US Open U20 Champ Ryan Burton - Wrestling Mindset Success Story

US Open U20 Champ Ryan Burton - Wrestling Mindset Success Story

From Wrestling Mindset by Wrestling Mindset

June 4, 2026 · 16 min

About this episode

Gene Zannetti interviews U20 US Open champion Ryan Burton about his journey in wrestling and the mindset that led to his success.

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, how stacking small daily wins in training gave him the confidence to compete at his best, why writing motivational phrases on his locker a month before the tournament kept him locked in on his purpose, and what it's like training alongside Bo Bassett and James Green at Virginia Tech 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 🎯 This episode is…

People in this episode

Host: Gene Zannetti

Guest: Ryan Burton

Topics covered

  • wrestling
  • mental training
  • athlete mindset
  • sports nutrition
  • personal development

Keywords

  • US Open
  • wrestling
  • mindset
  • training
  • athlete
  • success story
  • Virginia Tech

Sponsors

Eat Clean Bro, Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Virginia Tech, Iron Horse Wrestling Club, Saint Joe's

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