US Open U20 Champ Ryan Burton - Wrestling Mindset Success Story

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Published June 4th, 2026 by Wrestling Mindset

US Open U20 Champ Ryan Burton - Wrestling Mindset Success Story | Wrestling Mindset Podcast

In this episode of the Wrestling Mindset Podcast, Gene Zannetti talks with Virginia Tech wrestler and U20 US Open champion Ryan Burton about winning the US Open after moving back up to his natural weight and falling back in love with the sport.

Ryan explains how trusting the training and stacking small daily wins gave him the confidence to get over the hump and compete at his best, and why he wrote motivational phrases on his locker a month before the tournament to stay locked in on his purpose. He describes the feeling of finding purpose in training, where everything he is doing is preparing him for this.

He also talks about his faith at Saint Joe's, including Vir Fidelis and a religion teacher who changed his life, the people at Iron Horse Wrestling Club who shaped his career, ditching traditional lifting for lean explosive training with John Wilkins, his mindset going into the World Team Trials finals, and what it is like training at Virginia Tech alongside Bo Bassett, Japanese world-level wrestlers, and James Green as they build toward a national team championship.

  

Timestamps

  • 1:39 – Won the US Open U20 after moving back to natural weight and enjoying wrestling again
  • 2:21 – Trusting the training and stacking small wins to get over the hump
  • 4:39 – Faith at Saint Joe's: Vir Fidelis and a religion teacher who changed his life
  • 6:08 – Iron Horse Wrestling Club and the people who shaped his career
  • 7:26 – Ditching traditional lifting for lean explosive training with John Wilkins
  • 9:23 – Mindset going into the World Team Trials finals
  • 11:39 – Finding purpose in training: everything I'm doing is preparing me for this
  • 13:10 – Virginia Tech training with Bo Bassett, Japanese world-level wrestlers, and James Green

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Wrestling Mindset helps wrestlers, coaches, and parents master the mental side of competition. Our programs develop confidence, focus, resilience, and composure so athletes can perform at their highest level when it matters most.

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