Three former Huskers got their shot on the Senior World stage this weekend, but none of them climbed onto the medal stand.
James Green, wrestling in his eighth World Championships for Team USA, came the closest in a loaded 74 kg bracket before falling short. Caleb Smith and Mikey Labriola were making their first World Championships appearances while representing Puerto Rico, and both also came up empty in the hunt for medals.
Team USA still left with the team title, edging Russia and Iran in the team race.
Green opened with a clean 5-0 decision over Kyrgystan’s Orozobek Toktomambetov, a former U23 World silver medalist. The former Husker wrestler and coach broke through with a second-period takedown to lock up the match.
The next round brought a tougher assignment in Russia’s Inalbek Sheriev, who had beaten four-time World and Olympic Champion Zaurbek Sidakov in Russia’s wrestle-off. Sheriev handled Green 10-0 by technical superiority, but with Sheriev advancing to the finals and eventually taking gold, Green was pulled back into repechage.
There, Green responded with a dominant 15-2 tech over Narek Harutyunyan of Armenia. He piled up five takedowns, including a four-point feet-to-back, and added a turn on a leg lace to finish it early.
Just 20 minutes later, Green was back on the mat with a bronze-medal match berth at stake against Iran’s Amir Yazdani, a three-time World medalist. Green struck first, hitting a double leg and converting to a single for a first-period takedown.
Yazdani took over in the second, scoring three takedowns and a gut-wrench turn to win 8-2 and end Green’s run. Yazdani later earned bronze.
Green’s two losses came only to eventual medalists, and the 33-year-old will be back in the mix next year for Team USA’s 74 kg spot. The source also noted his remarkable longevity in the sport, including his return from retirement after a partial hip replacement.
Smith moved up to 61 kg for Puerto Rico with Darian Cruz holding the 57 kg spot this year, and the change paid off immediately in his opener. The former two-time All-American for Nebraska beat Australia’s Georgii Okorokov 12-2 by technical fall after surrendering the first takedown and then ripping off 12 straight points.
His run ended in the second round against Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev. Abdullaev scored once in the first period and twice more in the second to take a 6-2 decision. When Abdullaev then dropped a tight 3-2 match to eventual silver medalist Zavur Uguev of Russia, Smith’s path back through repechage disappeared.
Smith, who won Pan-American silver this year, is expected to return to 57 kg as he tries to claim that spot for Puerto Rico next year. He’s already registered at 57 kg for the 2026 Bill Farrell Memorial International in New York City in five days.
Labriola, now an assistant coach at Rutgers, represented Puerto Rico at 79 kg. The former four-time All-American for Nebraska drew Columbia’s Cesar Alvan, who was wrestling for Brazil, in the opening round.
Alvan built a 5-0 lead by the break after tripping Labriola to his back for four points in the first period. Labriola battled back after step-outs were traded, scoring a takedown and an exposure from the crotch lock to cut it to 6-5. Then came the wild finish: Labriola rolled backward across the mat from a backpack position, and the officials awarded him four points and Alvan two, flipping the score to 9-8 with 26 seconds left.
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