Complete list of wrestlers representing USA at the U23 World Team Championships ft Rocco Welsh, PJ Duke

Multiple wrestlers, including Rocco Welsh and PJ Duke, are all set to compete at the U23 World Team Championships. The event is slated to be held from October 20-26 in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Duke will be representing the US team at the World Championships by competing in the 70kg freestyle category. He secured his spot in the U23 Championships by winning a best-of-three series against four-time champion Yianni Dikaomihalis at Final X. He has also been selected to represent his country in the U20 and senior championships.

His clubmate, Welsh, on the other hand, booked his berth at the U23 World Championships in the 86kg freestyle category by competing at the U23 Nationals, which took place in Geneva, Ohio. Along with them, several other wrestlers have also booked their place on the U23 World Team. A wrestling insider recently shared the complete list of the wrestlers all set to represent the USA at the U23 World Championships. Here are all the names:

Luke Lilledahl - 57kg
Jax Forrest - 61 kg
Marcus Blaze - 65kg
PJ Duke - 70kg
Mitchell Mesenbrink - 74kg
Levi Haines - 79kg
Rocco Welsh - 86kg
Josh Barr - 92kg
G.Kouekabakilaho - 97kg
Daniel Herrera - 125kg

Rocco Welsh recently committed to Penn State and made an announcement about the same on social media on March 31, 2025.

Rocco Welsh opened up about his upcoming season at Penn State

Rocco Welsh recently sat for a conversation with Justin Basch on March 30, 2025, where he opened up about his commitment to Penn State and revealed his mindset about the upcoming season. When asked about what he was looking forward to the most after committing to Penn State, Welsh stated that he was excited about having good partners and coaches.

Opening up about how this commitment will help his confidence, he said: (11:16 onward)

"Just being in the room with all those really good partners and the coaches obviously, they accomplish all the stuff, that I want to accomplish there and I think it's going to be just really like a confidence thing. There's other guys in the program that are doing the stuff that you want to accomplish so it's like it can be done there and I'm really that's just really what I'm excited about," said Welsh.

Before committing to Penn State, Rocco Welsh was a part with the Ohio State, where he became an NCAA finalist in his freshman year. He currently trains at the KD Training Center, which recently made history after multiple wrestlers from the center secured spots on every US Freestyle World Team in 2025.

About the author

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma