Jayden James of Delbarton High celebrates winning the 150-pound title at the 2025 NJSIAA Wrestling Championships in Atlantic City. Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jayden James, a Highly Ranked Penn State Wrestling Commit, Wins World Title

Originally posted on Penn State Nittany Lions on SI
By Mark Wogenrich | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 1:57 PM ET

Jayden James, a 2026 Penn State wrestling commit and one of the top-ranked high school wrestlers in his class, won a world title at the U17 World Wrestling Championships in Athens. James defeated Iran’s Arsham Mostafa of Iran 9-2 to claim the 71 kg freestyle gold medal.

James began what could be a spectacular freestyle stretch for Penn State wrestlers, who will compete at multiple world events over the next two months. James' world-championship run helped the U.S. team score a tight win over Iran for the event's team title.

James, who wrestles at Delbarton High in New Jersey, put together a phenomenal run in Greece. He won his first two matches by technical fall, scored a 6-0 win in the quarterfinals and pulled out a dramatic pin in the semifinal.

According to USA Wrestling, James broke open a 3-3 tie by pinning Yeghishe Mosesyan, a two-time U15 European champion from Armenia, to reach the title bout. James was dominant in the final, scoring the 9-2 decision over the Iranian wrestler.

Jayden James gets the 9-2 win in the finals to become a U17 WORLD CHAMPION for team USA at 71-kilograms pic.twitter.com/lKciTzFRGV
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) August 3, 2025

James already is an accomplished wrestler heading into his senior year of high school. He is a two-time Fargo champion and won gold at the U17 Pan-American Championships. The New Jersey state champion initially committed to Virginia Tech before flipping to Penn State in March, after the Nittany Lions won their fourth straight NCAA team title.

James was named the NJ.com 2024-25 wrestler of the year after winning the 150-pound title at the NJSIAA wrestling championships. James went 43-0 last season and pinned his way through the state tournament. James is FloWrestling's third-ranked wrestler in the 2026 class behind Bo Bassett, who is uncommitted, and Oklahoma State commit Jax Forrest.

Penn State wrestling is on an international run

The Nittany Lions have had a superb freestyle season, which will continue over the next few months at multiple world championships. Penn State's Levi Haines and PJ Duke will represent the U.S. at the 2025 Senior World Championships in September in Croatia. Duke has been the top story of the U..S. freestyle season, winning the 70 kg freestyle title at Final X to earn a spot on the Senior World Team. Duke also has qualified for the U20 and U23 World Championships.

Seven current and future Penn State wrestlers, composing 70 percent of the U.S. freestyle team, will compete at the U23 World Championships in October in Serbia. Haines and Duke are on the team with Mitchell Mesenbrink, Luke Lilledahl, Marcus Blaze, Rocco Welsh and Barr. And recently, Penn State wrestlers Cole and Connor Mirasola and future Nittany Lion William Henckel won gold at the U20 Pan American Championships in Peru.