Add “world champion” to Max McEnelly’s impressive list of accomplishments in 2025.
McEnelly, the Gophers freshman wrestler from Waconia who finished third in the NCAA tournament this year, captured the 86-kg freestyle title at the under-20 world championships on Wednesday in Samokov, Bulgaria. McEnelly defeated Bozigit Islamgereev of United World Wrestling 8-0 in the final for his third shutout in four matches.
McEnelly took a 1-0 lead on Islamgereev on a passivity point, then got a force-out for a 2-0 lead after one period. The Big Ten freshman of the year used three takedowns in the third period to secure his first world championship after earning a bronze medal in the Under-17 tournament in 2022.
McEnelly faced his stiffest challenge in the semifinals against Iran’s Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei on Tuesday. Up 3-2 after one period, McEnelly was called for inactivity, knotting the score 3-3 with 90 seconds remaining. Rahmani took a 4-3 lead on a step-out by McEnelly, but McEnelly scored the go-ahead takedown for a 5-4 lead with less than 20 seconds to go. McEnelly was called for fleeing to tie the score 5-5, but he won on criteria with the most two-point sequences.
