Max Black (60 kg, NYAC/NTS) is committed to closing out his age-group career in the strongest manner possible and he took an important step in that direction on Friday by securing his third-straight placement on a U23 World roster.
The final round of the 2026 U23 National Championships began at 4:00pm ET on Friday from the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio and streamed live on FLOWrestling.
Black had found little resistance in the lead-up to the afternoon’s best-of-three finals session, triumphing via technical superiority each time. That would change with returning National titlist Rhett Peak (Position) having likewise traversed the bracket, as Peak hung in there despite succumbing to a 5-1 decision in Match 1. The second round did not require all six minutes. Black managed to capitalize on the first passivity/par terre of the contest and come away with a 9-0 VSU.
Black was a member of the U20 World Teams in ’22 and ’23 and went on to represent the United States at the U23 World Championships for the first time in ’24 ahead of placing 5th at the event last year. Black was also a Senior World Team member in ’25. For his performance on Friday, Black was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Manville & Wyatt
Perhaps the most dominating output in the event came from Pierson Manville (Southwest WC), whose aggressive attacks and high tempo had no equal. Manville raced through his side of the 63 kg bracket to make the final against Shane Sherrill (Tiger WC), a young and developing athlete who himself demonstrated flashes of potential Senior brilliance on Friday. But Manville simply had too much experience, confidence, and timing for Sherrill upon the arrival of their best-of-three as the Arizona State wrestler swept the series with an 8-0 VSU followed by a pin. Manville also surrendered precisely zero points across his five victories.
Wyatt Gets Past Altomer
Black/Peak was one headliner series. The other involved ’23 U23 National champ Mike Altomer (NYAC/Curby 3-Style) and last year’s winner Keenan Wyatt (Knights WC). Both athletes are considered top young talent in the 87 kg division, and both seemed to match up well against one another. Not so much in Match 1. Altomer did stalk Wyatt, particularly through the early going, but Wyatt himself was smoothly flowing into underhook opportunities and displaying an encouraging blend of patience and positioning, which earned him the bout’s opening passivity/PT. From top he was able to garner one turn, nearly scored another, and also nearly surrendered exposure points before a reset was ordered. The second period saw Wyatt net two more after Altomer had attempted a headlock (upon which Wyatt covered). It probably should have been ruled a slip, but the points were his as was a 5-0 lead. Wyatt scored a clean takedown following another reset and walked away the 7-0 winner.
Altomer had his say in Match 2, prowling off the whistle into an arm throw try that on its own should have been scored for a correct hold — but nevertheless ended up a takedown for the New Yorker. Passivity eventually was levied against Wyatt to make the score 3-0, but Altomer was unable to capitalize further. A skirmish that cascaded off the boundary before the conclusion of the frame provided Altomer with another point and a 4-0 advantage that, given the weight class, likely appeared somewhat safe.
And even more so come the opening of Period 2. Once more, at the whistle, Altomer made hard contact, this time resulting a step-out point. But not long after, he would be penalized for a caution stemming from his head being down, thus updating the score to 5-2. Midway through the period, Altomer held double underhooks over the top — and, for some reason — was cautioned again and suddenly Wyatt trailed by only a point. More jousting, and Wyatt zipped in on an attack to snare a takedown as well as a 6-5 lead that he would not relinquish. Wyatt’s series victory over Altomer places him on a World Team for the first time in his career.
Crosby, Artsisheuskiy, & Attao
In addition to Wyatt, three other athletes repeated as U23 National Champions on Friday: Kenny Crosby (55 kg, NYAC/NTS), Adrian Artsisheskiy (82 kg, NYAC), and two-time U20 World bronze Aden Attao (130 kg, NYAC). Crosby actually dropped Match 1 of his finals series to Aydan Thomas (Position) before sweeping the next two by way of decision. Attao was expected to blitz through his bracket and indeed did so, but in the opening round of the 130 kg final Lucas Stoddard (West Point WC) hung tough in the trenches with Attao prevailing via 1-1 criteria. There was a little more distance between the two in the next round as Attao went over Stoddard 6-0. Unlike Crosby and Attao, Artsisheuskiy did not find himself in nailbiting territory as he VSU’d Caden Thomas (NYAC) in two straight to collect top honors. It should be noted that — by virtue of having achieved National Team status at the Senior World Trials in April — neither Artsisheuskiy nor Attao were required to compete on Friday in order to earn their U23 World Team spots.
Stephenson, Way, Baldwin, Herzog
A reasonable debate can be held that Black was not the only OW candidate. So too Manville was one, and Carter Stephenson (CO) and young Mr. Dominic Way (Olympia WC) were two more. Stephenson, who has rarely competed as of late, took over the field at 67 kilograms step-by-step through the bracket and necessitated one bite-down style win over Tyson Peach (Jackrabbit WC) in the semis ahead of facing prospect Gavin Weichelt (Tiger WC). Stephenson then swept Weichelt by scores of 8-1 and 6-1, respectively. Stephenson was one of the original members of the Elite Accelerator Program at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center along with Noah Wachsmuth (77 kg, NYAC), Robert Perez III (72 kg, Army/WCAP), and his brother Cole Stephenson.
West Virginian high schooler Way was one of the big surprises of the tournament as he ran the table concluding with a series victory over Bas Diaz (Jackrabbit WC). Way had several tough matches amid his climb through the 72 kg bracket but never wilted and had plenty in reserves to deal with Diaz. Way’s future teammate at West Virginia University Michael Baldwin was able to get past a very game Luke Ciampa (Eclipse WC) in the 77 kg final. Baldwin had his tests throughout the tournament, which included a poorly-officiated win at the expense of Omaury Alvarez (Tar Heel WC) in the semifinals. Ciampa on the upper-side of the bracket stood tall and expressed the closest approximation of classical Greco in the weight class. But in the best-of-three, Baldwin had the edge and went on to take the series by scores of 6-0 and 9-0.
Two-time U20 World rep Soren Herzog (97 kg, Air Force RTC), one of the more solid and balanced upper-weights in the event, cruised to victory on Friday culminating with a 2-0 sweep of Brenton Russell (West Point WC) in the finals session. Herzog finished Russell in relatively short order in both matches and closed the tournament with four wins by stoppage overall.
Notes
As mentioned, the current selection procedures for U23 are tied directly into results from the Senior World Team Trials, a process that has been in place for several years. Those athletes who are U23-eligible and placed top-3 at the Senior Trials in April are automatically on the U23 World roster if they should choose to accept the assignment. Therefore, prior to action on Friday having even begun, only three weight classes were unaccounted for — 55, 60, and 87 kg (which in order were won by Crosby, Black, and Wyatt). The seven other weight categories all included athletes who are U23-eligible Senior National Team members. They are:
63 kg: Landon Drury (NYAC/NTS)
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC)
72 kg: Brett Back (Position)
77 kg: Joel Adams (Beaver Dam RTC)
82 kg: Adrian Artsisheuskiy (NYAC)
97 kg: Arian Khosravy (CA)
130 kg: Aden Attao (NYAC)
However, this does not mean that those who earned National titles in one of the above seven weight divisions are definitively excluded from competing at the U23 World Championships (scheduled for October in Las Vegas). Rather, they are to be seen as alternates who can and may step in should the athlete(s) in front of them become unable to compete.
2026 U23 Nationals
May 29 — Geneva, Ohio
FINALS RESULTS
55 kg: Kenny Crosby (NYAC/NTS) def. Aydan Thomas (Position) 2 matches to 1
Match 1: Thomas def. Crosby 4-4 (criteria)
Match 2: Crosby def. Thomas 3-1
Match 3: Crosby def. Thomas 5-0
60 kg: Max Black (NYAC/NTS) def. Rhett Peak (Position) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Black def. Peak 5-1
Match 2: Black def. Peak 9-0, TF
63 kg: Pierson Manville (Southwest WC) def. Shane Sherrill (Tiger WC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Manville def. Sherrill 8-0, TF
Match 2: Manville def. Sherrill via fall
67 kg: Carter Stephenson (CO) def. Gavin Weichelt (Tiger WC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Stephenson def. Weichelt 8-1
Match 2: Stephenson def. Weichelt 6-1
72 kg: Dominic Way (Olympia WC) def. Bas Diaz (Jackrabbit WC) 2 matches to o
Match 1: Way def. Diaz 9-0, TF
Match 2: Way def. Diaz 6-0
77 kg: Michael Baldwin (West Virginia RTC) def. Luke Ciampa (Eclipse WC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Baldwin def. Ciampa 6-0
Match 2: Baldwin def. Ciampa 9-1, TF
82 kg: Adrian Artsisheskiy (NYAC) def. Caden Thomas (NYAC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Artsisheiskiy def. Thomas 8-0, TF
Match 2: Artsisheiskiy def. Thomas 9-0, TF
87 kg: Keenan Wyatt (Knights WC) def. Mike Altomer (NYAC/Curby 3-Style) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Wyatt def. Altomer 7-0
Match 2: Wyatt def. Altomer 6-5
97 kg kg: Soren Herzog (Air Force RTC) def. Brenton Russell (West Point WC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Herzog def. Russell 11-2, TF
Match 2: Herzog def. Russell via fall
130 kg: Aden Attao (NYAC) def. Lucas Stoddard (West Point WC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Attao def. Stoddard 1-1 (criteria)
Match 2: Attao def. Stoddard 6-0
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