TOM Article

Pictured: Utah Valley University redshirt sophomore Taylor LaMont wins at the 2017 UWW Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland. Over the weekend, LaMont earned a spot on the U.S. Men's Senior Greco-Roman National Team after taking third and going on to win a true second-place bout at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. Richard Immel, USA Wrestling. Image first Appeared in the Dessert News.  Release courtesy of Joe Wedra, USA Wrestling.  The United States Greco-Roman U23 World team will feature plenty of talent ready to compete at the U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, taking place November 1-7. The team features multiple former age-group World team members, quite a bit of international experience and several new faces who will look to bring back medals from Belgrade. Team USA was finalized at the U23 World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska in May. The team is led at 55 kg by Taylor LaMont, a collegiate standout at Utah Valley (three-time NCAA qualifier, 2021 NCAA All-American at 125 pounds) who has plenty of experience at the World level. This will be LaMont’s eighth career World team. He was a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist and earned a spot on the 2019 U23 World Team. The five-time Fargo champion has been on an age-group World team every year (aside from 2020, due to COVID) since 2013. He’ll look to be a strong candidate for a medal in Belgrade. At 67 kg, Alston Nutter of Northern Michigan University will look to bring another World medal back home to the United States. Nutter is a two-time Junior Greco-Roman World team member (2018, 2019). In 2019, the Fennimore, Wisconsin native took bronze at 63 kg. Another former Junior Greco-Roman World teamer is featured on the roster – Nicholas Boykin at 97 kg. Boykin currently wrestles at Ohio State and has plenty of success wrestling Greco-Roman. In May’s U23 World Team Trials, Boykin had an impressive finals performance against two-time age-group World Team member Chad Porter, a series in which he won with back-to-back 8-0 tech falls. A later addition to the Greco-Roman roster for Team USA is Nate Moore (72kg), who will be filling in for Benji Peak in Belgrade. Moore is a sophomore at Northern Colorado who finished third at the U23 Nationals in May. He won three Washington state titles out of White River High School in Buckley, Wash. Dylan Gregerson, who is a member of the Brunson Utah Valley RTC alongside LaMont, earned the U23 World Team spot at 60 kg to punch his ticket to Belgrade. Gregerson won two titles at the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships, finishing at the top in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He finished eighth at the 2021 Matteo Pellicone in Greco-Roman at 60 kg. At 63 kg, David Stepanian will represent Team USA. Stepanian, who attends Northern Michigan University with both Nutter and Peak, made a statement at May’s tournament, defeating 2020 Senior Nationals finalist and former Cadet World Team member Mosha Schwartz in back-to-back matches to earn the spot. Britton Holmes, a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program, will be the U.S. representative at 77 kg. Holmes took seventh at the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships at 67 kg. He’ll be joined by WCAP teammate Spencer Woods, who will compete at 87 kg. Woods turned heads in May when he outscored his competition, 40-0, en route to the U23 World Team Trials title. Tennessee’s Tommy Brackett, who also won the 2020 U23 Nationals, is competing for the U.S. at 82 kg. Brackett was the 2021 Senior Nationals Greco-Roman runner-up at 87 kg. He earned the spot following back-to-back finals wins over 2018 U23 World Team member George Sikes. Rounding out the Greco-Roman roster in Belgrade is Brandon Metz (130 kg), who is a two-time NCAA qualifier for North Dakota State. Metz finished third at the 2021 Senior Nationals and looks poised to compete for a medal in Serbia in his first appearance at a World Championships. The Greco-Roman action in Belgrade will be the first style wrestled in the tournament and will take place November 1-3. Every match can be watched live on FloWrestling. U.S. Greco-Roman roster 55kg: Taylor Lamont (Mapleton, Utah/Sunkist Kids WC) 60kg: Dylan Gregerson (Bluffdale, Utah/Brunson UVRTC) 63kg: David Stepanian (Macomb, Mich./New York AC) 67kg: Alston Nutter (Fennimore, Wisc./Sunkist Kids WC) 72kg: Nate Moore (Buckley, Wash./Northern Colorado WC) 77kg: Britton Holmes (Peyton, Colo./Army WCAP) 82kg: Tommy Brackett (Eads, Tenn./Gator Wrestling Club) 87kg: Spencer Woods (Shungnak, Alaska/Army WCAP) 97kg: Nicholas Boykin (Murrfreesboro, Tenn./Sunkist Kids) 130kg: Brandon Metz (West Fargo, N.D./Bison WC) U.S. Greco-Roman National Head Coach – Matt Lindland, Colorado Springs, Colo. Coach – Andy Bisek, Marquette, Mich. 2021 U23 World Championships at Belgrade, Serbia (Nov. 1-7) Greco-Roman schedule Belgrade is six hours ahead of U.S. eastern time zone. Monday, Nov. 1 11:00 a.m. – Qualification rounds (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg) 6:00 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg) Tuesday, Nov. 2 11:00 a.m. – Qualification rounds (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg) 11:00 a.m. – Repechage (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg) 4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg) 6:00 p.m. – Finals (GR 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg) Wednesday, Nov. 3 11:00 a.m. – Repechage (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg) 6:00 p.m. – Finals (GR 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 130 kg)

Back to articles