Burnett Stuns Richards as US Wins Nine Farrell Titles

NEW YORK — Grey Burnett walked into the New York Athletic Club on Saturday as the seventh seed at 57 kg. He walked out as champion of the 2026 Bill Farrell Memorial International, dismantling one of the most established names in American wrestling. Burnett, a 2025 U17 World bronze medalist, beat 2023 World Team member Zane Richards 13-3 by technical fall in the opening final of the men's freestyle session on November 7, as Americans won nine of the ten titles.

Burnett had already announced himself in the morning. He teched Irie Jackson 11-0, beat Dean Peterson 6-2 and teched Jacob Moran of Puerto Rico 10-0 in the semifinals. Richards, the top seed, had recorded three shutouts. The final, though, belonged entirely to Burnett.

He scored a takedown and two exposure points, added a gut wrench to lead 6-0, then ran another gut wrench for four more points to carry a 10-1 advantage into the break. Richards answered with two exposure points to cut the gap to 10-3, but Burnett finished the job to complete a 4-0 day in which he outscored his opponents 40-5.

DeSanto and Arkhiev set the tone

Austin DeSanto followed Burnett onto the mat and produced a performance almost as dominant. The current National Team member beat Russia's Usman Indirbaev 11-0 by technical fall at 61 kg, scoring a stepout, a four-point throw and a Merkle before closing with a gut wrench. DeSanto had reached the final with two shutout technical falls, over Nodirjon Safarov of Uzbekistan and Michael McGee.

Russia earned its only title in the next final. Adam Arkhiev, the 2024 U20 World bronze medalist, edged Beau Bartlett 3-1 at 65 kg in a tense match decided by two late stepouts. Bartlett had not surrendered a point all day: he opened with a 10-0 technical fall, pinned Jiho Jo of South Korea in 17 seconds and beat 2023 U23 World bronze medalist Brock Hardy 7-0 in the semifinals. Arkhiev held on through a late ankle attack to win.

Miller's dream run ends in a classic

The most compelling story belonged to Melvin Miller, the high school senior and Virginia Tech commit who had beaten 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro 11-0 by technical fall in the semifinals. Miller, a three-time Super 32 champion, looked ready to complete a fairytale when he scored four points from an ankle pick and added a gut wrench to lead Ed Scott 6-0 in the 70 kg final.

Scott, who had beaten Chance Lamer 15-11 in a wild semifinal, refused to fold. He answered with a reversal and a lace, then countered with an arm drag and a takedown to trail by a point at the break. In the second period Scott tied the match with a stepout, then scored two more stepouts in the final 90 seconds to win 8-6.

Monday survives Caliendo's furious comeback

Quincy Monday and Michael Caliendo produced the wildest final of the night at 74 kg, a 14-12 thriller settled only when officials ruled on a last-second challenge. Monday built an 8-0 lead and still led 13-4 with a minute remaining. Caliendo launched a desperate comeback, scoring a takedown and two gut wrenches to close to 13-12 with two seconds left, then threw Monday over as time expired. His corner challenged, arguing the action had beaten the clock, but officials ruled time had expired and Monday was awarded a point on the unsuccessful challenge.

The 79 kg final was almost as tight. Patrick Kennedy beat Carson Kharchla 5-5 on criteria after a dramatic second period in which Kharchla twice took the lead and Kennedy answered with a takedown and a leg lace to move ahead 5-3. A late caution tied the match, but Kennedy held the criteria advantage and defended the final shot.

Aiello, Jackson and Ghadiali close the night

The heavier weights brought a run of dominant finishes. Nathan Jackson won the 86 kg title in just 47 seconds, beating Tanner Hodgins 10-0 by technical fall after a blast double and two gut wrenches. Zac Braunagel edged Garavous Kouekabakilaho 2-1 at 92 kg in the tightest final of the session, winning on a second-period stepout from a body lock.

Jay Aiello closed his 97 kg final in style, beating Jacob Cardenas 13-2 by technical fall. Cardenas scored first, but Aiello answered with an ankle pick and three leg-lace turns to lead 8-2, then added two more takedowns. Cardenas had reached the final with an 11-0 technical fall over 2024 Olympian Luis Perez Sosa. Taye Ghadiali capped the evening with a composed 5-0 decision over Trent Hillger at 125 kg, scoring two second-period takedowns to claim the final championship.

What the titles mean for 2027

The Bill Farrell Memorial is the traditional season opener for American senior wrestling. More than 400 wrestlers from 31 countries competed across the two days in New York, and every American who finished in the top three automatically qualified for the 2027 World Team Trials Tournament, scheduled for April 19-25 in Las Vegas. Five of the twenty men's freestyle finalists were United States age-group World medalists.

For Burnett, the night was a breakthrough. He beat a World Team member by ten points and outscored four opponents 40-5, on an evening when DeSanto, Scott, Monday and Aiello all produced title-winning performances. The season has only just begun, but the message from New York was clear: the next generation of American freestyle wrestling is not waiting its turn.