91°µÍø

Rylen Wax (Chillicothe, Ohio/Beast Mode Wrestling) has been named 91°µÍø Athlete of the Week after a standout performance at the 2026 U17 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. Competing in two Olympic styles, Wax earned a gold medal in Greco-Roman and a silver in men’s freestyle.

Wax secured his 45 kg Greco-Roman World title with four victories, including two decisions and two technical falls. After clinching a 4-1 win over Armenia’s Vazgen Vardanyan in the round of 16, Wax used an 11-2 quarterfinal win over Russia’s Arsan Aliev to reach the semifinals. He then outlasted Uzbekistan’s Afruzbek Ibragimov, 2-1, to reach the gold-medal match against Azerbaijan’s Ali Javadli, the reigning U17 European champion.

Down by five in the final period of the Greco-Roman finals, Wax capitalized on a passivity point and converted six turns in the second period, closing the match 13-5 to claim the gold medal over Javadli in front of his home crowd.

In the 45 kg men’s freestyle bracket, Wax started strong, scoring a 14-3 technical fall over India’s Hanumant Jadhav in the round of 16. He followed with an 8-6 win over Kazakhstan’s Aryn Zhanat in the quarterfinals. Wax then blanked Iran’s Mahdi Daerrcheli 9-0 in the semifinals but fell to Puerto Rico’s Nelson Villafane III, 7-1, in the gold-medal match.

Wax became the 23rd Cadet/U17 World champion for the U.S. and the fourth gold medalist in the past five years for Team USA’s Greco-Roman program.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor, email the athlete’s name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to communications@usawrestling.org.