Ohio's Rylen Wax Makes Wrestling History With U17 World Gold, Sets Sights On High School Career

Rylen Wax will enter his freshman season at Dublin Coffman High School with one of the most impressive wrestling resumes in the country. Just days before beginning his high school career, the Ohio standout captured a U17 Greco-Roman World Championship and came within one victory of completing one of wrestling's rarest feats—a freestyle and Greco-Roman world title double.

Wax locked down a Greco Roman Gold when the event kicked off on July 27. Later, in the Boys’ Freestyle competition, on August 2, Wax once again reached the finals before settling for the Silver Medal.

If Wax was able to double down, he would have been just the fourth U17 grappler in history to win both a Freestyle and Greco Roman title in the same year.

“I really tried not to think anything about it,” Wax said. “I was just super excited I was in another final.”

California’s Arseni Kikiniou was a double team member in 2025 and was back for more in 2026. A year ago, Kikiniou was second in Freestyle and third in Greco Roman. This year’s trip resulted in no medals. The world stage is not always kind.

Building Confidence

Wax pulled off the world-title double at the PanAmerican Championships in the spring. So, there was experience doing it and getting it done at the international level.

“Winning PanAms had my confidence high," said Wax. "Getting more international competition makes you more comfortable.”

Wax’s hitlist at the PanAmerican affair included wins in both styles over Pennsylvania’s Nelson Villafane, who repped Puerto Rico there and again at the U17 World Championships, where he would end up being Wax’s Freestyle Final Foe.

Wax took care of Peru’s Jimeno Menizabal to win the 45-kilogram freestyle final and won by technical fall, 10-0, over Villafane in the half-final. The Greco competition was run in a round robin fashion with Wax defeating Villafane 7-5. Villafane was third in Freestyle and second in Greco.

Greco Gold

Wax was up against it in his Greco Roman Finals at 45 kilograms with Azerbaijan’s Ali Javaldi. Wax found himself trailing by five points during second period action but stayed composed, and not only fought his way back into, but did so in such a commanding manner as to earn a 13-5 technical fall.

“My Greco final was something I won’t ever forget,” Wax said. “I’ve done a lot of studying on that Azerbaijan kid. I knew that the gut was coming. When we got put back on our feet I grabbed him. I knew I had the match won.

“Even though he had that big lead. I felt his body just get a little weaker than it was. I told my coaches before the tournament I was going to get the bar. That’s exactly what I did which led to the trap arm gut wrench which won me the match.”

Difficult challenges came one after another in the Greco brackets with Wax only having an easy time in his quarterfinal against Russia’s Argan Aliev, who he handed an 11-2 tech to. Wax endured his closest showdown in the half-final with Afruzbek Ibragimov (Uzbekistan) in a bout that ended with a 2-1 tally. Armenia’s Vazgen Vardanyan also pushed Wax before falling, 4-1.

“The run to the Greco finals was tough,” reflected Wax. “My first match was against an Armenian kid. He had done very good at Euros. The next match was against a Russian; I controlled the match very well put 11 points on the board with a late tech fall.

“My semis was against Uzbekistan. This was my toughest match. He kept getting to a underhook which I had a hard time fighting. All my matches I had came down to Par terre. Who had better Par terre offense and defense.”

One Win Short of the Double

At least for the 2026-27 high school campaign, Wax and Villafane, who will be wrestling for West Scranton, will likely meet again at the Ironman Tournament in December. The U17 Freestyle Final gave them another chapter in their rivalry.

Wax entered the world championships after sweeping Villafane at the Pan American Championships. Villafane would end up winning the bigger prize, though, with his 7-1 decision in the 45-kilogram final.

“I wrestled this kid many times,” Wax added. “I knew this match would be different than PanAms. I have to give him my congrats, he had a really good match.”

How improbable was Villafane’s win?

The result was surprising considering Wax had previously defeated Villafane. Wax also owns a couple victories over Iowa’s Cyrus Millage. The Iowan beat Villafane to win the 16U Freestyle National Championship at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Championships in Fargo a few weeks ago.

Wax was on a roll prior to seeing the Puerto Rican in the gold medal bout as he used a tech, a shutout, and an 8-6 decision of Kazakhstan’s Aryn Zhanat to make his move through the bracket.

A half-final shutout was served to Iran’s Mahdi Daerrcheli, 9-0. The opening bout saw Wax ring up a 14-3 tech over Hanumant Jadhav (India).

“It was really exciting,” Wax said of the matches leading to the final. “Being that close to being a double champ was exciting. I had a fun way to the finals wrestling the Indian, Kazakhstan and Iranian.”

A Birthday to Remember

For Wax, this trip will always be remembered for more than just his excellence on the mat. Memories will also be tied to a milestone birthday, which was celebrated in Baku.

“I had my 16th birthday while I was over there,” Wax revealed. “It was something I’ll never forget. The atmosphere there was amazing, everyone was really nice. It was a really great trip.”

Welcome Home Champ

Upon his return to Ohio soil, Wax’s soon to be high school coach, Chance Van Gundy, organized a team celebration for their conquering hero. This type of reception has Wax excited for his high school future.

“It makes me so excited to be back,” offered Wax. “I can’t wait to be officially on the team and do that for my teammates in the future. I’ve been to their dual meets and spent tons of time with the team. (I) can’t wait to be officially on the roster.”

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