Virginia Tech wrestling made program history on June 3 by placing three athletes on the U20 World Team that will represent both the university and the United States at the 2026 United World Wrestling World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, scheduled for August 16-23. Aaron Seidel, Ryan Burton, and Bo Bassett secured their spots with victories at the U20 US World Team Trials.
Seidel, a freshman from Fredricksburg, Pennsylvania, entered as the top seed and won all five of his matches while outscoring opponents 52-1 to claim the 61-kilogram title. “All-American freshman Aaron Seidel continues his phenomenal freshman year with more accolades: 2026 U20 World Team Trials champion and US U20 World Team member,” Virginia Tech Wrestling said. This marks Seidel’s first appearance on a world team.
Ryan Burton also earned his place after winning the 79-kilogram title. Burton received a bye into the best-of-three finals due to his US Open victory in April and defeated Joseph Jeter in two consecutive matches—10-7 and then 8-1—to secure his spot. “Freshman Ryan Burton continues his surging redshirt season to claim the 79-kilogram World Team Trials title and the 2026 U20 World Team spot,” Virginia Tech Wrestling said.
Bo Bassett completed what was described as a ‘Triple Crown,’ making this his third world team of the year. Like Burton, Bassett won a US Open title earlier in April which allowed him direct entry into finals competition at Geneva. He defeated Clinton Shepard of Penn State in two straight matches—a fall followed by a technical fall—to make his second world team this summer. Bassett is scheduled to compete again on June 19 for an opportunity to join another world team at Final X in Newark, New Jersey.
Other Hokies also found success during trials weekend: Jimmy Mullen finished runner-up at 125 kilograms after advancing through several rounds with four pins; Noah Nininger placed third at 74 kilograms; Drew Gorman took fourth place at 65 kilograms.
