Nebraska had three wrestlers this weekend at the U20 and U23 World Team Trials, but they were led by Camden McDanel, a former U20 World bronze-medalist.
Sporting a new high-and-tight look, this buzz-cut version of McDanel means business on the mat.
Already a two-time All-American for the Huskers, McDanel just blew through the competition on the way to winning his U23 Freestyle National Championship and securing his spot on Team USA’s 2026 U23 World Team at 97 kg.
Nebraska also saw 2027 commit Mac Crosson
— who is going into his senior season of high school — wrestle both the U20 Trials on Friday and the U23 tournament Saturday and Sunday. Crosson ended up wrestling 12 matches over the three days — including eight on Saturday alone.
Also competing in U23 was Ethan DeLeon, a junior-to-be for the Huskers at 184 pounds.
Camden McDanel
97 kg — U23
A 197-pounder in college, McDanel likes to get bigger during freestyle season and has been at 97 kg (213.8 pounds) since his high school days. He’s a two-time U20 US Open champion and a two-time U20 Pan-American gold medalist in addition to his World bronze.
Now he’s looking to take the U23 scene by storm after ageing out of U20.
McDanel wasted no time, winning five straight matches by either technical superiority or pinfall before receiving a medical forfeit in the second match of the final series.
McDanel first beat Mustafa Hadi — a junior college national qualifier — 10-0 in 28 seconds to start his tournament. He then downed 16-seed Joshua McCutchen 14-3 by tech — McCutchen is a senior at Gardner-Webb.
In the quarterfinal round, McDanel beat Drexel’s Justin Griffith 10-0 in 1:45. He then beat 12-seed Carson Floyd of Iowa State 11-1 by tech, moving McDanel into the best-of-three final series against Garavous Kouekabakilaho.
A three-time NAIA National Champion for Grand View University, Kouekabakilaho won this tournament last year and competed for Team USA overseas at the U23 World Championships, going 1-1.
Looking to retain his spot, Kouekabakilaho shot in on McDanel’s legs early, but McDanel caught the shot and whipped him over to his back for the pinfall win in just 17 seconds. Kouekabakilaho was injured in the exchange and would eventually forfeit the second match.
The last time Nebraska had a U23 World Team member, Brock Hardy brought home a bronze medal in 2023. I think McDanel has huge potential to earn a medal, potentially even a gold one.
The U23 World Championships will take place October 12-18 in Las Vegas.
Mac Crosson
74 kg — U20 and U23
The top commit for Nebraska for its 2027 recruiting class, Mac Crosson showed a ton of potential going up against guys who were four and five years older than him this weekend.
Crosson started his weekend on Friday with the U20 World Team Challenge Tournament at 74 kg. A two-time Iowa state champion, Crosson won his first match in the quarterfinal round against U17 US Open Champion and U17 World Team member Camryn Howard 9-2. It was an impressive win for Crosson because Howard is the #2 overall prospect for the class of 2028, and he dispatched of him rather easily.
Crosson then lost his next two matches on Friday — a 5-2 loss to Oklahoma State’s Kody Routledge before falling to Wisconsin commit Rocco Cassioppi 10-0.
Turning his attention to the U23 bracket Saturday, Crosson got clipped in his first match, dropping a 9-7 decision to Richard Grungo. After giving up an early four-pointer and losing a challenge, Crosson was in an early 5-0 hole and couldn’t dig his way out despite making it interesting against Grungo, a junior-to-be at Lehigh.
Crosson then teched collegiate wrestlers Justin Coiteux (St. John Fisher) and Aidan Rush (Kent St.). Against 2026 NCAA qualifer Garrett McChesney of Edinboro, Crosson won a grueling 6-3 decision.
Crosson then faced fellow high-schooler Antonio Rodrigues, an Arizona State signee who won the Edinboro Open this year — a collegiate tournament — as a high school senior. Crosson was up 8-0 in the second period and held on through a late sprint to win 11-4 and advance.
In this next match, he faced former Husker Jagger Condomitti’s younger brother Dagen Condomitti who is a junior at Rutgers. Crosson beat Dagen Condomitti 11-0 by tech in the first period with a pair of four-point feet to back moves.
Crosson then beat Chattanooga’s Tavian Camper 13-0 before finishing his Saturday run through the back side with a 6-4 decision win over Logan Messer of George Mason. Messer qualified for NCAAs this year and went 25-8 on the season — that is a huge win for Crosson the high school junior.
Crosson then dropped his Sunday morning match 10-3 to Joe Antonio of Army, a tough wrestler who wrestled Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor close in a 5-1 decision loss this past season.
Crosson went 7-2 in the U23 bracket but fell two wins short of the podium. Despite not placing, Crosson showed himself ready to compete against college guys and looks to be a big piece of the future of Nebraska’s lineup.
Ethan DeLeon
86 kg — U23
After previously wrestling at 79 kg and 174 pounds, DeLeon is likely moving up to 184 this season.
Up at 86 kg in freestyle, DeLeon had a solid showing this weekend.
He beat Braxten Westenforf 12-2 via tech in his first match before a really close 9-8 decision loss to Brayden Mirjavadi a DII national qualifier for Grand Valley State.
DeLeon then started his back-side run with an 11-0 tech over Benjamin McWilliams before downing Stanford’s Tye Monteiro 10-0 in 43 seconds. DeLeon then beat Bradley Mayse of Grand Valley State 14-4 by tech.
Just two wins short of the podium, DeLeon fell to 7-seed Sam Gautreau of Lock Haven 17-7 by tech.
DeLeon finished the tournament with a 4-2 record and had some good moments. He’ll compete at 184 for Nebraska this season.
