Submitted photo Trent Hidlay's reaction after winning Final X and making the world team.

LEWISTOWN — The world’s best freestyle wrestlers will converge in Zagreb, Croatia, for the 2025 Senior World Championships–one of the signature events on the wrestling calendar.

The United States men’s freestyle squad enters with a dynamic blend of established medal threats and rising stars. At 92 kilograms, all eyes in Central Pennsylvania will be on Trent Hidlay, the former Mifflin County and NC State standout who has emerged as a force on the international stage.

Hidlay’s presence on the U.S. World Team is the culmination of a relentless pursuit. For local fans who followed his journey from Husky Gymnasium to the mat in Raleigh, his ascension carries both pride and a sense of inevitability.

This is a wrestler who relishes challenges, whether it’s making weight, wrestling through adversity, or facing the best the world has to offer. The World Championships represent the biggest opportunity of Hidlay’s career, and for the U.S. team, his performance could play a vital role in the overall medal race.

Hidlay’s path to Zagreb has been shaped by his willingness to seek out tough competition. After years of competing at 184 pounds, Hidlay decided to move up in weight during his final college season, testing himself against some of the nation’s elite, including four-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks.

“I felt like in that moment, going into my sixth year with the Olympic Team Trials after the NCAA tournament, I was looking to challenge myself to get as good at wrestling as I could in the remaining college year I had,” Hidlay explained. “Even though I didn’t win NCAAs, and I didn’t make the Olympic team, I got a lot better. That experience was huge for me. More so, just the mentality of not being afraid to chase the best competition and compete against the best guys in the country. When I do that, I continue to inch toward the goals I have for myself. A couple years later, being able to make my first world team is super big.”

Moving to 92 kilograms for the senior level was not about comfort; it was about opportunity.

“Having the experience I did at 197, why wouldn’t I continue to do this and put myself in a position where I can train hard, I can try to get big and strong and feel good, and then wrestle 92, and when the Olympic year comes around, be ready to bring it back down to 86, which I don’t think will be hard because I’m not that tall,” he said. “But 92 at this point in my career felt like a good opportunity for me to stay healthy, train hard. I felt like there was an opening on the world team at that weight. I was ready to win and give myself an opportunity to wrestle at the world championship, so it was all kind of a perfect storm.”

Since moving up to 92 kilograms, Hidlay is 14-0, outscoring his opponents 103-13. The depth of the 92 kg bracket at these World Championships is formidable, featuring reigning World and Olympic medalists including Amirhossein Firouzpour (Iran), Dauren Kurugliev (Greece), Osman Nurmagomedov (Azerbaijan), Miriani Maisuradze (Georgia), Batyrbek Tsakulov (Slovakia), and Deepak Punia (India). Every match presents a new stylistic challenge, and medal favorites abound at every corner of the bracket.

But Hidlay, with his blend of power, pace, and evolving offense, enters with both respect for the field and belief in his own preparation.

“When I go onto the mat, I want people to be like, this guy wrestles so hard, this guy wrestles like a maniac. When I do that, my results are good. So, I want to wrestle like a psycho. I want to wrestle hard in your face. I want to leave the impression that if you came in, whether it was a competition or you came into the practice room, you’d be like, holy smokes, this guy’s taking it a little bit too far. That’s how I want to compete.”

Hidlay is known for his relentless style–an intense, physical approach anchored by his trademark underhook and a growing arsenal of attacks to both sides of the body. In recent months, he’s taken visible steps to grow as a technician and a tactician.

“Developing solid attacks to both sides of the body and being able to mix that up, I’ve done a better job with that these past six months. Instead of focusing on one attack, be ready to–maybe not a full committed attack but at least make the guy think I’m going to the other side of the body to open up my underhook side and developing more of a baseline sweep single I can trust in any match,” At this point in my career, I know what I’m good at and how can I make that a little better while continuing to upgrade some other areas. Adding more offense, I’ve been able to do that recently, and I trust it more, so that when I get into competition, I’m not afraid to get into different positions. As much as the technical improvement, it’s the mental improvement as well.”

That growth–both technical and mental–showed itself at the Budapest Ranking Series tournament earlier this year, where Hidlay stormed to the gold medal and racked up wins over multiple World and Olympic medalists.

For the wrestling world, that performance cemented Hidlay’s status as a legitimate medal threat in Croatia. But for the man himself, the job isn’t done.

“It gives you confidence, but I felt like immediately after I won, it’s like, let’s not get caught up in the results of this. This is a Ranking Series tournament. If I’ve learned anything from watching the better foreigners, guys, they’re going to show up at the World Championships and they’re going to show up better than what they were at that tournament,” Hidlay said. “So, I enjoyed it. I thought I competed really well. I was proud of the effort and my mental preparation going into each match and being able to hone in on that process I’ve designed for myself. But there’s another level that I can hit. I know I’m going to have to if I’m going to repeat these types of results and win at the World Championship.”

The U.S. staff and his longtime coaches at NC State have encouraged him to embrace his identity, wrestle with poise, and stay true to what makes him effective. “Whatever you’re doing is working to a certain extent, so let’s take what’s working and let’s add a couple of wrinkles we think will help you even more. But at the end of the day, stay true to yourself. Stay true to the work you’re putting in and be hungry.”

Hidlay’s approach is equal parts competitor and showman–fans remember the “hoagie boy” celebrations and his willingness to let his personality shine in the biggest moments. But the foundation is pure intensity and work ethic.

“At my core, I’m a competitor. Whether it’s a backyard football game or it’s a wrestling match, when the competition comes, I’m going to bring my all. The passion I have for competing and the passion I put into my training–that’s where I allow that to come out. There’s a ton of reward in understanding that it’s okay not to feel great during training and preparation and then letting it loose when it comes time to compete. My intensity, my passion–it always comes out in competition.”

For Central Pennsylvania wrestling fans, Hidlay’s journey is a reminder of what’s possible through belief, hard work, and a commitment to pushing your limits. As he steps onto the world stage, he carries the dreams of a nation and the pride of a community that’s watched him grow from a young prospect to an international contender.

Win or lose, he’s bound to leave it all on the mat, and that’s something worth celebrating, no matter the medal color. The eyes of the wrestling world will be on Zagreb, and the heart of Mifflin County will be right there with him.