Penn State wrestler PJ Duke wins gold, Cole Mirasola bronze, at U20 World Championships: Recap
Two Penn State wrestlers have won medals at the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria. And, one Nittany Lion is coming home with gold. Freshman PJ Duke won a back-and-forth 70-kilogram final 7-5 over Alexandr Gaidarli of Moldova, while redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola won 125-kilogram bonze by knocking out Narantulga Darmaabazar of Mongolia by technical fall, 12-2, in a third place bout.
Before that, Nittany Lion freshman William Henckel won his semifinal at 79 kilograms (174.1 pounds) to advance to tomorrow’s finals. Redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola is back in repechage and can finish as high as third after the foe who beat him into the quarterfinals made it to the 92-kilogram finals.
Our updates from throughout the day are below. Day three of the four-day U20 World Wrestling Championships kicks off at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday.
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Cole Mirasola wins bronze
08/18/2025 11:25:29 AMPenn State redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola has won U20 bronze for Team USA. The Nittany Lion beat Narantulga Darmaabazar of Mongolia by technical fall, 12-2, in the first period at 125 kilograms. He is the second member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club to medal at this event. Freshman PJ Duke won gold at 70 kilograms earlier Monday.
Penn State star PJ Duke is a World champ
08/18/2025 10:25:34 AMPenn State freshman PJ Duke is a U20 World champ. He won a fantastic 70-kilogram gold medal match 7-5 over Alexandr Gaidarli of Moldova. The Nittany Lion led 1-0 at the break and 5-1 at one point in the second period before his foe tied the bout at five with 1:18 to go. Duke quickly scored a takedown to go ahead 7-5 and would go on to seal the deal from there to win gold.
PJ Duke leads the U20 70-kilogram final 1-0 after the first period
08/18/2025 10:24:01 AMThe Nittany Lion earned the lone point of the match before the halfway mark after his opponent, Alexandr Gaidarli of Moldova, was penalized for passivity and then not scoring while on the activity clock.
The medal round starts at 11 a.m. ET
08/18/2025 09:59:32 AMThere will be three matches first on Mat A before Cole Mirasola goes for bronze at 125 kilograms and one on Mat B before PJ Duke goes for gold at 70 kilograms.
Connor Mirasola is still alive for a medal
08/18/2025 09:56:45 AMPenn State redshirt freshman Connor Mirasola is back in the mix for a medal. He’ll compete in repechage first for a chance to wrestle for bronze on Tuesday. He has that opportunity because the foe who beat him in the quarterfinals is now in the finals at 92 kilograms.
Penn State freshman William Henckel will go for gold
08/18/2025 09:33:37 AMPenn State freshman William Henckel will wrestle for gold at the U20 World Championships on Tuesday. He won his 79-kilogram semifinal match with India’s Amit 5-4. The Nittany Lion built a 5-2 lead in the first period and then hung on late to advance to the gold medal match.
Henckel wins it 5-4 and will wrestle for gold on Tuesday:
A Team USA wrestler is out of the running for a medal
08/18/2025 09:17:40 AMWhile not Penn State related, while we wait for Henckel to take the mat, we’ll note that Team USA’s Anthony Knox is out of the running for a medal after the opponent who beat him in the quarterfinals fell in the semifinals.
After the semifinal round, two Penn State wrestlers go for medals
08/18/2025 08:37:54 AMThe semifinal round for the 57kg, 65kg, 79kg and 92kg brackets will last an hour from 10 – 11 a.m. ET. Then, the medal matches start for the 70kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg divisions. Penn State will start and end this session in the spotlight. Freshman PJ Duke goes for gold at 70 kilograms against Aleksandr Gaidarli of Moldova. And, redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola competes for bronze at 125 kilograms against Narantulga Darmaabazar of Mongolia.
Reviewing the start of Day 1 for two Nittany Lions
08/18/2025 08:36:06 AMHenckel is the only Nittany Lion in today’s semifinals. His redshirt freshman teammate, Connor Mirasola, is waiting to see if he will get pulled into tomorrow’s bronze place match via repechage after losing his 92-kilogram semifinal bout to Kazakhstan’s Kamil Kurugliyev 7-5.
“Henckel wasn’t in danger beyond giving up a questionable four-pointer in his opening round win over Maksat Tabyldyev of Kyrgyzstan,” Jason Bryant writes for USA Wrestling. “Henckel took out Ukraine’s Bohdan Oleksiienko and Georgia’s Davit Tchetchelashvili in consecutive matches.”
Henckel’s match will be just after 10 a.m. ET.