The 2025 United States Greco-Roman World Team is now complete after an evening that offered tension, an adrenalizing ending, and three more athletes who will be first-time roster members to make for a grand total of six.
Matches 2 and 3 for the “Group B” weight categories (82, 87, 97, and 130 kg) at the 2025 US World Team Trials began at 6:00pm local time from the Expo in Las Vegas and streamed live on FLOWrestling.
Two series were over before the second round had even begun as both ’24 U23 World silver medalist Beka Melelashvili (NYAC) and three-time Senior World Teamer Cohlton Schultz (130 kg, Atreus WC) received medical forfeits from their respective opponents. Melelashvili had taken on ’21 World rep Jesse Porter (NYAC), and Porter injured his shoulder midway through the first period of Match 1 and could not continue the series. Circumstances were similar for Schultz, who was renewing his longstanding rivalry with ’24 Olympian/’18 World silver Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen). Schultz had secured a brutal front headlock to pin in Match 1 that resulted in Coon briefly losing consciousness. Coon was held out of competing this evening, allowing Schultz to land his fourth spot on a top-level World roster.
This left only two best-of-three series to be decided. And both required a third round to determine the winner.
87 kg: Late Heroics for Jacobson
In one of two series that were rematches from last year’s Olympic Trials finals (along with Schultz vs. Coon), Payton Jacobson (87 kg, NYAC/NTS) and the “Alaskan Assassin” Spencer Woods (Army/WCAP) again combined to produce the most thrilling and hardest-hitting matches of the event, and it was also the second time in a row that a three-round dust-up between the two necessitated a third contest. Jacobson had triumphed in Match 1 earlier on Saturday thanks in large part to a gutwrench in the conclusive period. But Woods retained plenty of motivation for the second round this evening.
Upon the first-period passivity call, Woods locked for a reverse lift that he pulled over the top to net four points. However, Jacobson immediately reversed position following the score and cranked a gutwrench. A challenge was then demanded from the NMU corner. The officials looked at the sequence and the end result was that Woods’ points remained and the score was updated to 6-4. The second period saw the passivities flip, but Jacobson could not negotiate a turn and Woods had knotted the series at one match apiece.
A game of inches.
Soon into the first period of Match 3, Jacobson and Woods were jockeying for position near the edge and, right away, there was a challenge review. Jacobson had been pressuring Woods near the line, with Woods having appeared to step-out before dancing back inside of the circle, thus causing Jacobson to be nudged off the edge. The Army corner requested the challenge and the score was amended to 1-0 to Woods, who in short order also benefited from the bout’s first passivity. From top par terre, his reverse lift attempt did not land but he eventually walked into the break up 2-0.
Then — drama.
Jacobson navigated the pummel early in the second period and sliced in with over/under’s to put Woods off-balance. The NMU athlete quickly covered for a takedown and went to work on a gutwrench that Woods resisted well. Still, Jacobson owned a 2-2 criteria advantage. Back standing, and the mat referee warned Jacobson to keep his head up in the ties. The in-fighting was as physical as it gets, a predictable byproduct the pair’s energy and respective stylistic approaches. It’s what they do. But — an exchange which invited another inadvertent clash compelled the referee to hit Jacobson with a caution penalty that put Woods ahead 4-2. Jacobson, livid, asked for a challenge. The original call was upheld after the review to widen Woods’ lead to 5-2.
There was enough time on the clock for Jacobson not to panic, and yet not enough to even entertain the thought of complacency. He needed a big score, or to catalyze a chain of events that would organically engineer multiple actions equating to the points required for a comeback. He just couldn’t go for something reckless that might deliver to Woods an opportunity to pile on and put the match completely out of reach.
What he did, after a reset, was shift position amid pummeling, lock his hands, and wrest a bodylock that brought forth four huge points along with an outright 6-5 lead. Army — near instantly — threw the challenge brick. The officials watched the replay, conferred, and the call on the mat stood. Another point was given to Jacobson for the upheld call, as well. Woods was not dejected by the scoreboard. Despite time being a factor, he plunged back into the fight hunting for workable handles from which to score. For his part, Jacobson did his best to hold the line and stave off Woods’ insistent advances. Following one of the more clutch throws in recent American Greco history, Jacobson reached the bell as the 7-5 winner and will now prepare for his second Senior World-level tournament in consecutive years.
97 kg: Foy Makes First World Team
’22 U23 World Team member Michial Foy (97 kg, Army/WCAP) stole headlines earlier on Saturday by defeating Olympian/multi-time World Team member Joe Rau (TMWC) via 6-0 decision in Match 1 of their series. It had begotten a scenario in which Rau was indeed accustomed, as the native Chicagoan has gone to a third round several times previously, including at the ’24 Olympic Team Trials against the late Alan Vera. To be sure, Rau was in familiar territory, and acted like it as he demonstrated a steelier brand of purpose en-route to collecting a hard-fought win in the second match to extend the series.
It still wound up being Foy’s time to shine.
Match 2 began similarly to Match 1, insofar as both wrestlers jostled deliberately in the ties through the preamble with Rau being dinged for the first passive call. Foy opted for a lift from top par terre, but Rau defended to earn the reset. Later in the frame, Foy zipped an arm drag that caused Rau to stumble — though he recovered quickly and got behind his opponent on the edge for apparent takedown points, with the action also initially coming attached to a caution on Foy for legs.
The officials reviewed the sequence and the ruling favored Rau. Foy was subsequently called for passivity but Rau could not capitalize further from top PT. The duo chipped and pummeled in spaces, but neither would score again, thus providing Rau with the nod 2-1 in addition to availing the second Match 3 of the tournament.
And Match 3 got off to a promising start for Rau when he snared Foy’s right arm for a two-on-one and barred the appendage to work behind and pick up a takedown. But his follow-up attempts from par terre were unsuccessful and a reset was called in due order.
Foy did not allow for much time to elapse before he himself got on the board. Rau had been clamping on another potential arm attack, and Foy shucked his arm free and countered for a takedown coupled with a 2-2 criteria edge. A sense of urgency could be detected in Rau’s demeanor as he checked back into the hand-fight. He did not wish to let the match mature too long and have to make up ground. So, he got on his horse. But Foy was again ready to respond. Shortly before the break, Rau pressured hard towards Foy near the boundary, but Foy danced back inside and got behind Rau to secure his second takedown of the bout.
The one item hanging in the balance was passivity. No such call was made in the first period and, given the scoreboard, if one were made in the second it seemed as though Foy was likely to be cited. Which is how it happened — but when Rau went to latch a front headlock in par terre, Foy quickly found his feet to nullify the threat.
The scoreboard read 4-3 as the match waned. The onus was squarely on Rau to generate some steam any way he could. Foy kept busy, as much as was reasonable, and Rau had one more crack at a front headlock that he lassoed whilst standing. Foy survived that, and everything else, till the whistle and got his hand raised on the strength of a 4-3 decision that also represents a trip to the ’25 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
There is a father/son connection for United States Greco-Roman with the result from 97 kilograms. Foy’s father, Michial, was a World bronze medalist in ’89 as well as an Olympian in ’92 (Barcelona). The younger Foy is also one of six athletes who have now become first-time Senior World Team members along with Jayden Raney (55 kg, NYAC/IRTC), Max Black (60 kg, NYAC/NTS), Alston Nutter (67 kg, Army/WCAP), Jacobson (though he was an Olympian in ’24), and Melelashvili.
2025 WTT Full Finals Results
55 kg: Jayden Raney (NYAC/IRTC) def. Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC)
*55 kg series was not contested
60 kg: Max Black (NYAC/NTS) def. Zane Richards (TMWC/IRTC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Black def. Richards 3-2
Match 2: Black def. Richards 2-1
63 kg: Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) def. Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Coleman def. Hafizov 9-0, TF
Match 2: Coleman def. Hafizov 8-4
67 kg: Alston Nutter (Army/WCAP) def. Otto Black (NYAC/CTT) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Nutter def. Black via fall
Match 1: Nutter def. Black via fall
72 kg: Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) def. Aliaksandr Kikiniou Jr. (NYAC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Sancho def. Kikiniou Jr. 2-1
Match 2: Sancho def. Kikiniou Jr. 6-1
77 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) def. Aliaksandr Kikiniou Sr. (NYAC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Bey def. Kikiniou Sr. 7-2
Match 2: Bey def. Kikiniou Sr. 5-0
82 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC) def. Jesse Porter (NYAC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Melelashvili def. Porter via inj. default
Match 2: Melelashvili def. Porter via medical forfeit
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) def. Spencer Woods (Army/WCAP) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Jacobson def. Woods 5-1
Match 2: Woods def. Jacobson 6-5
Match 3: Jacobson def. Woods 7-5
97 kg: Michial Foy (Army/WCAP) def. Joe Rau (TMWC) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Foy def. Rau 6-0
Match 2: Rau def. Foy 2-1
Match 3: Foy def. Rau 4-3
130 kg: Cohlton Schultz (Atreus WC) def. Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen) 2 matches to 0
Match 1: Schultz def. Coon via fall
Match 2: Schultz def. Coon via medical forfeit
Listen to “5PM57: Kamal Bey and David Stepanyan” on Spreaker.
Listen to “5PM56: Rich Carlson and Spencer Woods” on Spreaker.
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