One day after Beka Melelashvili (87 kg, NYAC) made a podium appearance, two more top athletes did the same to give the United States a boost entering the last day of action in Poland.
Day 2 of the 2026 Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Memorial began at 10:30am local time from Warsaw, Poland (4:30am ET) and streamed live on YouTube.
Thanks to the aforementioned Melelashvili, tournament champ Brady Koontz (55 kg, TMWC/Position,) and bronze Otto Black (67 kg, NYAC), the US has multiple medalists from the annual summertime Polish tournament for the first time in seven years. In addition to Black, two other current World Team members, Dalton Roberts (60 kg, Army/WCAP) and Xavier Johnson (63 kg, Army/WCAP) were also in action along with four other prominent Senior athletes: Dylan Koontz (60 kg, TMWC), Jace Koelzer (60 kg, Position), Rhett Peak (60 kg, Position), and Duncan Nelson (67 kg, Air Force/WCAP).
Brady’s Gold
Despite the scoreboard depicting a narrow margin, Koontz’s opening round win over Filip Bartosik (CZE) was not actually close, for the American was in firm command from the first whistle to the last. Bartosik defended Koontz from bottom par terre, but Koontz himself was in little to no danger of surrendering points to the Czech and would go on to prevail by a score of 2-1. In his second match of what was a round-robin bracket, Koontz dealt with Koriun Sahradyan (UKR) and trailed 3-0 going into Period 2. He had scored two points following a lift attempt from top PT; and when Sahradyan reached his feet on the back-end of the sequence, Koontz was there with a takedown to update his lead to 7-3. Later in the frame, Sahradyan opted for a throw attempt that Koontz countered for a land-on-top two. Ukraine challenged the call, the ruling did not change, and Koontz eventually collected a 10-3 victory that meant a shot for gold.
Ivan Stefanski (UKR) was Koontz’s antagonist Round 3 and par terre is from where the multi-time US World Teamer did his damage. Koontz achieved his patented elbow-deep lock and cranked Stefanski over the requisite number of times to force the stoppage at 8-0 and pocket his first Senior title across the Atlantic. It was also Koontz’s second overseas medal of the summer after finishing with silver in Hungary last month.
Black’s Bronze
After amassing a 4-1 lead in the first period against Mateusz Szewczuk (POL), Black used his passivity/par terre chance in the second to finish things off at 9-1. The proceeding round provided familiar Tim Bergfalk from Sweden, a very solid and well-rounded opponent. Black could not quite open Bergfalk up on-the-feet but certainly scored when (and from where) it counts as he again capitalized from top PT to score two turns in what wound up a 5-1 decision.
Round 3 of pool competition is when the trek towards goal for Black was derailed. Facing ’23 Euro bronze Haavard Joergensen (NOR), Black was behind on the scoreboard entering Period 2 and the officials chose to give Joergensen a second straight passivity/PT opportunity. Black had initially appeared to cleanly defend Joergensen’s lift attempt but the refs thought otherwise and doled out a caution. Joergensen’s second try from par terre resulted in a correct throw off the edge and he eventually took the 7-0 nod to move into the finals and deposit Black into the bronze round.
The bronze round pitted Black against another Swede known to the US, William Ekeroth. Ekeroth had actually defeated Black back in November of ’24 in the Haparanda Cup final. Things have changed a bit since then for the Coloradan.
Black started the scoring with a step-out early in the first period and was then awarded passivity/par terre not long afterwards. From top, Black deftly used a misdirection gut to garner two and soon rotated once more to pick up a second pair of points to go up 6-0. The passives flipped in Period 2 and Ekeroth found an elevated lock that provided to him four points off of two rotations. However, things went awry for him following the score. Whilst Black remained prone, Ekeroth, apparently, thought that the position had expired; though the referee did not blow the whistle, Ekeroth appeared to stop wrestling, if only for a moment, and Black pounced. He had exploded up from bottom, caught Ekeroth off-balanced, and scored two exposure points. Sweden challenged the sequence but the ruling was upheld and Black’s lead stood at 9-5. On the reset, and with less than 1:30 on the clock, Ekeroth felt for a headlock. Black anticipated the position and settled behind for two points — but not without priming himself for more offense. Rather than allow Ekeroth to go flat, Black remained set for a lift and hoisted Ekeroth up and to his back for four more points to end matters prematurely at 15-5, thus capping a performance that brought with it his first bronze from a Senior overseas event.
Roberts & X
One thing Americans do not particularly enjoy when at an event held on foreign soil is drawing other Americans. Especially for a wrestler like Roberts who is preparing for the World Championships in just under two months. The objective for the US at a tournament such as Pytlasinski is to compete against athletes from other countries in order to different discern looks and feels. Instead, for Roberts as well as Dylan Koontz, Koelzer, and Peak, it was a mish-mosh of antagonists from their own countries in addition to those from abroad.
Roberts endured a tough but tight decision loss to Ukrainian Vladyslav Kuzko in the opening round but then got past National Teamer Koelzer, whom he had defeated in the World Team Trials semifinal. This time, Roberts moved on via 6-2 decision, and in the proceeding round blanked Peak 6-0. Both of these wins kept Roberts in potential medal contention within the pool, but Senior World bronze Hrachya Poghosyan (ARM) cut the quest short via technical superiority.
Johnson had a bite-down affair with Algot Gamelius (SWE) in Round 1, a match that involved a lack of offense on both parties but Johnson held strong for the 1-1 decision. He was able to deliver the boom in the next match. Against Dominik Partyka (POL), Johnson executed a whamming four-point lift; Partyla got to his feet after landing, and Johnson quickly attacked the body and scored a correct hold off the edge to surge ahead 7-0. Partyka notched a passive in the second period, but Johnson remained upright till the end to advance into the medal conversation at 63 kg. But a 4-1 loss to Maksym Liu (UKR) followed by a 5-1 defeat to Aleksandrs Jurkjans (LAT) represented the conclusion of Johnson’s performance as he placed 5th.
Koelzer, Koontz, Peak, & Nelson
For Koelzer, Pytlasinski might as well have been hosted in his backyard. The promising lightweight went toe-to-toe with Dylan Koontz and Roberts — and that was that. Koelzer went 0-2 on Thursday but the trip will hopefully add more to his growth in spite of having faced a pair of Americans. Peak at least had the opportunity to face a foreigner (Suren Aghajanyan of Armenia) prior to falling to Roberts. Peak dropped both of his matches on Thursday, as well.
Koontz meanwhile did advance in the pool on the strength of defeating Koelzer. He was then on the wrong side of a 3-2 decision to Kuzko before being defeated by Poghosyan in Round 3.
Nelson, who is one of the more underrated and yet capable wrestlers in the US, it was a similarly rough go of it. Nelson was turned back by Joergensen in his first match and was then downed by the host country’s Grzegorz Kunkel (POL).
Notes:
- Prior to this week, the US had not sent athletes to the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski dating back to ’21, when Alex Sancho (72 kg, Army/WCAP) and the late Alan Vera both competed in the tournament.
- Two years earlier, in ’19, the US had four bronze medalists: Max Nowry (55 kg, NYAC/IRTC), Ryan Mango, Ray Bunker, and John Stefanowicz.
- Melelashvili’s bronze was his second overseas medal of the summer after also placing 3rd last month in Hungary.
- The US had six members of the current World Team compete in Poland: Roberts, Johnson, Black, Benji Peak (72 kg, NYAC/Position), Melelashvili, and Timothy Young (97 kg, Army/WCAP).
- The combined individual record for the United States at the Wladsyalw Pytlasinski Memorial was 16-26, discounting matches in which Americans faced one another (of which there were four, and three of those bouts occurred at 60 kg).
2026 Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Memorial
August 26-27 — Warsaw, POL
TEAM USA DAY FULL RESULTS
55 kg: Brady Koontz (TMWC/Position) — GOLD
WON Filip Bartosik (CZE) 2-1
WON Koriun Sahradyan (UKR) 10-3
WON Ivan Stefanski (UKR) 8-0, TF
60 kg: Jace Koelzer (Position) — 13th
LOSS Dylan Koontz (TMWC) 8-0, TF
LOSS Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) 6-2
60 kg: Dylan Koontz (TMWC) — 10th
WON Jace Koelzer (Position) 8-0, TF
LOSS Vladyslav Kuzko (UKR) 5-3
LOSS Hrachya Poghosyan (ARM) 8-0, TF
60 kg: Rhett Peak (Position) — 11th
LOSS Suren Aghajanyan (ARM) 7-0
LOSS Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) 6-0
60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) — 8th
LOSS Vladyslav Kuzko (UKR) 3-2
WON Jace Koelzer (Position) 6-2
WON Rhett Peak (Position) 6-0
LOSS Hrachya Poghosyan (ARM) 9-0, TF
63 kg: Xavier Johnson (Army/WCAP) — 5th
WON Algot Gamelius (SWE) 1-1 (criteria)
WON Dominik Partyka (POL) 7-1
LOSS Maksym Liu (UKR) 4-1
LOSS Aleksandrs Jurkjans (LAT) 5-1
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC) — BRONZE
WON Mateusz Szewczuk (POL) 9-1, TF
WON Tim Bergfalk (SWE) 5-1
LOSS Haavard Joergensen (NOR) 7-0
WON William Ekeroth (SWE) 15-5, TF
67 kg: Duncan Nelson (Air Force/WCAP) — 15th
LOSS Haavard Joergensen (NOR) 7-0
LOSS Gregorz Kunkel (POL) 12-1, TF
72 kg: Brett Back (Position) — 15th
LOSS Gaspar Terteryan (ARM) 8-0, TF
LOSS Benji Peak (NYAC/Position) 9-0, TF
72 kg: Benji Peak (NYAC/Position) — 7th
LOSS Amantur Ismailov (KGZ) 8-7
WON Brett Back (Position) 9-0, TF
WON Christoffer Dahlen (SWE) 2-1
LOSS Krisztian Vancza (HUN) 1-1 (criteria)
77 kg: Britton Holmes (Army/WCAP) — 17th
LOSS Ludvig Gunheim-Hatland (NOR) 10-0, TF
WON Eduardo Bernal Molina (CHI) 9-0, TF
LOSS Robert Fritsch (HUN) 5-0
82 kg: Jesse Porter (NYAC) — 18th
LOSS Ognjen Jakovlijevic (SRB) 6-0
LOSS Oskar Lubera (POL) 2-0
82 kg: George Sikes (NYAC) — 10th
LOSS Samvel Grigoryan (ARM) 9-0, TF
WON Oskar Lubera (POL) 7-3
LOSS Vikke Tarkkio (FIN) 3-0
87 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC) — BRONZE
WON Ivan Khmyr (UKR) 5-3
WON Waltteri Latvala (FIN) 11-2, TF
LOSS Gevorg Tadevosyan (ARM) 5-3
WON Mykyta Alieksieiev (UKR) via fall
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) — 11th
WON Edvin Kin (EST) 11-0, TF
LOSS Yaroslav Filchakov (UKR) 3-1
LOSS Szymon Szymonowicz (POL) 3-1
87 kg: Keenan Wyatt (Knights WC) — 17th
LOSS Waltteri Latvala (FIN) 8-0, TF
LOSS Ivan Khmyr (UKR) 4-0
97 kg: Timothy Young (Army/WCAP) — 11th
WON Ibrahim Fallatah (KSA) 6-4
LOSS Gerard Kurniczak (POL) 6-1
LOSS Vladlen Kozliuk (UKR) 8-0, TF
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