By Zack Chavez
USA Wrestling

For the fifth time ever, and the first time since the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Marcus Blaze, who was the Ohio and National winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2025, and Jax Forrest, who was the Pennsylvania winner of the DSHSEA in 2026, will meet on the mat, this time at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management. Blaze and Forrest will battle for the men’s freestyle 61 kg spot on the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team. Final X is scheduled for Friday, June 19, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The Final X showdown between Blaze and Forrest will mark their first meeting since Blaze’s 8-1 decision for third place at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. It is the only logged freestyle matchup in the rivalry, which stands at 2-2. Blaze also owns a Folkstyle win, 9-4, over Forrest from the 2023 Clarion Open. Forrest previously defeated Blaze in Folkstyle at the Super 32, 10-1 in 2022 and 13-4 in 2020.

Forrest sealed his return trip to Final X with two victories and a first-place finish at the 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge. After claiming a 9-4 semifinal win over Aaron Seidel, Forrest earned a dominant 11-1 technical fall over Ben Davino, avenging an 8-4 loss to Davino at the U.S. Open in April. As a two-time age group medalist and returning Senior World Team member, Forrest brings high-level success to Final X. He secured 2025 gold medals at the U23 World Championships and the Senior Pan American Championships.

Blaze’s decorated career is highlighted by U17 and U20 World championships, the latter of which he earned in 2025 with technical falls in four of five matches. To secure his spot at Final X, Blaze tore through the 61 kg bracket at the 2026 U.S. Open, conceding just two points in four matches, and punched his ticket with a 4-1 win over Davino.

Both Forrest and Blaze were standout freshmen at 133 pounds in the NCAA Division I ranks this season. After going through the fall semester in high school, Forrest transitioned to Oklahoma State for the spring semester and posted a perfect 19-0 record on his way to winning the NCAA title. Blaze wrestled to fourth place at the NCAA tournament for Penn State. The two did not meet in college action, making this Final X series even more enticing for wrestling fans.

What’s at Stake?

Final X will determine the 2026 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2026 Senior World Championships.

Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit

Final X will serve as the 2026 Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 16th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs, which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

This will be the second Final X and Beat the Streets event appearance for both Lilledahl and Lee, following their head-to-head matchup at Final X last June. Lee won that series two matches to none.

Get Tickets

BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages, which include access to premier seating at Final X, plus the exclusive after-party, are currently available at btsny.org. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Bob Seidel at bseidel@btsny.org. Donations and BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages directly help BTSNY make a lifelong impact on New York City youth in need.

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

Follow Final X

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.org. Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing.

For more information about Final X, please visit TheMat.com.

Event Schedule

12:30 p.m. ET – U.S. National Team true-third matches

2 p.m. ET – Session one (Round one)

5 p.m. ET – Session two (Rounds two and three, if necessary)

Match order for each session will be provided at a later date

2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management

June 19 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey

Men’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series

57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg – Marcus Blaze (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bo Bassett (Windber, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho/Nebraska WTC/Training Mercury WC) vs. Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – James Green (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Levi Haines (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Chance Marsteller (Reading, Pa./New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Michael Macchiavello (Northampton, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Air Force WCAP) vs. Mason Parris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

Women’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series

50 kg – Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Morgan Turner (Chicago, Ill./All I See Is Gold Academy/Titan Mercury WC)

53 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Elena Ivaldi (Rocklin, Calif.)

55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC) vs. Areana Villaescusa (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Scottsdale, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Macey Kilty (North Liberty, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Isabella Mir (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Menlo Park, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)