Photo: Kaela Belingon
Team USA's men's freestyle squad kept rolling in Astana on Friday. Americans went 12-1 in the morning session, and three more are into the World semifinals: Wyatt Hendrickson, Zain Retherford and Kyle Dake. Then four Americans wrestle for World gold, starting at 9 AM ET.
Wyatt Hendrickson, 125kg: Three Straight Techs
Hendrickson opened with an 11-0 tech over Bahrain's Shamil Sharipov, a 2025 World medalist ranked #3 in the world who won Asian Games bronze this month. He followed it with an 11-1 tech over China's Buheeerdun in 1:58 and a 12-2 tech over Germany's Mohsen Siyar in the quarterfinals.
His semifinal is the biggest test yet: Iran's Amir Hossein Zare, a three-time World champion, the defending World champ and a two-time Olympic medalist.
Zain Retherford, 70kg: Two Pins and a Shutout
Retherford pinned Belgium's Muhammad Abdurachmanov in 1:08 and Hungary's Iszmail Muszukajev at 4:55, then shut out Azerbaijan's Kanan Heybatov 7-0 in the quarterfinals. The 2023 World champion is one win from his third World medal and two from his second World title. He faces Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev in the semis.
Kyle Dake, 86kg: Four Wins Toward Title No. 5
Dake survived a 6-5 opener against Mongolia's Batbilguun Naadambat, then teched Lithuania's Paulius Lescauskas 13-2 in 1:30 and Kazakhstan's Bolat Sakayev 11-0 in front of the home crowd. He beat Kyrgyzstan's Malik Shavaev 6-2 in the quarterfinals. The four-time World champion is chasing a fifth title at his third different weight class, and he meets Russia's Ibragim Kadiev in the semifinals.
Marcus Blaze, 61kg: Needs Help
Blaze pinned Turkey's Emrah Ormanoglu in 3:36 and teched Moldova's Leomid Colesnic 10-0, then lost 3-2 to Iran's Ahmad Mohammadnezhadjavan in the quarterfinals. He gets pulled into repechage only if the Iranian reaches the final.
Friday's Schedule (ET)
Semifinals
- About 7:37 AM: Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Amir Hossein Zare (IRI), 125kg
- About 7:47 AM: Zain Retherford vs. Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ), 70kg
- About 7:55 AM: Kyle Dake vs. Ibragim Kadiev (RUS), 86kg
Gold-Medal Matches
- About 9:08 AM: Everest Leydecker vs. Nataliia Klivchutska (UKR), 55kg
- About 9:24 AM: Abigail Nette vs. Manisha (IND), 59kg
- About 9:40 AM: Bo Bassett vs. Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM), 65kg
- About 9:58 AM: Kyle Snyder vs. Arash Yoshida (JPN), 97kg
Snyder reached his ninth World or Olympic final after beating Abdulrashid Sadulaev on criteria in Thursday's quarterfinals, and Bassett is wrestling for gold in his Senior Worlds debut.
Team USA has four medals so far in Astana: Adaugo Nwachukwu's gold and bronzes from Helen Maroulis, Dymond Guilford and Kennedy Blades. Follow every American live on our Team USA Senior Worlds tracker.