Darian Cruz Draws No. 6 Seed at Worlds: His Path and Schedule in Astana

The brackets are out, and Darian Cruz knows his road. The Philadelphia-based Lehigh legend, wrestling for Puerto Rico at 57 kg, is the No. 6 seed at the UWW Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, released by United World Wrestling on Wednesday.

It is a 34-man bracket, one of the deepest weights in the tournament. Seeds 1 through 8 were placed straight into the Round of 32, so Cruz skips the qualification round and goes right to work Saturday morning.

Opening Match: Niklas Stechele (Germany)

Cruz opens in the Round of 32 against Germany’s Niklas Stechele. Win that, and he meets the winner of Yamato Ogawa (Japan) and Aiaal Belolyubskii (Tajikistan) in the Round of 16.

A quarterfinal would come out of a pod led by Azerbaijan’s Islam Bazarganov, the No. 3 seed, along with India’s Rahul, Switzerland’s Thomas Epp and Angola’s Makaya Katendi.

A Pennsylvania Semifinal?

Here is the storyline local fans will be watching: Cruz landed in the same half of the bracket as Team USA’s Spencer Lee, the No. 2 seed and a Western Pennsylvania native out of Franklin Regional. If both men win their quarterfinals, the former Lehigh and Iowa NCAA champions would meet in the semifinals with a spot in the World final on the line.

The Schedule (Eastern Time)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 1:30 AM ET: Round of 32 through the quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 31, 7:30 AM ET: Semifinals
Sunday, Nov. 1, 6:30 AM ET: Repechage
Sunday, Nov. 1, 8:00 AM ET: Medal matches

Exact bout times are set once the session order is posted, and they shift as the day runs. Note that U.S. clocks fall back early Sunday morning, so the Sunday times above are already in standard time.

Like every 57 kg bracket at this level, there is no easy draw, but Cruz brings a 2017 NCAA title, a fifth-place finish at the Paris Olympics and a top-10 world ranking into Astana, with Pat Santoro back in his corner from the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center.

How to Watch

Every session streams live on FloWrestling in the United States. The official bracket and results are on UWW.org, and Baschamania’s live tracker follows every bout in the 57 kg bracket.