McDanel earns a bye into the World Team Trials final in June; Kody Routledge and Ethan DeLeon both placed and earned spots in the Trials challenge tournament

For the second year in a row, Camden McDanel is a U20 US Open Champion at 97 kg.

An incoming freshman for the Huskers, McDanel has spent the last year at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in the Early Accelerator Program while taking a grayshirt, delaying his college eligibility a year.

I’d say the year spent in Colorado was a good one. McDanel won a senior-level tournament overseas, fell one win short of making the Olympic Trials, and won a U20 World bronze medal. Now, he’s one step closer to getting back to the U20 Worlds in search of gold.

Besides McDanel, Nebraska saw 2025 commit Kody Routledge make it all the way to the final, while redshirt freshman Ethan DeLeon landed on the podium, earning a spot in the U20 World Team Trials challenge tournament — the winner of that tournament will then face the winner of this weekend’s tournament in a best-of-three final for the World Team spot.

U20 Division

Camden McDanel

4-0, 1st place

97 kg

The returning World medalist, McDanel was dominant in winning his second-straight U20 US Open stop sign, outscoring his opponents 39-2.

In the smallest bracket of the tournament, McDanel only wrestled one match on Friday. After a bye in the Round of 32, McDanel made quick work of his opponent in the next round, winning quickly via 12-0 technical superiority.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal round, McDanel took on Max Ramberg and it was much of the same as he won via 11-0 tech. In the semis, McDanel beat SDSU’s Thomas Dineen via 11-1 tech.

In the finals, McDanel took on Cole Mirasola, a product of Askren Wrestling Academy (coached by Ben and Max Askren) who’s going to Penn State. The third-ranked heavyweight in the country in high school, Mirasola and McDanel were on a collision course for a matchup in the finals.

In that match, McDanel was dominant, pushing the future Nittany Lion around for a controlled 5-1 decision win.

With the win, McDanel has a bye to the U20 World Team Trials best-of-three final in early June where he’ll face the winner of the challenge tournament.

Kody Routledge

5-1, 2nd place

70 kg

A former Fargo champion, Routledge turned some heads this weekend in getting to the US Open final. A junior in high school in Oklahoma, Routledge is a blue-chip recruit in Nebraska’s 2025 class.

Routhledge won his first three matches on Friday, putting him in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. He won his first two matches via tech (10-0 and 12-2) before beating Isaias Jimenez out of Valiant Prep, one of the top high school wrestling programs in the country, 10-5 in the Round of 16.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal round, Routledge took on Hofstra’s Noah Tapia, winning the match 7-2. In the semis, Routledge faced Iowa commit Kael Voinovich and put it on him in an 11-0 tech in under 90 seconds, sending Routledge to the final.

In the final, Routledge took on PJ Duke, the #1-ranked 157-pounder in the country in high school who is going to Penn State. Routledge is ranked #7 at 157. Routledge made some nice attempts but was unable to get past the strength of Duke in a 10-0 loss via tech.

With the runner-up finish, Routledge will likely be the 1-seed at the Trials challenge tournament in June.

Ethan DeLeon

5-3, 6th place

79 kg

Sort of an unknown to Husker fans, DeLeon was a two-time Iowa state finalist. He made his name known on Friday when he rattled off four wins in a row to make it to the quarterfinal round. He won his first match via 10-0 tech before coming back in the second round for a 5-4 decision win. DeLeon then won a 15-5 tech before an 8-7 victory in the Round of 16.

In Saturday’s quarterfinal, DeLeon took on Nolan O’Boyle of North Carolina. Pulling off a comeback, DeLeon got the 10-6 win. In the semis, DeLeon took on Noah Mulvaney, an NCAA qualifier as a freshman at Bucknell. DeLeon lost to Mulvaney via 11-0 tech.

DeLeon then went on to fall in the consolation semis 11-0 and the 5th-place match 11-0.

Despite the semifinal slide, DeLeon firmly placed his name in the conversation at 174 pounds for this coming season with his 6th-place finish in Vegas.

Christopher Minto

3-2, Did not place

79 kg

This year’s Redshirt of the Year, Minto wrestled like it on Friday as he won three in a row to get into Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Minto won a 7-3 decision to start the tournament before winning via 12-0 tech in his second match.

In his Round of 16 match, Minto put together one of the most impressive comebacks I’ve seen when he took on Jordan Chapman out of New Jersey. Down 11-6 midway through the final period, Minto scored 7 unanswered points. After a pair of takedowns late, Minto found himself down 11-10 with two seconds remaining. Minto shot a low double off the whistle and was able to get the takedown before time expired. The opposing coaches challenged the call and lost, giving Minto his final point for the 13-11 win, advancing him to Saturday’s quarter.

In that quarter, Minto faced Mulvaney, similarly falling via 11-0 tech. Minto then lost a 7-5 decision to Myles Takats in the bloodround, falling one win short of placing on the podium.

Alan Koehler

5-2, Did not place

57 kg

On the first day of competition, Koehler won his first match 10-0 via tech before dropping his second match 12-4 to South Dakota State’s Daniel Guanajuato. Koehler went on to record three straight wins via tech in the consolations to close out the day — 11-0, 10-0 and 10-0. His final win of the day came against SDSU’s Brady Roark who beat Kael Lauridsen earlier in the tournament.

On Saturday, Koehler came back to win 7-5 against Gage Walker, putting him in the bloodround where he took on Garret Rinken, falling via 9-2 decision and just missing the podium.

Despite not qualifying for the U20 Trials, Koehler was impressive, especially in winning four matches in a row on the back side of the bracket.

Dominic Thebeau

4-2, Did not place

79kg

On Friday, Thebeau won his first match 6-0 before recording wins via tech in his next two matches — 10-0 and 14-3. Thebeau then fell to Ohio State freshman starter Ryder Rogotzke 10-0 in the Round of 16.

Thebeau then got a 12-2 win in his first consolation match Friday night before taking on Kasey Ross out of Iowa on Saturday morning. Against Ross, Thebeau dropped the match via 10-0 tech.

It was a solid showing for Thebeau, especially the way he won his first three matches and got into the Round of 16. He’ll be a part of the competition at 174 pounds this year.

Cade Ziola

2-2, Did not place

86 kg

A junior at Omaha Skutt who’s committed to Nebraska’s 2025 recruiting class, Ziola started his tournament with a bang. In his first match against Ben Peterson, Ziola trailed 9-0 just 50 seconds in but battled back, scoring 11 unanswered points on the way to the 19-14 win. Ziola then won his next match via 11-0 tech.

In the Round of 16, Ziola fell to U17 World medalist Max McEnelly of Minnesota 11-0. A four-time state champ in Minnesota with a high school record of 181-1, McEnelly went 15-0 as a redshirt this year for the Gophers — he was the #8 overall recruit in the class of 2023.

In his next match, Ziola fell to Kole Mulhauser via 11-0 tech, ending his tournament.

Kael Lauridsen

2-2, Did not place

57 kg

A four-time Nebraska state champ that’s been training at the Olympic Training Center, Lauridsen started his tournament with a 10-0 tech for the win. In his second match, he held a 9-0 lead against Brady Roark before the Jackrabbit stormed back for the 10-9 win, dropping Lauridsen to the consolations.

Lauridsen scored a 10-0 win via tech in his first consolation match but fell in his next match via 13-2 tech to Penn’s Max Gallagher, ending his tournament.

Hayden Mills

2-2, Did not place

57 kg

A 133-pounder for Nebraska, Mills dropped down to 57 kg (125 pounds) this weekend and did pretty well. Maybe this is a sign that he’ll drop to 125 pounds in college.

After losing a razor-thin 8-7 decision in his first match, Mills won his first consolation match 11-8 before scoring a 10-0 tech in the next round. Mills then fell to teammate Koehler via 11-0 tech, ending his tournament.

Cooper French

1-2, Did not place

79 kg

A three-time state champion out of Arizona, French dropped his first match in a high-scoring, back-and-forth 17-12 decision. French then won his first consolation match via 10-0 tech before getting pinned in his third match.

Jacob Licking

0-2, Did not place

74 kg

Coming off his redshirt season, Licking went 0-2 at his first U20 US Open. The Norfolk native dropped his first match 12-2 and lost his consolation match 13-1.