World Team Trials Results

With 2024 being an Olympic year, the non-Olympic weights will have their separate World Championships in Albania. New York had a handful of wrestlers competing at the World Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Vito Arujau was the lone champ, with Michaela Beck, Jesse Porter, and PJ Duke all had top-3 finishes.

Men’s Freestyle

Vito Arujau secured his spot in the World Championships in Albania by winning both bouts of his best-of-3 series against 17-year-old Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg HS in Ohio). Arujau, a 4-time NYSPHSAA DI State Champion, 4x NCAA All-American, and 2x NCAA Champion, faced off against Blaze, a 3x Ohio State Champion and 2-time UWW Age-Group World medalist. In the first match, Arujau secured a 2-1 win with a crucial single-leg takedown late in the match. The second bout saw him build a 3-0 lead through two shot clock violations and a stepout. Blaze earned a pushout with less than 10 seconds left, but Vito held on for the 3-1 win. Blaze, who entered as the #5 seed, had a remarkable run, beating NCAA champs like Seth Gross and Daton Fix to reach the finals.

3x NYSPHSAA state champ PJ Duke had an outstanding tournament, eventually finishing 3rd at 70kg. Duke, a week removed from taking home the bronze medal at the 2024 UWW U20 World Championships in Spain, suffered just one loss at the World Team Trials, dropping his semis match to 3x NCAA All American Alec Pantaleo of Michigan/Cliff Keen WC. Duke beat numerous NCAA qualifiers and All Americans to take home the bronze, including Will Lewan (Michigan), Yahya Thomas (Northwestern), Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), and Vince Bouzakis (Ohio State). 

Men’s Greco

Jesse Porter was unable to make his second career world taem after dropping two matches 5-1 and 3-1 in a best-of-three series at 82kg Greco-Roman against 44-year-old Kikinou, a two-time Olympian and 2009 World Bronze medalist. The 26-year-old New York Grappler was tied 1-1 in the second period of each bout. In the first match, Kikinou picked up a 4-point head-pinch from a scramble on Porter’s offense. In the second match, Kikinou used a defensive leg foul to earn a caution and a 2-point penalty. To reach the best-of-three finals, Porter knocked off Jordan Lara and Riley Briggs by scores of 10-1 and 11-0. 

Women’s Freestyle

Michaela Beck was defeated in both best-of-three matches with 11-0 tech falls by WCAP's Jacarra Winchester. In Match #1, Beck was wrestling tough until Winchester picked up a takedown and three gut-wrenches, leading 9-0 with 19 seconds left. Beck then gave up a reattack to close out the 11-0 tech. In the second match, Winchester turned a 3-0 lead into a 4:25 tech fall with another reattack and multiple turns on top. This will be Winchester’s fifth world team. Beck had an impressive run leading up to the finals, winning decisively against Yele Aycock and Zoe Nowicki. She dominated Aycock with a 10-0 tech fall and outpaced Nowicki 11-0 in the semifinals.

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