WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sophomore Joey Blaze is set to wrestle in the 2025 Team USA Senior World Team Trials this weekend in Louisville, Ky.
The two-day event inside the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center will feature some of the best wrestlers in the sport. Blaze will be competing in the seven-man 74-kilogram division.
The double-elimination freestyle tournament will be Blaze's first action since his historic run in March's NCAA Championships, where the world watched him take down the consensus No. 1 157-pounder on the road to a national runner-up finish.
All the action can be streamed live with a paid subscription to FloWrestling. SCHEDULE
All times Eastern Friday, May 16
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. — Preliminaries and Quarterfinals
4 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. — Semifinals and Consolation
Saturday, May 17
10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Consolation, Cons. Semis & 3rd Place
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. — Finals
Winners from each of the eight weight classes will earn one of the final remaining spots at Final X, which is the final competition to determine the 2025 Team USA members.
Winners of last month's U.S. Open automatically earned a spot at Final X, which will take place on Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Blaze's performance in the NCAA tournament automatically secured his spot at the World Team Trials, so he did not need to compete at the U.S. Open to qualify for the field.
If he comes out on top this weekend, Blaze will face Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink for the ultimate prize of representing his country on the world stage.
Mesenbrink is the reigning 2025 NCAA champion after dominating a talented 165-pound division in the national tournament. He also won the U.S. Open to clinch his position at Final X.
In Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Blaze became Purdue's youngest wrestler to reach the NCAA Finals since at least 1950 and was the lowest-seeded wrestler in the country to make it to a championship match.
Blaze previously competed in the 2024 U20 Nationals as a true freshman, where he posted an impressive 5-2 record but fell short of qualification for World Team Trials. This year marks his first time competing at the senior level, which is the top class in wrestling.
At 19 years old, the Purdue sophomore is the youngest wrestler in his division by a significant margin. He holds the No. 7 pre-seed as an underdog, a role in which he has proven he can thrive in the biggest moments. PRE-SEEDS: 74 kg
The two-day event inside the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center will feature some of the best wrestlers in the sport. Blaze will be competing in the seven-man 74-kilogram division.
The double-elimination freestyle tournament will be Blaze's first action since his historic run in March's NCAA Championships, where the world watched him take down the consensus No. 1 157-pounder on the road to a national runner-up finish.
All the action can be streamed live with a paid subscription to FloWrestling. SCHEDULE
All times Eastern Friday, May 16
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. — Preliminaries and Quarterfinals
4 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. — Semifinals and Consolation
Saturday, May 17
10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Consolation, Cons. Semis & 3rd Place
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. — Finals
Winners from each of the eight weight classes will earn one of the final remaining spots at Final X, which is the final competition to determine the 2025 Team USA members.
Winners of last month's U.S. Open automatically earned a spot at Final X, which will take place on Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Blaze's performance in the NCAA tournament automatically secured his spot at the World Team Trials, so he did not need to compete at the U.S. Open to qualify for the field.
If he comes out on top this weekend, Blaze will face Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink for the ultimate prize of representing his country on the world stage.
Mesenbrink is the reigning 2025 NCAA champion after dominating a talented 165-pound division in the national tournament. He also won the U.S. Open to clinch his position at Final X.
In Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Blaze became Purdue's youngest wrestler to reach the NCAA Finals since at least 1950 and was the lowest-seeded wrestler in the country to make it to a championship match.
Blaze previously competed in the 2024 U20 Nationals as a true freshman, where he posted an impressive 5-2 record but fell short of qualification for World Team Trials. This year marks his first time competing at the senior level, which is the top class in wrestling.
At 19 years old, the Purdue sophomore is the youngest wrestler in his division by a significant margin. He holds the No. 7 pre-seed as an underdog, a role in which he has proven he can thrive in the biggest moments. PRE-SEEDS: 74 kg
- David Carr (Iowa State alum)
- Quincy Monday (Princeton alum)
- Jarrett Jacques (Missouri alum)
- Michael Caliendo (Iowa junior)
- Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley redshirt senior)
- Peyton Hall (West Virginia alum)
- Joey Blaze (Purdue sophomore)