Forged in the Trent-ches: Hidlay dug deep to win World gold

Photo: Trent Hidlay (left) embraces Wolfpack RTC coach Jamill Kelly after claiming a World gold medal in thrilling come-from-behind fashion at 92 kg in men’s freestyle. Photo by Justin Hoch.

Editor’s Note: This story appeared in WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 12, the World Championships Special Issue, which printed on Sept. 19, 2025. Click here or call 641-792-4436 to subscribe to WIN Magazine. Buy a Digital or Combo Subscription to get immediate digital access to WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 12, which features wall-to-wall Team USA freestyle coverage from the UWW World Championships as well as the WIN Magazine/Spartan Combat Preseason High School Boys Rankings. 

By Tristan Warner 

There was a moment mid-match when Trent Hidlay had to stop and say a quick prayer. He begged for a second chance.

With just a matter of seconds remaining in the first period, the score clock read 10-4 in favor of UWW athlete Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, as the match paused for a challenge from his opponent’s corner. If the challenge had been won, and the two-point exposure in question went in favor of Gadzhimagomedov instead of Hidlay, the match would have ended via tech fall.

“It was chaotic, man,” Hidlay said just moments after a three-minute blur of a second frame that he couldn’t quite recall. “Just a couple seconds ago, I was a challenge away from losing. I said a quick prayer for one more chance. I asked for one more life and I’ll figure a way out.”

The blue-corner’s challenge was ultimately lost, and Hidlay went into the break trailing 10-5 in the 92-kg finals in men’s freestyle.

Having blasted his way through four opponents to get there, which included three tech falls and a 6-1 victory, the first-time Senior World Team member showed he does not know the meaning of the word quit. The former five-time All-American at NC State (2020-2024) blitzed his way back from an eight-point deficit, clawing his way to a remarkably gutsy 13-10 victory and subsequent World gold medal.

“I don’t really remember anything that happened in the last four minutes,” Hidlay said. “It felt really terrible doing it but just never give up. You get one more chance to get back and you make the most of it. And you don’t quit until the clock says zero.”

In the final frame, Hidlay’s ferocious underhook and tireless pace wore down his fading opponent, as he scored two two-point double-leg takedowns and put an exclamation mark on his Zagreb experience with a four-point explosive double just before time expired.

For a guy who came so close to winning an NCAA title, twice reaching the finals in 2021 and 2024 but falling just shy of the coveted collegiate pinnacle, this World gold medal was just the vindication for which Hidlay had been longing.

“I am just emotional. I am a World champion. This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of. In that fashion too … it was probably the most me thing I’ve ever done. I am just proud I figured a way out. I kept looking at the score wondering if I actually scored 13 points.

“I don’t know how it happened, but it happened. It was a wave of emotions. Everything I’ve ever put into this sport showed up in those six minutes. Nothing emulates my style and my career in a nutshell more than that, so it is kind of fitting that is the way it happened.

“It is just satisfying to know your work is paying off. You put so much into it and are just waiting for the day it comes through.”

As Hidlay felt that burn in his chest in the final minute, still in search of the match-winning points, he felt a little extra push from the American faithful. From those in attendance and the proud supporters of Team USA, in that moment, Hidlay knew the victory he was so desperately seeking was for more than his own glory.

“Representing Team USA is the coolest thing ever. We had a meeting on 9/11 about how much it means to me and to people to go out and wrestle so hard … that’s why you do it. You wrestle to represent your country, yourself, and the people who build you up for it.”

Jamill Kelly, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist who now serves as head coach at the Wolfpack RTC in Raleigh, expressed his elation after Hidlay’s thrilling come-from-behind victory.

“He is a professional,” Kelly stated. “He works so hard, and he earned every bit of this. If you’ve watched him wrestle before, that is the competitor that he is. He is built for this, and that is what I kept yelling to him from the corner.

“As long as there is time on the clock, he is going to be scratching and clawing and biting for every point, so that is what I was confident about.

“To help your athlete do something that you couldn’t do … it is the highest of feelings for a coach. I am so happy for him.”

Kelly went on to try to put in perspective the magnitude of this accomplishment and what it means for athletes who attend schools and train at RTCs that aren’t necessarily tied to the perceived collegiate superpowers such as Penn State, Iowa and Oklahoma State.

“It means a lot. It shows you obviously don’t have to go to some of the premier schools that you think about, especially when you think about freestyle and World and Olympic titles.

“For us to be able to do this out of our room in Raleigh at NC State, it is a testament to the program that Pat Popolizio is running. You can get it done there.”