Which wrestlers from the state of Iowa will be headed to the 2026 Senior World Championships?
That’s what will be decided at Final X on June 19 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. A handful of current and former Hawkeye men and women, as well as an Iowa State icon, are seeking to make the Senior freestyle World teams for the United States by winning their best-of-three series in their respective weight classes.
Let’s get to know some of those matchups, what to watch for and get caught up on a handful of news items on Final X as the event inches closer.
Spencer Lee, Stephen Buchanan lead Hawkeye men contingent
A pair of Hawkeye men’s national champions — Lee and Buchanan — lead the Hawkeye Wrestling Club’s efforts at Final X.
Lee is seeking to represent the United States at 57 kilograms for the second consecutive Senior World Championships and for the third year in a row including the 2024 Paris Olympics. To do so, he’ll need to get past 2026 NCAA champion and three-time age-group World champion Luke Lilledahl of Penn State.
The two have become quite familiar with each other as of late. After Lee defeated Lilledahl in their first matchup in the 2023 Bill Farrell Memorial International by an 11-0 technical fall, they met again at 2025 Final X. There, Lilledahl closed the gap, but Lee swept the best-of-three series by 7-2 and 6-0 decisions. However, at this year’s U.S. Open, Lilledahl secured a 5-4 win to qualify for Final X. Lee had to then win the 2026 Senior World Team Trials to reach Final X to set up a highly anticipated rematch.
“He’s a stud,” Lee told USA Wrestling after winning the Senior World Team Trials. “We know what to expect. He’s been winning a lot, he wins close matches because he’s a winner. Got to be ready to go.”
Lilledahl is nicknamed “Lightning Luke” because of his speed and athleticism. If Lee can rein in Lilledahl for a takedown and get to his par terre offense, he’ll have a good chance to make the Senior World team once again.
Buchanan went from little freestyle experience to making waves quickly in the United States. At 97 kilograms, he won the U.S. Open at 97 kilograms earlier this spring to qualify for Final X. His reward? A matchup with one of the most credentialed U.S. wrestlers in Kyle Snyder.
Buchanan has shown a knack for taking down some all-time greats this year. At the Zagreb Open in Croatia in February, he took down Iran’s Hassan Yazdani, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World champion. Buchanan rolled in a 13-3 technical fall.
Buchanan has a tall task to upend the 2016 Olympic champion and four-time Senior World champion in Snyder, but if his rapid trajectory continues he can prove he’s already the best the United States has to offer at 97 kilograms.
“I was a national champ, the best of the best that year (2025) in folkstyle wrestling,” Buchanan said in May. “But in freestyle wrestling, I was a nobody. So it was going back to square one and just learning all the steps back up to where I am now. I’m still learning, growing, but it’s fun every single day because I’m learning new things and new ways (of) how to finish, how to get in, how to turn, how to defend. I’m a student, I love being a student.”
Former Cyclone David Carr looks to head back to Senior World Championships
At 74 kilograms, Carr will be seeking to get back to the Senior world Championships for the second consecutive year.
Carr took fifth in 2025 at Senior Worlds, but had quite an impressive performance nonetheless. His only two losses came to Chermen Valiev of Albania (2024 Olympic bronze medalist) in a 7-5 decision and to United World Wrestling’s Zaurbek Sidakov (2021 Olympic gold medalist, three-time World champion) in a loss by criteria (2-2). Aside from that, he was 3-0 on his way to fifth place and outscored his opponents 29-5 with great offense from neutral.
To get back to that stage, he’ll face James Green, a two-time Senior World medalist and an assistant coach with Virginia Tech. If those big blast doubles continue and Carr’s development as one of the United States’ young, budding stars continues, he’ll have a great chance to represent his country once again as he seeks his first Senior World medal.
Everest Leydecker and Macey Kilty represent Iowa women
It will be a bit of the future and the past for Iowa women’s wrestling fans at Final X.
Leydecker is the future, as the incoming freshman is already among one of the best in the United States at 55 kilograms. Kilty is a blast from the past as a graduate from Iowa, but is still quite young and seeking even more international glory despite already having a long list of accomplishments.
Leydecker is already a superstar in women’s wrestling. She has a chance to make the Senior World team if she can defeat Areana Villaescusa at 55 kilograms, but is already a U20 World champion in 2025 and will represent the United States again in 2026 in the age group. She was a runner-up at 2025 Final X, losing to Cristelle Rodriguez, but is back again in 2026.
Villaescusa was a Senior World team member in 2024 at the non-Olympic weights, taking fifth place. If Leydecker’s stellar summer continues, she could find herself on one of the world’s biggest stages before even wearing a Hawkeye singlet.
Kilty has a great matchup with Adaugo Nwachukwu at 62 kilograms. Nwachukwu is formerly of William Penn University in Oskaloosa. Nwachukwu won the most recent matchup at the U.S. Open by a 10-8 decision, but Kilty won at the 2024 Olympic Trials, also by a decision at 6-3. This should be a close matchup on paper that may go all three matches to decide the United States’ representative.
Kennedy Blades, Kylie Welker and Real Woods delay Final X matchups
If you’ve been following the qualification for Final X, you may be wondering where a trio of Hawkeyes are.
Blades, Welker and Woods all requested and were awarded medical delays for their respective matchups at Final X. New dates have yet to be scheduled. Since all three were automatic qualifiers for Final X by winning bronze medals at the 2025 Senior World Championships, they were able to request the delay.
While the dates and location are yet to be determined, Blades is set to face off with former Hawkeye Bella Mir at 68 kilograms, Welker is slated to take on Dymond Guilford at 76 kilograms, while Woods will battle former Iowa commit and young phenom Bo Bassett at 65 kilograms.
How to watch Final X, schedule
All 20 Final X matchups
Matchups featuring Iowans in bold
Women’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: What to watch for at Final X as Iowans battle for World team spots
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Hawk Central
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eli McKown, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
