Pictured: Team USA's 65-kg Qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Jordan Oliver. Photo by Tony Rotundo/Wrestlers Are Warriors.
The first three sessions are in the books at the 2021 U.S. World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska, inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. As expected, World Team Trials has delivered numerous star-studded bouts, particularly in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
With that, here are 14 TOM Takeaways from the first three sessions, across all three styles, in no particular order.
Men's Freestyle
+ Pat Downey was a No-Show: There was much debate in the days leading up to The Trials if Downey could successfully cut down from 86 kg to 79 kg where he entered. Then, the conversation surrounding the former Iowa State Cyclone intensified after he was pre-seeded No. 13 at 79 kg, much to Downey's chagrin. As a result, he was a no-show, and the 79-kg bracket had to be redrawn.
+ The 61-kg field Delivered: 61-kg was hyped as one of the best brackets in the whole tournament alongside 79 kg. Both 61 and 79 absorbed some serious star power after Thomas Gilman and Kyle Dake earned Olympic bronzes and auto qualification to the World Championships in Oslo.
Stillwater, Oklahoma, native and Northwestern Wildcat freshman Carter Young, who has yet to wrestle a collegiate match for the 'Cats, really impressed me. In his opener, Young earned a solid 8-6 decision over NC State All-American Jakob Comacho. The Wolfpack lightweight rallied late but came up just short. Young lost convincingly in the Round of 16 to2019 Senior World Team member and 2021 NCAA finalist Daton Fix, 13-2 in the first frame. Still, in the first Round of wrestle-backs, Young bested two-time U.S. Open runner-up Nahshon Garrett. One day two, in the consolation semifinal, Carter added a dominant 9-2 decision over top-seeded Tyler Graff. Then, he added the exclamation point to his weekend performance by taking out Seth Gross in a 15-12 offensive shout to make the National Team. All this to say, big things are ahead for the incoming college freshman.
https://twitter.com/codygoodwin/status/1437092936106319875
Nathan "NaTo" Tomasello was impressive in Day One action as well. After a bye in the opening round, NaTo stormed to an 11-1 tech of Daniel Deshazer. The former Ohio State national champ followed that match up with a gritty 3-0 decision over Nick Suriano. Tomasello thoroughly stymied Suriano's offensive attack for a full six minutes. Suriano has forfeited out of the tournament afterward.
In other 61-kg news, Tyler Graff and Joe Colon backed up their No. 1 and No. 2 seedings by advancing to the semifinals in style. It was in the semis,
however, that the top seeds hit brick walls. Fix took out No. 1 Tyler Graff 2-0 in a defensive slugfest, without a takedown, and NaTo teched 2018 World bronze medalist 15-2. Colon then withdrew from the remainder of the tournament.
Oklahoma State Cowboy Daton Fix with face Oklahoma RTC resident athlete Nathan Tomasello in the finals. It will be a Bedlam best-of-three finals series to determine the 61 kg rep for Oslo.
+ Burroughs Looks Good at the new Weights (79 kg): New weight class, no problem for eight-time World/Olympic medalist Jordan Burroughs. In the Round of 16, the former Nebraska RTC athlete took out Hayden Hidlay, 7-3. Burroughs followed that up with a 4-1 decision over Chance Marsteller. Despite surrendering the first points in both bouts, Burroughs battled back twice with two workman-like showings to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal, against Jason Nolf, it was about as physical and chippy of a bout as we saw all day in Lincoln. Burroughs came out on top 5-3. Nolf wrestled as well as he possibly could but fell just short. Later, in an All-Penn State third-place, Nolf lost his National Team slot to Carter Starocci.
https://twitter.com/JustinJBasch/status/1436852919467397120
https://twitter.com/CPyles8/status/1437100783699431425
+ IMAR and Ringer Bounce Back: Some wondered what would be of Isaiah Martinez and Alex Dieringer at Team Trials this weekend as both have spent considerable time off the mat rehabbing injuries of the last year or so. Both missed Olympic Team Trials earlier this year as a result. Well, both answered that question by advancing to the semifinals for a showdown against one another. Dieringer used dominant 9-1 and 3-1 decisions to move on. IMAR, on the other hand, was trailing by four in his opener with under a minute left but found an extra gear to survive and advance, 11-10. Then, in match two, Martinez won a high-scoring 10-7 affair with Taylor Lujan.
https://twitter.com/FloWrestling/status/1436728907911335941
IMAR had no answer for Ringer's defense in the semifinal and dropped a 6-1 decision to the former three-time NCAA champ for Oklahoma State. IMAR is forfeiting out of the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. Congratulations!
https://twitter.com/Imar165/status/1436869719852789760
65-kg Was Too Small: With just six people in the bracket, top seeds Yianni Diakomihalis (No. 1) and Joey McKenna (No.2) automatically advanced to the semifinals. There, they took on on Luke Pletcher and Evan Henderson. In doing so, we had a No. 1 vs. No. 4 semifinal bout and a No.2 vs. No. 3 semifinal bout. While Pletcher and Henderson looked strong in their openers, Yianni and Joey were too much to handle.
Yianni teched Pletcher, and Joey fought off a leg lace attempt at the buzzer to win 10-9 over Henderson. We will have yet another Diakomihalis vs. McKenna finals matchup with a World Team slot on the line.
Injury Ends Alec Pantaleo's Tournament Early: Unfortunately, one of the stories of 70-kg was that Alec Pantaleo, who has been light-outs all year, had to medically withdraw after an apparent rib injury against Ryan Deakin in the semifinals. Pantaleo trailed 10-4 at the time of the injury, clearly hampered by his ribs.
https://twitter.com/AlecPantaleo/status/1437045294231920645
On the other side of the bracket, James Green showed why 70-kg has been his weight class since 2015. He took out Jordan Oliver in a demanding and tightly-contested 6-4 decision. After falling behind 6-0, J.O. added two big takedowns in the final 30 seconds, but it wasn't enough. The former OK State Cowboy defaulted out of the backside of the bracket.
J'den Cox is Back: After a rough showing earlier this summer at the Poland Open, and the unfortunate weigh-in debacle before that, J'den appears leaner, meaner, and focused down at 92 kg. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist has punched his ticket to the Team Trials finals after an 11-0 tech of Drew Foster and an 8-0 contest over Myles Martin. He will face a wounded Kollin Moore later with a 92-kg World Team spot up for grabs.
https://twitter.com/theopenmat/status/1436864248102199298
Youth versus Experience Showdown at Heavyweight: Without Gable Steveson in the bracket, it was practically a foregone conclusion that young Michigan Man Mason Parris would face two-time World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski. We got just that. Both made quick work of their matches to make the finals. At heavyweight, we have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 pairing for in the Championship Series.
Women's Freestyle
+ All No. 1 Seeds Got it Done: As the saying goes, seeds are just numbers beside names that mean next to nothing. That said, all six top seeds on the women's side have made the finals, defending their status atop the brackets.
+ Blades and Welker Shine: Two of the most talked-about young stars on the women's side, and rightfully so after Olympic Team Trials finals appearances and Junior World golds for each in recent months, Kennedy Blades and Kylie Welker looked dominant as ever. Blades marched to a 10-0 tech over Aury Naylor in just 49 seconds in to her opening-round bout. Welker won her first bout via fall over Marlynne Deedet at the 0:37 mark. In the semifinal, both were able to notch first-period falls in their respective bouts. Their best-of-three finals matchup will be a real treat.
https://twitter.com/FloWrestling/status/1437095625028513792
+ Heaton on a Heater: Ronna Heaton has been on a mission in Lincoln. Ronna punched her ticket to the finals with a fall in the quarters and a tech in the finals. The Wisconsin RTC athlete has yet to surrender a point. She'll battle No. 7 Amy Fearnside, who upset No. 2, Dom Parrish, a former U.S. Olympic Team Trials placer (3rd) and a past Senior National champion, and No. 3 Alyssa Lampe, a two-time World bronze medalist, to make the finals.
https://twitter.com/FloWrestling/status/1436825996255285251
+ Molinari Brought the Physicality to the Mat: No. 1 at 65 kg, Forrest Molinari, was as physical as all get out in her bouts throughout the tournament, and it paid off. The Sunkist Kids' athlete and two-time World fifth-place finisher outscored her opponents by a combined 20-4 to make the finals.
https://twitter.com/AWWnewsfeed/status/1436859563395911688
Men's Greco-Roman
+ Olympians Shine in Greco: After struggling mightily in Tokyo, all 10 spots on the U.S. Senior World Team were on the line in the Cornhusker State.
Not surprisingly, all four Tokyo Olympians advanced into the best-of-three Championship Series on Saturday afternoon: 2020 Tokyo Olympians Ildar Hafizov of Army WCAP at 60 kg, Alejandro Sancho of Army WCAP at 67 kg, and G'Angelo Hancock of the Sunkist Kids at 97 kg, plus 2012 and 2016 Olympian Ben Provisor at 82 kg.
+ Omania Techs His Way to Finals: Michigan State redshirt freshman has been flawless in Nebraska. The youngster is 2-0 with a pair of 9-0 techs to his credit. He will have a tall task in the best-of-three finals vs. 2020 Olympian Alejandro Sancho later today.
https://twitter.com/wrestlingmsu/status/1437063000280682501?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Back to articles