U20 World Medalists Have Insane NCAA Success
U20 World Medalists Have Insane NCAA Success
Exploring how Team USA's U20 men's freestyle world team has performed at NCAAs since 2010.
The 2022 U20 World Championships will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from August 15-21. This event has become the premier competition for the world’s top talent under the age of 20. In this article, we’ll explore how America’s best wrestlers have performed at U20 Worlds (formerly Junior Worlds) in men’s freestyle since 2010 and how that has translated into NCAA Division 1 and senior-level success.
U20 World Medalists To NCAA Success
Since 2010, there have been 34 individuals who have won a medal at the U20 World Championships. Of those 34 individuals, 28 have gone on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division 1 level. On top of that, 14 of those have gone on to win an NCAA Championship, and 9 of those won multiple NCAA titles. Take a look below to see all of the U20 World medalists since 2010 with their NCAA success:
Beyond the clear NCAA success that U20 world medalists have, seven athletes have gone on to wrestle at the world/Olympic level with 6 winning medals. Logan Stieber (2016 World Champ), Kyle Snyder (Olympic Gold, 2X World Gold, World/Olympic Silver, World Bronze), Adam Coon (2018 World Silver in Greco), Thomas Gilman (2017 World Silver, 2020 Olympic Bronze, 2021 World Champ), Gable Steveson (2020 Olympic Gold), and Daton Fix (2021 world silver) have medaled at both the U20 and senior-level.
Watch Gable Steveson win a U20 World title in 2017:
Spencer Lee's second U20 World Title in 2016:
Keegan O'Toole's U20 World Finals Match:
What About The Non-Medalists?
U20 Worlds is, of course, an age-level competition and many of the competitors are still in the development stage of their careers. With that in mind, it’s clear to see how U20 Worlds played a huge role in those who failed to medal. 22 wrestlers who competed at U20 Worlds since 2010 (and did not medal) went on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division 1 level. More than that, 4 of those who failed to place at U20 Worlds went on to win an NCAA title. Take a look at those who didn’t find success at U20 Worlds but went on to find success on the D1 level:
This Year’s Squad
You can view the full list of this year’s U20 World team in all styles for Team USA by clicking here. This year’s squad is notably young with every member of the men's freestyle team yet to wrestle a varsity collegiate match. This year's U20 World Championships are the perfect opportunity to get an early look at those wrestlers who will be competing for NCAA titles and world/Olympic team spots for years to come.
Some Other Fun U20 World Facts
- Every Men’s Freestyle Tokyo Olympian competed at U20 Worlds (David Taylor DNP’d in 2007 and Kyle Dake DNP’d in Greco in 2008)
- 9 of the 11 Jr World Gold Medalists have made the NCAA Finals (7 of 11 have won NCAA Titles)
- 2017 Most Medals - 3 Golds, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
- 2017 Best Team Finish - Gold
- Daton Fix, Zahid Valencia, and Mark Hall were the only wrestlers to make 3 U20 World teams
- Daton Fix is the only American to win 3 U20 world medals