Spencer Lee, Luke Lilledahl to square off at 57 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X

Final X will mark the first appearance in a Beat the Streets Annual Benefit event for both wrestlers.

The men’s freestyle 57 kg series between Paris Olympics silver medalist Spencer Lee and reigning U20 World champion Luke Lilledahl at 2025 Final X will feature an exciting clash of generations with an intriguing style matchup between two freestyle-savvy wrestlers.

The pair have logged one match on the Senior level — an 11-0 technical fall win for Lee in the semifinals of the 2023 Bill Farrell Memorial International. After a good back-and-forth from neutral, Lee was able to convert a takedown and work right into a gutwrench sequence for four turns to end the match in just 1:26. At the time, Lee was gearing up for his 2024 Olympic run, while Lilledahl was a high school senior at Wyoming Seminary.

Lee is a proven performer on the international stage and is particularly lethal with transition offense and from the top position. In addition to his Olympic achievements in Paris, France, last summer, the 26-year-old Lee owns three age-group World titles, four-age-group U.S. World Team berths, a 2024 Senior Pan American title, and 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series gold medal. He automatically qualified for Final X by way of earning a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Now 19-years-old, Lilledahl has amassed a set of international credentials to rival Lee in the UWW age-group divisions, in large part due to his snappy leg attacks and ability to control mat positioning from neutral. He is a four-time age-group World medalist, with a gold and silver collected in both the U17 and U20 divisions. Last month, Lilledahl brought back a gold medal from the U23 Pan American Championships. He earned the second Final X qualifying spot at this weight class by winning the 2025 U.S. Open held in Las Vegas.

On the college front, Lee was a three-time NCAA champion, four-time NCAA All-American, three-time Big Ten champion and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner for the University of Iowa from 2017 to 2023. He was named the 2020 AAU James E. Sullivan Award winner, which is presented annually to the outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S.

Lilledahl just completed his true freshman campaign for Penn State University where he was a Big Ten champion and third-place finisher at the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds.

What's at stake?

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two of three international disciplines - men's and women's freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Neither Lee nor Lilledahl have competed at a past Final X event, nor represented Team USA at a Senior World Championships.

Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Final X will mark the first appearance in a Beat the Streets Annual Benefit event for both Lee and Lilledahl.

Get Tickets

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/2025FinalX. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org.

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

Follow Final X

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.

Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling's new best-in-class event management software.

Final X will be held in two sessions Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 2 p.m., will feature round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m., will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.

For more information about Final X, visit themat.com.

2025 Final X Qualifiers (As of May 6, 2025)

Men's Freestyle 

57 kg - Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Luke Lilledahl (Saint Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/TMWC)

61 kg - Vito Arujau (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/TMWC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/TMWC)

65 kg – Joseph McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

70 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

79 kg – Evan Wick (San Gabriel, Calif./SoCal RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Tiger WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md.) vs. Amanda Martinez (Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (U.S. Army WCAP) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Valiant WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Sunkist Kids WC) vs. Aine Drury (New York AC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials champion

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Senior World Team Trials