Henckel wins four matches on Saturday at U23 nationals

written by Gerry deSimas, Jr. , Connecticut Wrestling Online | May 31, 2026

Soutbury’s William Henckel (top, red singlet)  battles Ryan Ford at the U23 freestyle nationals and world trials Saturday in Ohio. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)

Southbury’s William Henckel won three consecutive matches before losing in the fifth round of the U23 freestyle national championship tournament Saturday at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio.

Henckel, who will begin his sophomore year at Penn State in September, won his first three matches at 79 kilograms (174.1 pounds) with two technical falls before getting pinned by Iowa State All-American Manuel Gaitan of Temecula, Calif., in 2:39 in the fifth round.

Henckel remains alive in the tournament and will continue wrestling on Sunday. He won his first consolation round bout with New Jersey’s Holden Garcia, 8-5.

Binghamton’s Will Ebert from Fairfield Warde went 4-2 in the tournament at 86 kg (189.5) before being eliminated while Bloomsburg’s Jay Chase (Sheehan-Wallingford) went 2-2 in the tournament at 65 kg (143.3).

Henckel won his opening round match with an 8-3 win over Ryan Ford of New Jersey. Henckel followed that with technical fall victories over Austin Martin of Dekalb, Illinois, in 26 seconds and an 11-0 win over Israel Moreno of Missoula, Iowa in 2:39.

Ebert got a four-point move in the final seconds of his opening round match with Savian Graham of McCalla, Calif., to secure a 13-12 victory. Ebert beat Ohio’s Tyrell Miller by technical fall, 13-3 before losing to 13-2 in 2:15 to Abraham Wojciewicz of Illinois.

Ebert picked up two wins in the consolation bracket with a 10-0 win in 2:29 over Mason Marolo of Hazelton, Pa., and a pin of Illinois’ Kody Marschner in 1:01.

Ebert was eliminated with a 14-1 loss in 3:05 to Gage LaPlante of Wheatfield, N.Y.

Chase, who completed his freshman year at Bloomsburg University, won his opening round bout with a 10-0 in 39 seconds of Zeb Fitzgerald of Des Moines Iowa.

Chase’s first loss came to Maximus Brady of Cape Coral, Iowa by technical fall in 30 seconds, 10-0. Brady won five straight bouts to earn a quarterfinal berth.

Chase earned a win in the consolation round by pin before being eliminated in a 12-9 loss to Keagan Oler of Erie, Pa., 12-9.

Quick Links