Pictured: 2021 NCAA finalist (197) and Team USA U23 World Team member (92kg) Nino Bonaccorsi gets his hand raised after a win at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics.
Release courtesy of Joe Wedra / USA Wrestling.
The United States will send a talented men’s freestyle team to the 2021 U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, which will take place November 1-7. The team, which was finalized at the U23 Nationals in May, boasts significant collegiate talent with experience and potential to bring home medals for Team USA.
Oklahoma’s Dom Demas brings the most World team experience to Belgrade, as this trip will mark his fifth experience as an age-group World team member. He made the Cadet World team twice in 2014 and 2015, and earned a spot on the Junior Greco-Roman World team in 2017. In 2018, Demas made the Junior World freestyle team. He is a two-time NCAA All-American at Oklahoma and has twice won a Big 12 conference championship.
Princeton’s Pat Glory (57 kg) won the Outstanding Wrestler award in May’s tournament to punch his ticket to Belgrade. He impressed in the finals when he knocked off Greco-Roman World team member Taylor Lamont, two matches to zero. Glory was a 2020 Dan Hodge Trophy finalist and was named the 2020 Ivy league Wrestler of the Year.
The United States certainly has a name to watch at 125 kg in Serbia, as Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi will be looking to bring back a medal following a well-earned title at U23 Nationals. He defeated two age-group World medalists – Lehigh’s Jordan Wood and Northwestern’s Lucas Davison – to take the spot. Cassioppi is a four-time Junior Pan-American champion; he won both Greco-Roman and freestyle titles in 2017 and 2018. He is a two-time NCAA All-American at Iowa.
Another wrestler who has had success at the Junior Pan-American Championships is Peyton Robb, who will represent the U.S. at 74 kg. Robb defeated Glory’s Princeton teammate, Quincy Monday, in the finals in May to claim the spot. The Nebraska standout is a 2019 Junior Freestyle Pan-Am champion and has qualified for the NCAA Championships twice at Nebraska.
Michael Labriola, Robb’s teammate at Nebraska, will also travel to Belgrade as the U.S. representative at 79 kg. He is a three-time NCAA All-American, most recently placing third in 2021 at 174 pounds. He also took third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships. At NCAAs, Labriola defeated three opponents ranked in the top 12 to collect his third-place finish.
Missouri’s Brock Mauller will compete at 70 kg, announced in October as the replacement for Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer, a former Cadet World bronze medalist. This is Mauller’s second career World team – he was previously a 2016 Junior World team member. Mauller is a three-time NCAA All-American at Missouri.
At 61kg, Northwestern’s Chris Cannon will compete for Team USA. He took seventh at 133 pounds at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as a redshirt freshman, marking his first All-American honors. He took fourth at the 2021 Big Ten championships.
Myles Wilson, who is Cassioppi’s teammate at the University of Iowa, will wrestle at 86 kg. He had an impressive run through a talented bracket at U23 Nationals, ultimately defeating Cornell’s Chris Foca in an exciting three-match finals series. He is a two-time Colorado state champion out of Junction, Colo.
Pittsburgh’s Nino Bonaccorsi, who has had significant success at the college level, will make the trip to Belgrade as the U.S. representative at 92 kg. Bonaccorsi, who has qualified for the NCAA Championships three times at Pittsburgh, was a national finalist at 197 pounds in 2021. He also won his first conference championship in 2021, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Another ACC collegiate standout, Virginia’s Jay Aiello, will join Bonaccorsi on the U23 World team. Aiello has qualified for the NCAA Championships three times during his career with the Cavaliers, winning an ACC championship in 2020.
The men’s freestyle action in Belgrade will take place November 5-7. You can watch all of the action live on FloWrestling.
U.S. men’s freestyle roster
57 kg: Pat Glory (Randolph, N.J./New Jersey RTC)
61 kg: Chris Cannon (Oceanport, N.J./Wildcat WC)
65 kg: Dom Demas (Columbus, Ohio/Oklahoma RTC)
70 kg: Brock Mauller (Columbia, Mo./Tiger Style WC)
74 kg: Peyton Robb (Owatonna, Minn./Nebraska Wrestling Training Center)
79 kg: Michael Labriola (Easton, Pa./Nebraska Wrestling Training Center)
86 kg: Myles Wilson (Junction, Colo./Hawkeye WC)
92 kg: Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pa./Pittsburgh WC)
97 kg: Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va./Cavalier WC)
125 kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Roscoe, Ill./Hawkeye WC)
U.S. Manager of Men’s Freestyle Programs – Joe Russell, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach – Nick Simmons, Haslett, Mich.
2021 U23 World Championships
At Belgrade, Serbia
Men’s freestyle schedule
Belgrade is six hours ahead of U.S. eastern time.
Friday, Nov. 5
11:00 a.m. – Qualification rounds (MFS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
Saturday, Nov. 6
11:00 a.m. – Qualification rounds (MFS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
11:00 a.m. – Repechage (MFS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
6:00 p.m. – Finals (MFS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
Sunday, Nov. 7
4:00 p.m. – Repechage (MFS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
6:00 p.m. – Finals (MFS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
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