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Former NC State star Trent Hidlay finishes the story, claims Gold at World Championships

Reinhardtby: Brian Reinhardt10 hours agoBCReinhardt
Trent Hidlay
Trent Hidlay. Photo credit: Tony Rotundo

Former NC State star wrestler Trent Hidlay proved, once again, he is elite.

He is a maniac on the mat. His motor does not stop. He is a showstopper. He is must-see wrestling. He finished his story. 

Now, Hidlay is a world champion.

In one of the most dramatic comebacks you will ever see, Hidlay is bringing home gold from the 2025 World Championships.

Down by eight before the break (matches end at a 10-point margin), Hidlay stormed back in Monday’s final and claimed gold with a 13-10 win over Gadzhimagomedov of Russia (competing under UWW).

Hidlay becomes the first NC State wrestler to ever win gold at the Olympics/Senior World Championships, and just the second ACC wrestler in history to do so — Sammie Henson won gold at the 1998 World Championships after wrestling at Clemson.

The Gold Medal matchup

The bout didn’t start how he thought. But it ended how he knew it would.

Hidlay got caught in a reattack, as Gadzhimagomedov countered with a chest wrap and transitioned to a gut wrench and Hidlay was down 6-0 just 30 seconds into the match. Hidlay scored his first takedown, but again got caught in reattack and Gadzhimagomedov countered with another 4-point move to make it 10-2 about two minutes in.

The gap closed a bit before the break, and Hidlay got an exposure and UWW lost a challenge to make it 10-5 Gadzhimagomedov at the halfway point.

The second three minutes was all Hidlay, although it came down to the final few seconds.

After no score for the next 1:45, Hidlay scored back-to-back takedowns within 30 seconds, and it was 10-9 with just 53 seconds left.

Hidlay’s biggest move of the match proved to be the bout winner, as he scored his own 4-point move with 30 seconds left and clinched the gold medal in his first appearance at the Senior World Championships.

Gadzhimagomedov took out the tournament’s second seed (former Cornell wrestler Ben Honis in his second bout, 5-3) and later in the semifinals downed the #2 ranked wrestler in the world and one of the favorites to win gold, Firouzpourbandpei of Iran 11-6 to reach the final.

Hiday has now earned a World medal at three different age levels, each time improving his result from the previous age group. It was bronze at the 2019 Junior World Championships, followed by silver at the 2022 U23 World Championships, before earning gold at the 2025 Senior World Championships.

Hidlay’s path to the title

On Sunday, Hidlay won all four of his matches to reach Monday’s final. He scored three tech falls and outscored those foes 42-6.

Hidlay opened his run with back-to-back tech falls, 11-1 over Hajdari of Macedonia and then 10-0 over Scherrer of Switzerland.

His quarterfinal match was a rematch from a July bout he had in Budapest, with the same result. Hidlay won 7-2 over Georgia’s Maisuradze, the reigning World silver medalist, and at the World Championships Maisuradze came is as the #1 seed.

After giving up a shot clock violation point, Hidlay closed with the final six points to take the win, 6-1. He scored the lone takedown of the bout 40 seconds after the break and also added three step out points enroute to victory.

Hidlay got his third tech fall of the tournament in the semifinals, scoring a 15-4 win over #4 seed Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan (though Russian-born), a two-time world medalist.

After allowing the first takedown off a reattack, Hidlay scored five straight to take a 5-1 lead. A Nurmagomedov takedown made it 5-4 right after the break, but Hidlay finished strong with four straight takedowns, including one of the four-point variety as he went takedown to back. Hidlay’s final takedown was with just one second left to secure the tech.

While he was seeded eight at this tournament, the way UWW seeds is not indicative of the top wrestlers in a bracket.

For example, the top three ranked wrestlers in the world, including Hidlay, were the six, seventh and eighth seeds at 92 kg the World Championships. UWW seeds based on points earned at various ranking tournaments at the weight class through the year.

Another example is Hidlay and his quarterfinal opponent just faced off in July in the final of the Budapest Ranking event. Hidlay won that match-up 7-2. But at World’s Hidlay was the eighth seed while that same opponent was the top seed at Worlds.

What’s next for Hidlay?

The gold medal winning story was finished, but that was just an early chapter in Hidlay’s freestyle career.

So, what is up next for Hidlay?

For the next two years, it is presumed Hidlay will continue competing at 92 kg vying to represent the U.S. once again at both the 2026 and 2027 World Championships. As a returning World medalist, Hidlay will be able to skip steps in the qualification process, but will be challenged by a trio of young collegiate athletes at his weight, including: Josh Barr (Penn State), Justin Rademacher (Oregon State), and Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) just to name a few of the top young U.S. prospects.

In the long run, the focus will be on the 2028 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles. With 92 kg not being an Olympic weight, Hidlay will have to come down to 86 kg to compete for the spot on the U.S. team. His biggest competition will be former Arizona State national champion Zahid Valencia, who himself blitzed through the field at the 2025 World Championships in capturing gold and outscoring his foes 49-0 at 86 kg.