Penn State freshman Jayden James left Bratislava with silver around his neck and just one second standing between him and a U20 world title.
James fell 13-12 to Japan’s Ariya Yoshida on Sunday in the 74-kilogram (163.1 pound) final at the U20 World Championships, a match that turned into one of the most dramatic finishes of the tournament.
The American came out fast and put himself in control early. He opened with a single-leg takedown, then added another score by ducking under an underhook to build a 4-0 lead. From there, the bout turned into a chaos-filled scramble, with both wrestlers finding exposure points before James took a 6-4 lead into the break.
The second period kept swinging back and forth. After a controversial sequence that ended with a failed U.S. challenge, the match was knotted at 7-7.
James answered with another huge exchange, countering Yoshida’s attack with a crotch lift and then picking up two more points when Japan’s challenge to the scoring was unsuccessful. That pushed James ahead 12-9 with 1:35 left.
Yoshida wasn’t done. He scored a takedown with 28 seconds remaining to close the gap to 12-11, then finished another takedown as time expired to steal the 13-12 win.
Even with the loss, James left the event with a U20 World silver medal after a strong run and another major international result before wrestling a collegiate match.
His medal also adds him to a growing Penn State group with U20 World hardware, alongside Luke Lilledahl, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Marcus Blaze, PJ Duke, Masanosuke Ono, William Henckel, Josh Barr, Connor Mirasola and Cole Mirasola.
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