At the 2023 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado (May 20-21), Mason Parris defeated Nick Gwiazdowski, 6-2, to earn his spot at Final X 2023.

Parris is relatively recently back to 100% after suffering a neck injury in the 2021 World Team Trials. 

He had a stellar 2022-2023 season at the University of Michigan, and that momentum continued into Colorado Springs.

His Final X opponent will be Gable Steveson, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist, who was the 125kg winner at the 2023 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships in April.

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Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee - Final X Preview & Prediction

2023 Final X Wrestling Matchups

Steveson defeated Parris to win the 2021 NCAA title at 285 pounds. Parris was ranked No. 1 at the time, but Steveson won the match 8-4.

This year’s edition of Final X will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 10. The event will feature the top two wrestlers at every weight class in a best-of-three series, with the winners making the 2023 United States World Team. 

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The world team will travel to Belgrade, Serbia, to compete at the 2023 Senior World Championships from Sept. 16-24. 

Check below for the current matchups for Final X and a brief explanation of how each wrestler qualified for the 2023 event.

Here’s what to know about Mason Parris:

Mason Parris Coming Off Amazing 2022-2023 Collegiate Season

Parris, 23, broke through in March for his first NCAA title, after finishing as the runner-up in 2021 and fifth in 2022. 

The four-time All-American defeated Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet to secure the win, becoming the first heavyweight champion at Michigan since 1986. The win for Parris capped a 33-0 final season.

Prior to going to Michigan, Parris was a three-time state champion in Indiana (2016, 2017, 2018), with all three coming at 220 pounds for Lawrenceburg High School. 

He finished high school with a 206-1 record, including going 152-0 across his last three seasons.

Accolades Continued For Mason Parris After National Title

After completing his final season with the Wolverines, Parris was named the recipient of the 2023 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate wrestler each year. 

The Hodge Trophy winner is determined by votes. The committee includes a retired coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations national media members and past Hodge Trophy winners. 

Steveson won the award in 2021 and 2022. 

Mason Parris Was A Three-Sport Standout In High School

Parris, a four-year member of the Lawrenceburg honor roll, also was a standout in football and track, including three first-team All-State selections at linebacker. 

He was the TriState Football Indiana Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive times from 2015-2017 and a three-time Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference 3A Defensive Most Valuable Player (2015-2017).

Mason Parris Wrestling Ranking 

In the most recent Domestic Men’s Freestyle rankings on FloWrestling, Parris ranked second in the 125kg weight class. 

Here are the top 5: 

1. Gable Steveson 
2. Mason Parris
3. Hayden Zillmer
4. Nick Gwiazdowski
5. Dom Bradley

Here are the complete rankings. 

How Wrestlers Qualify For Final X Wrestling 2023

A wrestler can qualify for Final X in one of three ways.

First, all 2022 senior world medalists automatically qualified for Final X. There were seven wrestlers in men’s freestyle, six in women’s freestyle and zero in Greco-Roman who met this criterion.

Next, all champions from the 2023 US Open (held April 26-30) automatically qualified for Final X.

Finally, for the weights that didn’t have a returning world medalist, the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament (May 20-21) champion will earn a spot in Final X. 

Men’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 57 kg: *Thomas Gilman vs Zane Richards
• 61 kg: Vito Arujau vs Nahshon Garrett
• 65 kg: *Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee
• 70 kg: *Zain Retherford vs Tyler Berger
• 74 kg: *Kyle Dake vs Jason Nolf
• 79 kg: *Jordan Burroughs vs Chance Marsteller
• 86 kg: *David Taylor vs Aaron Brooks
• 92 kg: Michael Macchiavello vs Zahid Valencia
• 97kg: *Kyle Snyder vs J’den Cox
• 125 kg: Gable Steveson vs Mason Parris

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Women’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 50 kg: *Sarah Hildebrandt vs Audrey Jimenez
• 53 kg: *Dominique Parrish vs Katie Gomez
• 55 kg: Alisha Howk vs Jacarra Winchester
• 57 kg: *Helen Maroulis vs Xochitl Mota-Pettis 
• 59 kg: Michaela Beck vs Jennifer Page
• 62 kg: *Kayla Miracle vs Adaugo Nwachukwu
• 65 kg: Mallory Velte vs Macey Kilty
• 68 kg: Forrest Molinari vs Emma Bruntil
• 72 kg: *Amit Elor vs Joye Levendusky
• 76 kg: Kennedy Blades vs. Adeline Gray

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Men’s Greco-Roman Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 55 kg: Brady Koontz vs Dalton Duffield
• 60 kg: Dalton Roberts vs Ildar Hafizov
• 63 kg: Hayden Tuma vs Xavier Johnson
• 67 kg: Robert Perez III vs Alejandro Sancho
• 72 kg: Justus Scott vs Patrick Smith
• 77 kg: Kamal Bey vs Aliaksandr Kikiniou
• 82 kg: Spencer Woods vs Ryan Epps
• 87 kg: Alan Vera vs Zachary Braunagel
• 97 kg: Josef Rau vs Christian Dulaney
• 130 kg: Cohlton Schultz vs Adam Coon

How To Watch Final X Wrestling 2023 

Final X will stream live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app.

FloWresting also will serve as home of match archives and provide the latest news from Final X.