By David Gerhart
USA Wrestling

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After what was ruled a pin early on at 125 kg, 2024 Olympian Mason Parris rallied and claimed one of five men’s freestyle titles at the 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. The championship bouts started with a pair of technical falls from Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee and U23 World champion Jax Forrest at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center.

The five champions from Friday have now advanced to 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management.

At 125 kg, an early scramble ended with Isaac Trumble initially being rewarded with a fall. However, after a challenge, the call was overturned after being called for a choke. After the challenge, the match was all tied at 2-2, and Parris bounced back to take a 14-6 lead. He held off a late rally from Trumble to secure the 14-12 victory.

In the opening two matches of the finals, Lee and Forrest locked in return trips to Final X with technical fall wins.

Lee scored a 13-3 win over Anthony Knox at 57 kg. Lee’s victory sets up a rematch against three-time age-group World champion Luke Lilledahl, who beat Lee at the U.S. Open last month.

In the 61 kg final, Forrest won the 2026 rubber match against Benjamin Davino, 11-1. Forrest previously beat Davino in the finals at the NCAA National Championships, 4-2, and Davino came back to beat Forrest in the U.S. Open semifinals, 8-4.

2024 Olympian Zain Retherford made his return to the mat in style and won the 70 kg tournament title. In low-scoring bouts, Retherford won his semifinal match on Thursday, 3-2, then edged Caleb Henson in the championships match, 2-1.

The final tournament title went to 2025 World Team member David Carr at 74 kg. Facing high school star Jayden James, who was rolling on day one of the tournament with three upsets, Carr held off a late charge from James to secure the 9-7 decision and advance to Final X.

Additionally, third place matches were held alongside the championship finals with U.S. National Team implications at stake. A complete list of medal match results in the Senior men’s freestyle division can be found below.

Each Senior World Team Trials champion is paired against the U.S. Open champion in a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the Team USA representative at the 2026 Senior World Championships. Final X will take place on June 19 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Before this weekend, five Final X matchups were already determined in men’s freestyle, 65 kg, 79 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg and 97 kg, which removed those weight classes from the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field.

All the action from the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament is available to watch on-demand on FloWrestling. Brackets and match-by-match results will be available through USA Bracketing.

2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament

At Louisville, Ky., May 15

Quick Links

• Event Website

• Event Hub

• Brackets and Results

• Live Stream

Senior Men’s Freestyle Finals Results

57 kg

1st - Spencer Lee (HWC/ TMWC) tech. fall Anthony Knox (Scarlet Knight WC), 13-3

3rd - Liam Cronin (NEB RTC/ TMWC) tech. fall Brody Teske (PWC RTC), 12-1

61 kg

1st - Jax Forrest (COWBOY RTC/ TMWC) tech. fall Benjamin Davino (OHIO RTC/ TMWC), 11-1

3rd - Austin DeSanto (HWC/ TMWC) forfeit Aaron Seidel (SERTC / TMWC),

70 kg

1st - Zain Retherford (NLWC/ TMWC) dec. Caleb Henson (SERTC / TMWC), 2-1

3rd - Landon Robideau (Cowboy / TMWC) dec. Jordan Williams (HWC/ TMWC), 7-0

74 kg

1st - David Carr (Cyclone RTC/ TMWC) dec. Jayden James (KD Trained / TMWC), 9-7

3rd - Joseph Sealey (NLWC / TMWC) dec. Quincy Monday (NJRTC/ TMWC), 10-5

125 kg

1st - Mason Parris (CKWC / TMWC) dec. Isaac Trumble (WOLFPACK / TMWC), 14-12

3rd - Coby Merrill (NYAC) dec. Cole Mirasola (NLWC / TMWC), 13-7