The first leg of the USA Olympic Team Trials qualifier wrapped up yesterday in New York, but no wrestlers with Iowa ties were able to clench the one spot berth that would assure them a spot in April’s Iowa City trials. The setup of the tournament allowed the top American finisher in every bracket a guaranteed spot in the Olympic Team Trials, which put a lot of extra emphasis on the tournament, as a lot more of American stars showed up to compete at this year’s edition of the tournament.
The top finishing wrestler with Iowa ties with former Cyclone wrestler Jon Reader, who fell one match shy of qualifying by falling 13-0 to Ed Ruth. It was a phenomenal run by the now South Dakota State assistant coach, who was able to finish over several wrestlers who outperformed him at this summer’s World Team Trials.
Former Hawkeye and this year’s 61 kg runner-up Daniel Dennis (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) made his debut at 57 kg and by all indications his first time down to weight was a success. Dennis had to go through some of the younger stars in the spot, by taking out Missouri All-American Alan Waters 12-2, and Ohio State NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello 5-2. The only blemish on the day for Dennis was a 11-0 defeat to eventual champion Tyler Graff, but Dennis still wound up with the bronze medal by responding with back-to-back technical falls agaisnt Dan Mitcheff 12-2 and Ali Naser 12-1.
The Panther Wrestling Club sent out three wrestlers to the event, with Ryan Loder having the most successful weekend going 4-2 at 86 kg. Loder was able to defeat former Junior World silver medalist (and Iowa State wrestler) Pat Downey in a 16-12 thriller and he also picked up a quality win over Robert Hamlin. Cruse Aarhus suffered one of his losses on the day to Waters and Andrew Sorenson suffered a tough first round defeat at the hands of eventual bronze medalist Richard Perry at 86 kg.
The Viking Wrestling Club was represented with their lone wrestler, NAIA national champion, Brandon Wright. Wright went 1-2 on the day. Former Grand View teammate Eric Thompson (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) went 2-2 at heavyweight.
There were quite a few former Cyclones competing at the Bill Farrell, with Cyler Sanderson (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) reaching the quarterfinals at 74 kg, before finishing his day 4-2. The newest additions to the Cyclone Wrestling Club, Michael Moreno (74 kg) and Kyven Gadson (97 kg) went 3-2 and 1-2 respectively. Gadson’s International debut was a 6-2 win over Jeffery Felix. Former Cyclone heavyweight David Zabriskie (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club) went 3-2 at 97 kg.
MFS – 57 KG
1st Place – Tyler Graff of United States
2nd Place – Zach Sanders of United States
3rd Place – Daniel Dennis of United States
4th Place – Ali Naser of United States
1st Place Match
1st Place Match – Tyler Graff (United States) won by tech fall over Zach Sanders (United States) (TF 10-0)
3rd Place Match
3rd Place Match – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by tech fall over Ali Naser (United States) (TF 12-1)
MFS – 86 KG
1st Place – Edward Ruth of United States
2nd Place – Jon Reader of United States
3rd Place – Richard Perry of United States
4th Place – Austin Trotman of United States
1st Place Match
1st Place Match – Edward Ruth (United States) won by tech fall over Jon Reader (United States) (TF 13-0)
3rd Place Match
3rd Place Match – Richard Perry (United States) won by decision over Austin Trotman (United States) (Dec 4-3)
MFS 57 KG – Daniel Dennis’s place is 3rd and has scored 4.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by tech fall over Ibragim Ilyasov (Russia) (TF 16-6)
Champ. Round 2 – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by tech fall over Alan Waters (United States) (TF 12-2)
Quarterfinal – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by decision over Nathan Tomasello (United States) (Dec 5-2)
Semifinal – Tyler Graff (United States) won by tech fall over Daniel Dennis (United States) (TF 11-0)
Cons. Semi – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by tech fall over Dan Mitcheff (United States) (TF 12-2)
3rd Place Match – Daniel Dennis (United States) won by tech fall over Ali Naser (United States) (TF 12-1)
MFS 57 KG – Cruse Aarhus’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Alan Waters (United States) won by fall over Cruse Aarhus (United States) (Fall 2:55)
Cons. Round 1 – Ibragim Ilyasov (Russia) won by fall over Cruse Aarhus (United States) (Fall 1:05)
MFS 65 KG – Brandon Wright’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Cj Hudson (Canada) won by decision over Brandon Wright (United States) (Dec 4-4)
Cons. Round 1 – Brandon Wright (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Brandon Wright (United States) won by decision over Nicholas Villarreal (United States) (Dec 13-4)
Cons. Round 3 – Mario Mason (United States) won by decision over Brandon Wright (United States) (Dec 8-4)
MFS 74 KG – Cyler Sanderson’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Cyler Sanderson (United States) won by decision over Changyoung Ahn (Korea) (Dec 10-7)
Champ. Round 2 – Cyler Sanderson (United States) won by tech fall over Dave Habat (Slovenia) (TF 10-0)
Quarterfinal – Nick Marable (United States) won by tech fall over Cyler Sanderson (United States) (TF 11-0)
Cons. Round 4 – Cyler Sanderson (United States) won by tech fall over Quinton Godley (United States) (TF 10-0)
Cons. Round 5 – Cyler Sanderson (United States) won by tech fall over Nestor Taffur (United States) (TF 15-4)
Cons. Semi – Adam Hall (United States) won by decision over Cyler Sanderson (United States) (Dec 22-15)
MFS 74 KG – Michael Moreno’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Michael Moreno (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Michael Moreno (United States) won by decision over Quinton Godley (United States) (Dec 6-6)
Quarterfinal – Adam Hall (United States) won by tech fall over Michael Moreno (United States) (TF 14-4)
Cons. Round 4 – Michael Moreno (United States) won by decision over Anisim Talambat (Moldova) (Dec 15-10)
Cons. Round 5 – Vladyslav Dombrovskiy (United States) won by tech fall over Michael Moreno (United States) (TF 12-2)
MFS 86 KG – Ryan Loder’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Ryan Loder (United States) won by decision over Shinya Matsumoto (Japan) (Dec 6-3)
Champ. Round 2 – Ryan Loder (United States) won by decision over Patrick Downey (United States) (Dec 16-12)
Quarterfinal – Richard Perry (United States) won by decision over Ryan Loder (United States) (Dec 6-3)
Cons. Round 4 – Ryan Loder (United States) won by tech fall over Austin Morehead (United States) (TF 12-1)
Cons. Round 5 – Ryan Loder (United States) won by fall over Robert Hamlin (United States) (Fall 2:02)
Cons. Semi – Austin Trotman (United States) won by tech fall over Ryan Loder (United States) (TF 17-7)
MFS 86 KG – Patrick Downey’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Patrick Downey (United States) won by decision over Hyeokbeom Gwon (Korea) (Dec 9-5)
Champ. Round 2 – Ryan Loder (United States) won by decision over Patrick Downey (United States) (Dec 16-12)
Cons. Round 2 – Patrick Downey (United States) won by fall over Alireza Asadinia (Iran) (Fall 2:25)
Cons. Round 3 – Patrick Downey (United States) won by decision over Tyrel Todd (United States) (Dec 11-6)
Cons. Round 4 – Patrick Downey (United States) won by injury default over Clayton Foster (United States) (Inj. 0:00)
Cons. Round 5 – Patrick Downey (United States) won by decision over Tyler Caldwell (United States) (Dec 7-4)
Cons. Semi – Richard Perry (United States) won by decision over Patrick Downey (United States) (Dec 8-7)
MFS 86 KG – Jon Reader’s place is 2nd and has scored 5.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Jon Reader (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Jon Reader (United States) won by tech fall over Victor Terrell (United States) (TF 10-0)
Quarterfinal – Jon Reader (United States) won by decision over Tyler Caldwell (United States) (Dec 4-0)
Semifinal – Jon Reader (United States) won by tech fall over Austin Trotman (United States) (TF 10-0)
1st Place Match – Edward Ruth (United States) won by tech fall over Jon Reader (United States) (TF 13-0)
MFS 86 KG – Andrew Sorenson’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Richard Perry (United States) won by tech fall over Andrew Sorenson (United States) (TF 10-0)
Cons. Round 1 – Andrew Sorenson (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Victor Terrell (United States) won by decision over Andrew Sorenson (United States) (Dec 10-6)
MFS 97 KG – Kyven Gadson’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Kyven Gadson (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Kyven Gadson (United States) won by decision over Jeffery Felix (United States) (Dec 6-2)
Quarterfinal – Enock Francois (United States) won by decision over Kyven Gadson (United States) (Dec 2-1)
Cons. Round 4 – David Zabriskie (United States) won by decision over Kyven Gadson (United States) (Dec 11-3)
MFS 97 KG – David Zabriskie’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – David Zabriskie (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Kallen Kleinschmidt (United States) won by decision over David Zabriskie (United States) (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 2 – David Zabriskie (United States) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 – David Zabriskie (United States) won by injury default over Alan Tedeev (Russia) (Inj. 0:00)
Cons. Round 4 – David Zabriskie (United States) won by decision over Kyven Gadson (United States) (Dec 11-3)
Cons. Round 5 – Micah Burak (United States) won by tech fall over David Zabriskie (United States) (TF 10-0)
MFS 125 KG – Eric Thompson’s place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Eric Thompson (United States) won by tech fall over Edgardo Lopez (Puerto Rico) (TF 12-1)
Quarterfinal – Eric Thompson (United States) won by decision over Matthew Meuleners (United States) (Dec 6-1)
Semifinal – Dom Bradley (United States) won by decision over Eric Thompson (United States) (Dec 8-4)
Cons. Semi – Tyrell Fortune (United States) won by decision over Eric Thompson (United States) (Dec 10-4)
[…] in November, Dennis took home bronze at the Bill Farrell tournament in New York – which was the first step in the Olympic Trials qualifying process. That led to […]