BELGRADE, Serbia - Defending NCAA 133-pound national champion Vito Arujau (USA), four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake '13 (USA), and All-American Ben Honis '19 (Italy) will take the mat this weekend at Stark Arena in the 2023 World Wrestling Championships as representatives of the United States and Italian National Teams, respectively.. Arujau will be wrestling in the 61kg weight- class, Dake will be at 74kg, and Honis will take the stage in the 97kg class.   
 
Final X Flashback 
Arujau entered his matchup with former Big Red national champion Nahshon Garrett '16 looking to make his first national team. Arujau came into his bout with Garrett regarded as one of the hottest wrestlers in the world, and he proved to keep that going. The opening match of the series was a tight battle, with both speedy wrestlers playing it safer than usual and attacking in the perfect moments. It was Arujau's four-point takedown that would prove to be the difference, giving him the 6-5 edge and a 1-0 series lead. 
 
Match two proved to be a the most thrilling match of Final X. Arujau executed a major four-point takedown just five-seconds into the bout. Garrett stayed poised and responded, rattling off eight points in a row to help him take the lead. It was then Arujau who would score seven straight to pull himself back on top. Garrett had a nose cut that led to several stoppages throughout the match. In the final moments, another stoppage occurred. Arujau, antsy to keep the match moving, grabbed the towel from the trainer and began profusely wiping the mat. The whistle blew and the matched continued with both wrestlers trading points, ultimately with Arujau winning 13-10 and earning a USA National Team bid at 61 kg. 
 
Dake, a four-time world freestyle champion and 2020 Bronze Olympian, was no stranger to the Final X stage as he was set to take on Nittany Lion Wrestling Club counterpart Jason Nolf. Dake put on a defensive clinic against Nolf, dissecting him en route to two shutout victories, 6-0 and 3-0, respectively, to clinch yet another national team bid in the 74kg weight class.

Second Time Around For Honis
Honis, a 2019 NCAA eighth-place All-American, qualifies for his second world tournament. He will be representing Italy, after previously competing within the USA ranks. Honis finished fifth in the 2023 European Championships, earning himself a ticket to the World Championships. 
 
The Draw 
Dake, Honis, and Arujau will enter the championships as the second-, fifth-, and eighth-seeds. respectively. This will be Honis' second appearance at worlds, while Arujau will be seeing action on the senior world stage for the first time of his freestyle career. Arujau will be matched up with Ossimzhan Dastanbek of Kazakhstan in the opening round on Saturday, Sept. 16. Dake will get his start against Magomet Evloev of Tajikistan on Sunday, Sept. 17. Honis will take on the Iranian reprsentative, Mojtaba Goleij on Monday, Sept. 18. 
 
This weekend's schedule can be found HERE. 
 
Follow The Action 
The 2023 Senior World Championships broadcast begins on Sept. 16 and runs until Sept. 24 on FloWrestling. Streaming mediums include desktop, mobile, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV. Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.