan and now a U.S. citizen.

Robby Smith boasts four U.S. Senior World Team berths, placing fifth in the World in 2013 and 2015. Coleman and Cheney Haight (80 kg) are on their second Senior World Teams. Coleman won two Junior World bronze medals for Team USA. Hafizov was on three Uzbekistan Senior World Teams, in addition to his Olympics appearance.

In Greco-Roman, there are three first-time U.S. Senior Team members, 20-year-olds Mason Manville (75 kg) and G'Angelo Hancock (98 kg), plus 26-year-old Pat Smith (70 kg). Hancock was a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist. Manville won a 2014 Youth Olympic Games silver medal in Greco-Roman and a 2014 Cadet World title in freestyle. Pat Smith has won two-straight Pan American Senior Championships and was a 2014 University World silver medalist.

Greco-Roman wrestling goes first at the World Championships on August 21-22, followed by women's freestyle on August 23-24, and finishing off with men's freestyle on August 25-26.

The USA is bringing a talented volunteer coaching staff to work alongside USA Wrestling's National Coaches in each style.

Working with National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland and his professional staff are volunteer coaches Herb House and U.S. Marine Corps coach Jason Loukides. Joining National Women's Coach Terry Steiner and his professional staff are volunteer coaches and Olympians John Smith and Cary Kolat. Smith is head coach at Oklahoma State and Kolat is head coach of Campbell Univ. with their men's teams. Working with National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick and his professional staff are volunteer coaches and Olympic medalists Sammie Henson and Coleman Scott. Henson is head coach at West Virginia and Scott is head coach at North Carolina.

Wrestling fans can follow the event through a live stream as well as on a major national television network.

TrackWrestling and the Titan Mercury WC are partnering to provide the live stream from Paris. Fans can watch live and archived video by purchasing a single World Championship pay-per-view for a special promotional price of $9.99 by going to www.trackwrestling.com/UWW.

NBCSN will air 6.5 hours of tape-delayed coverage of the World Championships in the afternoons and evenings — Aug. 23 (3:30-5 p.m. ET), Aug. 24(4-5 p.m. ET), Aug. 25 (7-9 p.m. ET) and Aug. 27 (3-5 p.m. ET) — while the newly launched Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will televise live medal-round action from 1-3:30 p.m. ET each day of the tournament.

TheMat.com, USA Wrestling's website, will have extensive coverage of the World Championships, as will USA Wrestling's various social media platforms. United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation, will also have expansive coverage of the event on its website and through social media.

USA Wrestling Communications staff members Gary Abbott and Richard Immel will be on site in Paris. If you have any media needs at all, please email them at either gabbott@usawrestling.org or rimmel@usawrestling.org

World Wrestling Championships
Paris, France, August 21-26, 2017

U.S. Greco-Roman World Team

• 59 kg/130 lbs. - Ildar Hafizov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
• 66 kg/145 lbs. - Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
• 71 kg/156 lbs. - Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
• 75 kg/165 lbs. - Mason Manville, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
• 80 kg/176 lbs. - Cheney Haight, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC/OTC)
• 85 kg/187 lbs. - Ben Provisor, Stevens Points, Wis. (New York AC)
• 98 kg/215.5 lbs. - G'Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids/New York AC/OTC)
• 130 kg/286 lbs. - Robby Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC/OTC)

U.S. Women's Freestyle World Team

• 48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Victoria Anthony, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
• 53 kg/116.5 lbs. - Haley Augello, Lockport, Ill. (New York AC)
• 55 kg/121 lbs. - Becka Leathers, Choctaw, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
• 58 kg/127.5 lbs. - Helen Maroulis, New York, N.Y. (Sunkist Kids)
• 60 kg/132 lbs. - Alli Ragan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
• 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Mallory Velte, Sacramento, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC)
• 69 kg/152 lbs. - Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC)
• 75 kg/165 lbs. - Victoria Francis, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC)

U.S Men's Freestyle World Team

• 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Council Bluffs, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
• 61 kg/134 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
• 65 kg/143 lbs. - Zain Retherford, Benton, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
  70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska RTC)
• 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC)
• 86 kg/189 lbs. - J'den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF)
• 97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
• 125 kg/275 lbs. - Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC

World Wrestling Championships Schedule
Paris, France, August 21-26, 2017

Monday, August 21
Greco-Roman: 71 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg, 98 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 6 p.m. – Opening ceremony
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches

Tuesday, August 22
Greco-Roman: 59 kg, 66 kg, 80 kg, 130 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches

Wednesday, August 23
Women's Freestyle: 55 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 75 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches

Thursday, August 24
Women's Freestyle: 48 kg, 53 kg, 60 kg, 69 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches

Friday, August 25
Men's Freestyle: 57 kg, 61 kg, 86 kg, 125 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches

Saturday, August 26
Men's Freestyle: 65 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 97 kg

• 10 a.m. – Elimination rounds and repechage
• 7 p.m. – Medal matches
• 9:30 p.m. – Closing ceremony

*All times listed reference local time (GMT+2)