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14 Iowa-tied entries set for U23 Nationals & U20 World Team Trials

by: Tanner Lafever05/26/26TannerLafever

After a brief reprieve, Iowa wrestling’s busy summer season rolls on with its first major post-Memorial Day competition.

Up next are U23 Nationals and U20 World Team Trials – set to be hosted over three days at the annual locale of Geneva, Ohio.

There, 14 wrestlers with some degree of Iowa ties are entered to compete against top age-level talent from around the country.

For the Under-20 crowd, navigating the World Team Trials (WTT) Challenge Tournament will be the first objective. Do that, and they’ll face a sitting finalist in a best-of-three series for a spot on the U20 World Team.

As for the U23’ers, they’ll take on enormous brackets over the span of two days. And if they can make it through unscathed, they’ll wrestle a best-of-three final against a competitor who’s done the same – with the victor crowned a U23 national champion.

NOTE: U23 national champs don’t automatically earn a spot on the U23 World Team. If a different age-eligible athlete finishes in the top three on the Senior National Team ladder, they’ll get first dibs on the World Team spot.

So, before the action commences, let’s go through the usual routine and lay out the Hawkeyes to watch for.

Meet the team

Among Iowa’s 14 entries are three recruits in the U20 division:

U20 World Team Trials (May 29)

  • 57kg – **Paul Kenny
  • 65kg – **Dawson Youngblut
  • 125kg – *Michael Mocco

*2026 signee, **2027 commit

No member of the above trio had the US Open they would’ve liked a month ago in Las Vegas – with top 2026 signee Michael Mocco the only one of them to make the podium.

Even so, both Mocco and 2027 commit Paul Kenny possess the bona fides to make a deep run having previously won U17 World titles.

U23 Nationals (May 30-31)

  • 57kg – Joey Cruz, Keyan Hernandez
  • 61kg – Anthony Lavezzola
  • 70kg – Miguel Estrada, Jordan Williams
  • 74kg – Isaiah Fenton, Claudio Torres
  • 79kg – Joseph Kennedy
  • 86kg – Tyrel Miller
  • 92kg – Harvey Ludington, Brody Sampson

As for the U23 crop, Iowa is set to have 11 athletes compete across seven different weight classes.

Six of those wrestlers also competed in some capacity at the US Open – where Jordan Williams’ third-place Senior division finish led the bunch.

(Mind you, Williams continues to indicate that he’ll wrestle elsewhere next college season after entering the transfer portal in April.)

How to watch

May 29-31 (Fri–Sun) – 2026 U23 Nationals & U20 World Team Trials

**all times Central Standard**

Friday, May 29

Session I: 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 pm.

  • U20 Freestyle World Team Trials (Challenge Tournament) preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals and consolations

Session II: 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

  • U20 WTT best-of-three finals and all medal matches

Saturday, May 30

Session III: 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

  • U23 Freestyle preliminaries and consolations

Session IV: 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

  • U23 Freestyle preliminaries and consolations

Sunday, May 31

Session V: 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

  • U23 Freestyle quarterfinals, semifinals, best-of-three finals, consolations and all medal matches

U20 overview

As I mentioned earlier, a pair of U17 World champions are looking to make their first U20 World Team before arriving at Iowa.

And both face a treacherous road to do so.

2023 World champ Paul Kenny is dropping down from his US Open weight of 61kg – at which he was surprisingly eliminated in the Round of 12.

This week, he’ll join a Who’s Who of top lightweight prospects at 57kg – featuring multiple World medalists.

One of them – Cornell freshman Isaiah Cortez – awaits the Challenge Tournament winner in the best-of-three final. But Kenny will likely have to navigate several others just to get there.

As for 2024 World champ Michael Mocco, his path at 125kg won’t be a picnic either.

High school nemesis (and future Cy-Hawk rival) Coby Merrill looms in the best-of-three final. But Mocco could face two major tests before that.

Iowa’s top-ranked 2026 signee lost to Lehigh commit Dean Bechtold, 7-3 at the US Open. This, despite having held the upper hand in their recent meetings.

Mocco may have to avenge that loss to set up a matchup that I’d argue is more anticipated than a final against Merrill.

And that’s because the soon-to-be Hawkeye hasn’t wrestled Fort Dodge native Dreshaun Ross since April of 2022:

That match (contested at 85kg) was many pounds and many moons ago – long before Mocco committed to Iowa and Ross to Oklahoma State as two of the brightest young heavyweight prospects in America.

Were it to materialize this week, I’d expect a lot of offense between the future college rivals.

Meanwhile, Dawson Youngblut – a top 35 prospect in the Class of 2027 – joins a loaded field at 65kg.

The three-time state champ from Don Bosco will look to test his mettle against the nation’s very best.

U23 overview

Moving to the busier U23 division, the headliners are a quartet of guys who either have been, or could very well soon be starters in the Iowa lineup.

Having recently placed third at the US Open and fourth at World Team Trials, Jordan Williams would appear to be Iowa’s biggest title favorite based on current form.

He’ll be joined at 70kg by 148(!) other entries, including the intriguing Miguel Estrada – who showed well as a freshman in 2024-25 before redshirting last season.

As a true freshman, Miguel Estada hung right in against the eventual NCAA runner up at 157 pounds.

Estrada will certainly contend for a starting spot this winter, especially if Williams goes through with his transfer elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Harvey Ludington continues his own journey toward a projected starting role next season.

The former Fargo champ arrived at Iowa as the top-ranked prospect at 190 pounds before redshirting in 2025-26. After browsing the 65 current entries at 92kg it seems like Ludington’s greatest competition could come from Pittsburgh All-American Mac Stout.

Like Ludington, Joey Cruz competed but did not place in the Senior Division at the US Open.

And like Ludington, Cruz will be in action this week.

He’s probably a tier below some of the top title contenders at 57kg, but a deep run could certainly be in store for the 2025 NCAA qualifier.

As for the rest of Iowa’s entries this week, all seven fit in the ‘unproven underclassmen’ and/or career backup category(s).

Among the group, top-80-ranked Class of 2025 recruits Claudio Torres (74kg) and Tyrel Miller (86kg) bear monitoring.

A greyshirt and redshirt last season respectively, both Torres and Miller were former Fargo All-Americans.

Keep an eye on redshirt freshman Keyan Hernandez (57kg) as well – who defeated Cruz 8-5 at January’s Soldier Salute.

Short time

There you have it – a preview complete and in full.

(And with a somewhat manageable word count by my standards.)

U20’s on Friday, U23’s on Saturday/Sunday – featuring 14 Hawkeyes between them.

Now you know the who/what/when/where. All that’s left is to follow along however you can and enjoy the wrestling.

Per usual, I’ll been providing pertinent updates/results on social media throughout the weekend. And once all the action has concluded, stay tuned for my full Iowa-centric recap.

Thanks as always for reading, and I’ll catch up with you guys again real soon!

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