5 wrestlers with Penn State ties earn honor to represent Team USA at world championships
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- Five wrestlers with Penn State ties earned spots on the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team.
- Penn State will represent literally half of Team USA at the world championships.
- Marcus Blaze, Zain Retherford, Levi Haines, Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder advanced.
After victorious performances Friday at Final X, five wrestlers with Penn State ties earned the honor of representing Team USA at the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships.
In other words, Penn State will represent literally half of the U.S. World Team during international wrestling’s most prestigious annual event in Kazakhstan from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.
Among Friday’s winners and those now on the U.S. World Team include current Nittany Lion Marcus Blaze, PSU alums Zain Retherford and Levi Haines, and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder.
Luke Lilledahl, a Penn State junior, also competed but finished as a runner-up in Final X after dropping two straight bouts to Spencer Lee.
Friday’s Final X served as the last stage of qualifying for the U.S. World Team, and it pitted two finalists in nine weight classes against one another in a best-of-three format. (The 65-kg series was delayed due to medical exemptions.)
Here’s an overview on how each freestyle wrestler fared from the Penn State Nittany Lion Olympic Regional Training Center/Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.:
- 57 kg: Luke Lilledahl loses to Spencer Lee in series 2-0. (Lee dec. Lilledahl 7-1; Lee dec. Lilledahl 8-4.)
- 61 kg: Marcus Blaze wins over Jax Forrest in series 2-1. (Blaze dec. Forrest 2-2; Forrest dec. Blaze 6-1; Blaze dec. Forrest 5-2.)
- 70 kg: Zain Retherford wins over Ridge Lovett in series 2-0. (Retherford dec. Lovett 2-1; Retherford dec. Lovett 8-2.)
- 79 kg: Levi Haines wins over Chance Marsteller in series 2-0. (Haines dec. Marsteller 6-1; Haines dec. Marsteller 6-3.)
- 86 kg: Kyle Dake wins over Zahid Valencia in series 2-1. (Valencia dec. Dake 3-2; Dake dec. Valencia 4-1; Dake dec. Valencia 4-0.)
- 97 kg: Kyle Snyder wins over Stephen Buchanan in series 2-1. (Snyder dec. Buchanan 5-2; Buchanan dec. Snyder 5-5; Snyder dec. Buchanan 9-3.)
This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 9:07 PM.
