For what eventually become one of the more notable United States Greco-Roman campaigns in recent memory, Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Individual Performance voting is now open. Below are the procedural explanations for both awards along with their accompanying polls.
There are two voting tiers for Athlete of the Year:
— The fan vote is used to determine the top-5 candidates by midnight (ET) on December 29.
— Once the voting deadline has been reached, the 5PM AOTY Voting Committee will then select the winner from the top-5 candidates who emerged from the fan vote.
AOTY Eligibility
A Greco-Roman wrestler is eligible for the 2025 Athlete of the Year award due to having met at least one of two qualifications:
- US Senior World Team member.
- Senior, U23, or U20 World medalist.
2025 Athlete of the Year Candidates
AOTY candidates are listed according to weight category. Next to each athlete’s name are achievements he had earned throughout the year with the exception of Senior World Team Trials victories (Senior WT members are automatically qualified).
55 kg
Jayden Raney (NYAC) — Pan-Am Championships gold
60 kg
Max Black (NYAC/NTS) — Pan-Am Championships gold, U23 Pan-Am Games gold
63 kg
Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) — Grand Prix Zagreb Open bronze, Pan-Am Championships silver
67 kg
Otto Black (NYAC/NTS) — U23 World bronze
Alston Nutter (Army/WCAP)
72 kg
Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) — Pan-Am Championships gold
77 kg
Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) — Pan-Am Championships gold
82 kg
Beka Melelashvili (NYAC) — Pan-Am Championships gold
87 kg
Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) — U23 World bronze, Pan-Am Championships gold, U23 Pan-Am Games gold
97 kg
Michial Foy (Army/WCAP) — Pan-Am Championships bronze
130 kg
Cohlton Schultz (Atreus WC) — Pan-Am Championships silver
Outstanding Individual Performance
Outstanding Individual Performance isolates the efforts of one Greco-Roman athlete at a single tournament or event. Candidates are determined according to subjective but relevant contextual parameters. OIP is decided entirely by fan vote. Voting begins today and runs until midnight on Monday, December 29.
— Highlighted performance represented a breakthrough or milestone achievement for the athlete or;
— A signature win over a foreign or domestic opponent was included, or;
— Athlete overcame perceived odds or adversity.
— Athlete had to have placed at said event.
— Senior events only.
OIP Candidates
Max Black (60 kg, NYAC/NTS) — US World Team Trials (1st)
For an athlete to reach #1, it often means climbing the ladder one rung at a time. The analogy fits Black fairly well, as he had been a US Open runner-up in ’22, 3rd at the Olympic Trials in ’24, and later that same year he came in second to Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) at the non-Olympic Trials. He had been taking steps, one after another, until finally standing at the top. What that looked like for Black in ’25 was a Trials tournament in which he was hindered physically and forced to deal with a string of challenging opponents, such as Paxton Creese (Minnesota Storm), Randon Miranda (NYAC), and Zane Richards (TMWC/IRTC) in the best-of-three finals. That’s a rough field to get through, but Black held his ground and executed timely scores when it mattered most as he strutted his way to the winner’s circle.
Otto Black (67 kg, NYAC/NTS) — U23 World Championships (Bronze)
Stared down four three tough, experienced opponents at the U23 Worlds and came within a single passive point of advancing to the semifinal. Then once Black was pulled back in via repechage, he defeated a fluid, well-rounded Bagdat Sabaz (KAZ) to clinch bronze, giving the US their second U23 World medal of the tournament. It was also Black’s second-consecutive year of having earned a World medal after coming away with silver in ’24. What made Black’s U23 bronze in October special was how he actually wrestled. He remained committed to his own style on-the-feet but paired it with remarkable par terre defense. Black might have scored a substantial number of offensive points in the event, but he would not have medaled without exhibiting high-quality defense. A superlative demonstration of ability, preparation, and willingness to make critical adjustments.
Alston Nutter (67 kg, Army/WCAP) — US World Team Trials (1st)
Nutter — despite having already accumulated an impressive body of work — had two things working against him at the Trials. One is that 67 kilograms, of course, included several capable and problematic competitors in the bracket. Another is that Nutter was just returning to competition after a two-year hiatus due to having joined the Army program. There was also some pressure involved. Nutter had come close in ’22 by placing second to now-teammate Alex Sancho at Final X, and had previous to that made his case as a top American lightweight. But, he was still on the outside-looking-in. That changed in April, when Nutter got started by downing Isaac Chavarria (Western Colorado WC) before getting past the hardened duo of Duncan Nelson (Air Force WCAP) and David Stepanyan (NYAC/NTS). He closed out with a sweep of Otto Black in the finals to cement his status as a Senior World Team member for the first time.
Payton Jacobson (87 kg, NYAC/NTS) — U23 World Championships (Bronze)
Although Jacobson has asserted (and acquitted) himself well in international competition, it bears reminding that nothing he does is easy. Jacobson, 23, not only competes at a high level, he also happens to operate in a weight category that is currently among the sport’s best worldwide (and certainly in the US), and it is also a weight class in which the majority of wrestlers tend to bottle up scoring mechanics. Jacobson encountered more than enough top-shelf resistance at the U23 World Championships in October as he faced five fellow elite young upper-weights — four of whom from highly-respected “Greco countries” — and managed to put forth his most electrifying effort to date. “Clutch” scores were part of the story. Jacobson engineered a must-have four-point lift to overcome Zaur Shangereev (UWW/RUS) in the quarterfinal and later hustled his way to an opponent-breaking takedown against Lachin Valiyev (AZE) in the medal match. USA fans have already grown accustomed to examples of Jacobson’s immense potential and his U23 World bronze provided the most compelling evidence to that effect thus far.
Michial Foy (97 kg, Army/WCAP) — US World Team Trials (1st)
As far as perception is concerned, Foy was at best an afterthought in the 97 kg bracket at the World Team Trials. It is just the way it was. Was. In a weight class that included Olympian Joe Rau (TMWC), recent Final X runner-up Timothy Young (Army/WCAP), multi-time National champ Nick Boykin (Ohio RTC), and well-established David Tate Orndorff (TMWC), Foy was supposed to put up a few decent matches but not contend for the crown. Few believed he was ready to take that kind of step up just yet. Foy answered any and all detractors by going through the gauntlet and making his presence felt round by round. He tech’ed Eric Schwark (Ashland WC), edged Orndorff, shocked Boykin, and maneuvered past Rau in the best-of-three to cap what was perhaps the most impressive run of any athlete in the tournament. It was a performance that did, and still does, deserve proper recognition.
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