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Zain Retherford and three other Penn State wrestling stars have qualified for the Final X event, aiming to make Team USA. The event will take place on June 19 in New Jersey, featuring a best-of-three finals format.
Four current or past Penn State wrestling stars are now in the running to make Team USA next month.
Former Penn State three-time national champion Zain Retherford won his World Team Trials final on Friday in Kentucky to advance to the Final X event next month − the best-of-three qualifying event to make this year's senior world team.
There, he'll join PSU stars Luke Lilledahl, Marcus Blaze and Levi Haines in attempting to win their weight classes in a best-of-three finals format, June 19, in New Jersey's Prudential Center. Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members Kyle Snyder and Kyle Dake also will be wrestling for titles.
Meanwhile, incoming Penn State freshman Jayden James came up excruciatingly short Friday of advancing to Final X. The 17-year-old high school star couldn't finish a furious rally, losing 9-7 to former Iowa State NCAA champ David Carr.
Other Penn State wrestlers in World Team Trials action included redshirt sophomores Joe Sealey, who won his third-place match at 74 kilograms, and heavyweight Cole Mirasola, who finished fourth.
Retherford, who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, won his 70 kg finals with a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson. He will face Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett at Final X.
But it was James who nearly pulled off the most memorable World Team Trials performance. The New Jersey native, regarded as one of top recruits ever for coach Cael Sanderson, manhandled his three older competitors in Thursday's opening rounds of the elite freestyle challenge tournament. He beat two-time Iowa NCAA finalist Mikey Caliendo and then the top-seeded Sealey by a combined 18-3 score. He pinned his semifinal opponent, former Princeton All-American Quincy Monday, with less than a minute remaining.
James had won back-to-back state championships at New Jersey's Delbarton High, going 79-0 the past two years at 150 and 165 pounds. He is the nation's No. 3-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, , and won Under-17 titles at the 2025 U.S. Open and World Championships.
The Penn State wrestlers competing in Final X include Zain Retherford, Luke Lilledahl, Marcus Blaze, and Levi Haines.
Final X is a qualifying event for wrestlers to secure a spot on Team USA for the senior world team.
The Final X event will take place on June 19 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.
Jayden James narrowly lost 9-7 to David Carr and did not advance to Final X.

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Mar 7, 2026; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State's Marcus Blaze looks on while wrestling Rutger's Dylan Shawver (not pictured) in a 133-pound bout during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
Penn State-affiliated wrestlers will be involved in six of the 10 Final X matchups, headlined by last year's NCAA freshmen sensations, Blaze and Jax Forrest at 61 kg.
Forrest, from Altoona, joined Oklahoma State halfway through his senior season of high school and rolled to an undefeated national title in March. Blaze, from Ohio, finished fourth at NCAA's after taking an undefeated record into the Big Ten Tournament.
Another matchup features Haines, the two-time NCAA champ from Biglerville High, against Chance Marsteller, the undefeated star from Kennard-Dale in a battle of two of the YAIAA's greatest wrestlers.
Other Final X matchups include: Lilledahl vs. Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee, 57 kg; Retherford vs. Lovett, 70 kg; Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake (NLWC) vs. Zahid Valencia, 86 kg; and Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder (NLWC) vs. Stephen Buchanan, 97 kg.
A handful of Penn State star wrestlers did not enter the World Team Trials and will not wrestle at Final X. They include Shayne Van Ness, Duke, Tyler Kasak and reigning national champions Mitchell Mesenbrink and Josh Barr.
Kasak, a two-time third-place NCAA finisher, and Barr did suffer injuries at the recent U.S. Open freestyle event in Las Vegas.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State wrestling for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State wrestling stars head to Final X, qualify for Team USA