BUDAPEST, Hungary -- On Thursday, Penn State All-American Luke Lilledahl captured a gold medal at the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial, the fourth UWW Ranking Series event of the season.

Lilledahl, a third-place finisher at the NCAAs as a true freshman this past season, topped Islam Bazarganov of Azerbaijan 3-1 in the finals at 57 kilograms. Bazarganov is a two-time European Championships bronze medalist.

After the two wrestlers traded shot clock points in the opening period to make the score 1-1, Lilledahl scored a takedown off a double leg late in the match to earn the 3-1 victory.

Lilledahl, a U20 world champion and Final X participant, advanced to the finals by defeating Germany's Niklas Stechele, who was fifth at the 2025 European Championships, before edging U23 Asian champion Rahul of Indiana 7-6 in the semifinals.

Luke Lilledahl capped off his win over Islam Barzaganov with this blast double to win gold in Budapest💪 pic.twitter.com/fNAsHvqkkn

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) July 17, 2025