The 2024 Olympic Wrestling Trials will take place on April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania. Check out the article below for real-time updates from the trials on the biggest stories from this event.
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Session 1 – Quarter-Finals
Men’s Freestyle 65 kg
We’re already rolling into the quarters with Alec Pantaleo taking on top-seeded Nick Lee and Jesse Mendez wrestling James Green. Not a ton of action in the first, Lee gets a passivity point to hold a 1-0 lead into the break. Now early in the second, Lee gets a takedown and goes to work on top with 3 turns to lead 9-0. Pantaleo hits a slick duck to get a takedown to make it 9-2 but he’ll need a lot of offense quick if he hopes to erase this deficit. Pantaleo can’t do it and Lee wins with a dominant 9-2 victory.
Uneventful first period between Green and Mendez – 1-0 Green leading at the break. Green gets a takedown in the second to extend his lead but Mendez counters to cut it to 3-2. Mendez gets another takedown and this time transition right to a gut to lead 6-3 with 30 seconds left. Green is spent and Mendez is gonna win this one – 6-3.
Now Yianni Diakomihalis is up against Kaleb Larkin. This could be an interesting one – Larkin is a good head taller than Yianni. Diakomihalis looks to be in control early – he gets a step out and takedown to take an early, 3-0 lead. Larkin gets a takedown and has a lace locked up tight! Wow, Larkin could ended here but Yianni defends and only goes over once. Wow – I can’t believe Yianni didn’t go over more than once. Yianni gets back to his offense and gets a takedown to a turn to lead 7-4.
WOAH! Things are getting wild in the Yianni-Larkin match. Larkin gets another takedown and has another lace locked up tight! Larkin’s only able to get Yiann over once making the score 8-7 in Larkin’s favor. Yianni gets a step out to tie it at 8 but Larkin still holds criteria so Yianni needs another point. Yianni gets to a single leg and has Larkin in the quad-pod position but time’s running out. Yianni steps through to expose Larkin and points go on the board for Yianni. Time runs out with Yianni leading 10-8 but Larkins corner is challenging the final call. Yianni gets two more points after the challenge and wins an absolutely crazy match – 12-8.
The incredible matches just keep rolling with Andrew Alirez and Beau Bartlett up now. This is a rematch from Senior Nationals where Alirez won 8-0 but I’m guessing this one’s going to be a lot closer. Alirez takes the lead early with a takedown in just 30 seconds. Things really slow down after that with Bartlett defending and he’ll get called for passivity with just under a minute to go in the first. Right at the end of the first, Bartlett gets to Alirez’s legs and converts for the takedown to lead 2-2 on criteria at the break. Right at one minute into the second Alirez gets another takedown and transitions right into his lace to lead 6-2. Bartlett’s struggling to get to any offense and Alirez holds on to win 6-2.
Men’s Freestyle 86 kg
Big matches coming up now – Aaron Brooks vs Connor Mirasola and Alex Dieringer vs Mark Hall. Brooks gets an early step out to lead 1-0 but Mirasola is hanging with Brooks better than I thought a minute in. Mirasola hits a nice reattack single and finishes on the edge to take a 2-1 lead! Really impressed with Mirasola here. Now Brooks is picking up his hand fight and pressure – he gets two quick stepouts and leads 3-2 at the break. Brooks continues to impose his pressure and uses his hand fight to set up his low single for a takedown. Brooks seems to be in a groove now an converts on two more takedowns but in the process, Mirasola exposes Brooks and earns two points. Not much time left now, Mirasola earns a passivity point but Brooks wins – 11-5. Impressive showing for young Mirasola but Brooks is on another level right now.
Alex Dieringer takes the lead after 90 seconds of no score with a passivity point. Mark Hall hits a really smooth duck under for a takedown and goes into the lead, 2-1. Just 30 seconds later, Dieringer responds with a takedown of his own to take back the lead before the break, 3-2. Mark Hall is having a hard time getting through Dieringer’s defense and Dieringer counters an errant shot for another takedown. Despite the effort from Hall, Dieringer holds on to win 5-2.
Two more quarters up now at 86 – Trent Hidlay vs Carter Starocci and Evan Wick vs Chance Marsteller. Marsteller is controlling the bout against Wick. Marsteller with a nice takedown in the first and two more takedowns in the second. Wick can’t get to Marsteller’s legs and Marsteller wins 6-0.
Great match going on between Starocci and Hidlay – dualing underhooks with both earning step outs in the first. Hidlay finally used his underhook to score a takedown but then Starocci countered with a takedown of his own. Hidlay’s pressure looks to really be challenging Starocci and Hilday earns another takedown to lead 5-3. Hidlay adds a step out, and though Starocci earns a step out too, Hidlay wins a good – 6-4.
Men’s Freestyle 74 kg
Jordan Burroughs is on the mat! Burroughs is taking on Alex Facundo who redshirted this year at Penn State. It’s Facundo who strikes first and earns a takedown with a nice single leg to lead 2-0. Burroughs is having trouble getting to Facundo’s leg but Burroughs is doing a good job getting step outs and he earns two before the break to trail on criteria after the first. In the second, Burroughs earns another step out to take the lead 3-2. Facundo gets to Burroughs legs again and almost earns a step out but JB walks the out of bounds line and then gets Facundo to step out. NLWC corner is challenging but they lose the challenge and Burroughs gets another point to lead 5-2. Facundo is pressuring forward and earns another step out point but time runs out and Jordan Burroughs wins a tight match – 5-3.
While the Jordan Burroughs match was going on, Mitchell Mesenbrink teched Ladarion Lockett, 13-3. I can’t provide you all the details (because I was locked into the Burroughs – Facundo match) but it was a fun one with some wild scrambles.
Also, while the Burroughs-Facundo match was going on, Jarrett Jacques upset #3 seed Quincy Monday, 5-0. Again, I missed a lot of the action but Jacques is putting together a great tournament with wins over Vincenzo Joseph and Quincy Monday.
Another great bout at 74 kg between Jason Nolf and Alex Marinelli. Nolf wastes little time after earning an early stepout and gets a takedown then immediately transitions to his par terre offense to take a 7-0 lead. Nolf pretty much shuts it down for the rest of the match and wins 7-2.
Men’s Freestyle 97 kg
J’den Cox is taking the mat for his first match at an Olympic Trials since 2016. Cox is wrestling Christian Carroll and I honestly have no idea how this match is going to go.Nothing really happened in the first – Carroll earned a point off a passivity. More of the same in the second but this time it’s Cox earning a point and he leads on criteria. Really uneventful match and J’den Cox wins 1-1.
Nate Jackson and Kollin Moore are wrestling for what feels like the 20th time. Moore has Jackson’s number in this rivalry and while I wasn’t able to catch all the details, this match played out like most of their others. Jackson and Moore exchanged leads throughout but Moore pulled away in the end to win 16-6.
Jay Aiello won a wild match against Michael Macchiavello, 8-4. Macchiavello was up early but Aiello used a late takedown to a leg lace to pull away for the win.
Isaac Trumble won the final quarter-final bout over Eric Schultz. Trumble controlled from start to finish and won 7-3.
Men’s Freestyle 125 kg
2022 World Teamer Hayden Zillmer is back after going down with an injury in early 2023. Zillmer’s taking on Demetrius Thomas in his quarterfinal bout and took the lead early with a takedown. Thomas made things interesting in the second with a takedown to take the lead on criteria but Zillmer responded with a takedown of his own to regain the lead. Zillmer held the lead and won 4-2.
Playing catchup a bit here with some of the results so I’m not able to give detailed match notes. However, the match between Dom Bradley and Wyatt Hendrickson was the most exciting in this weight. At one point, Bradley ran Hendrickson completely off the stage! In the end, Bradley came out on top of a back-and-forth match, 12-8.
On the bottom side of the bracket both Greg Kerkvliet and Nick Gwiazdowski won their matches dominantly. Kerkvliet defeated Christian Lance 10-0 and Gwiazdowski beat Jaron Smith 12-1.
Men’s Freestyle 57 kg
Huge matches this round with high schooler Jax Forrest taking on 2021 world champion Thomas Gilman. Forrest strikes first with his slide-by and earns a takedown! Gilman is getting to his under hook and used that to earn a step out. Gilman gets another step out to tie it up 2-2 but Forrest still leads on criteria, 2-2. Forrest is spending a lot of time on his knees with Gilman in the front head lock position. Gilman with the front headlock and Forrest sucker drags to another takedown – Forrest leads 4-2! Gilman earns another step out to close the gap to 4-3. Gilman gets back to his underhook and takes Forrest over on the edge for two – now Gilman takes his first lead of the match 5-4 as we go into the break.
The pace is slowing down a bit in the second period and neither wrestler seems to be forcing any offense. Forrest needs one point to take the lead but Gilman is holding position and defending well. Thirty seconds to go now and Forrest gets in deep on a fireman’s but Gilman defends and Forrest still needs a point. Forrest is coming forward but can’t convert and Gilman holds on to win – 5-4. Incredible match!
Zane Richards and Luke Lilledahl wrestled at the same time as Forrest and Gilman so I missed most of their action but followed the scores. Richards took a 3-0 lead off a takedown and step out but Lilledahl responded with a takedown of his own. Richards closed the door on Lilledahl with another takedown in the second and won 5-3.
Daton Fix and Nick Suriano also wrestled while Forrest and Gilman were wrestling so I didn’t catch their full match. However, Fix won 5-1 in a fairly uneventful match. The turning point of the bout came when Suriano was behind Fix in quad pod but was unable to finish. Then, Suriano challenged and lost giving Fix a point.
Spencer Lee and Nico Megaludis is the final quarter at 57 kg. Spencer earned the first takedown with a pancake but didn’t score while in par terre. Lee got another takedown and this time was able to get to his gut wrench for two turns and almost ended the match with a fall before Nico turned down. Despite not getting the fall, the damage was done for Lee and he took a 8-0 lead into the break. Spencer mostly shut it down in the second, and while Nico was close to scoring a few times, neither wrestler scored any points giving Spencer Lee the 8-0 win.
Women’s Freestyle 50 kg
#1 seed Audrey Jimenez is up for her first match of the tournament against Nyla Valencia. Jimenez gets a quick takedown, transitions to a lace, and ends it with a tech – great match for Jimenez. Similar to Jimenez, senior-level vet Erin Golston earns a quick tech over Kaelani Shufeldt. Jimenez and Golston should be a fun semifinal later today.
Sage Mortimer and Mia Palumbo are in a bit of a war on Mat 3. Mortimer is a really physical 50 kg wrestler and Palumbo is bleeding early. Mortimer takes the early lead with a takedown and turn but Palumbo responds with a takedown to make it 4-2 at the break. Palumbo gets to Mortimer’s legs a few times in the second but Mortimer counters with a crotch lift. Mortimer just a little better and she wins 10-2. Mortimer will face Samar Chavez in the semis – Chaves took out Kendra Ryan, 10-3 in the quarters.
Women’s Freestyle 53 kg
53 kg has some great quarters and Katie Gomez kicks it off with a first period tech over Brianna Gonzalez. Gomez looks sharp but will be tested by Haley Augello in the semi finals later tonight. Augello defeated Felicity Taylor 5-1 in a match that she controlled from start to finish. I believe Augello and Gomez wrestled at Senior Nationals where Gomez won on criteria.
Areana Villaescusa and Vayle Baker won the other two quarter-finals and will meet in the semis. Baker had to hold on late against Amy Mason while Villaescua won 5-2 over Alisha Howk.
Women’s Freestyle 57 kg
Top-seeded Xochitl Mota-Pettis teched Cameron Guerin to make the semis. Mota-Pettis will now wrestle #5 seed Alex Hedrick who defeated Bridgette Duty, 6-3 in the quarters.
On the bottom side of the bracket, #3 seed Abby Nette teched #6 seed Amani Jones, 13-2. #7 seed Cristelle Rodriguez pulled off the upset of the weight defeating #2 seed Amanda Martinez, 4-2.
Women’s Freestyle 62 kg
Two-time world medalist and #1 seed Mallory Velte rolled in her opening match over Clair DiCugno. DiCugno actually got the first takedown but Velte earned a takedown late in the first to lead 2-2 at the break. Then in the second, Velte scored a 4-pointer before ending the match with a takedown and a few turns. Velte will now wrestle #4 seed Ashlynn Ortega in the semis. Ortega defeated #5 seed Maya Latona, 8-2.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Katie Lange and Adaugo Nwachukwu both earned tech fall wins over their opponents to make the semis.
Women’s Freestyle 68 kg
Top seeded Forrest Molinari earned an 11-0 tech fall win over #8 seed Solin Piearcy. Molinari will now face Aine Drury in the semis who defeated Alara Boyd 5-1 in her quarterfinal bout.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Reese Larramendy and Brooklyn Hays wrestled the most exciting bout of the weight. Larramendy came out on top in a high scoring match, 10-8. Larramendy will now wrestle Alex Glaude in the semis – Glaude defeated Caitlyn Davis in a controlling, 6-0 match.
Women’s Freestyle 76 kg
#1 seed Kennedy Blades put on a show in her tech fall win over Skylar Grote – Blades ended the match with a BIG 5. Blades will wrestle Guilford next in the semis – Guilford won a 9-0 decision over Tristan Kelly.
On the bottom side of the bracket, both Kylie Welker and Yelena Makoyed won by tech in their quarterfinal bouts. Makoyed teched Precious Wieser (12-2) while Welker teched Marlynne Deede (10-0).
Greco-Roman 97 kg
Braxton Amos is the #2 seed and making his return after a long layoff due to injury. Amos looks good early with a quick takedown and a couple of turns to lead 6-0. After a step out, Amos gives up a 4-pointer and he’s hurt. Oh man, that’s really disappointing for Amos, looks to be his same shoulder he injured in 2023. Amos is going to injury default and Diante Cooper moves on.
Also at 97 kg, #1 seed Joe Rau moves on with a 7-0 win over Brandon Marshall and #4 seed Tate Orndorff defeats Michael Altomer 6-0. Rau and Orndorff will meet in the semis in what should be a great match. Nicholas Boykin wins in the other quarter over George Sikes and Boykin should be a pretty solid favorite over Diante Cooper.
Greco-Roman 130 kg
There was only one quarter-final bout here and Donny Longendyke won a close, 5-3 bout over Jeremiah Imonde. Longedyke will now take on top seeded Adam Coon in the semis.
Greco-Roman 87 kg
I missed most of the action at this weight but the most notable result came with #7 seed Payton Jacobson taking out #2 seed Richard Carlson. Jacobson will now wrestle #3 seed Zac Braunagel who defeated #6 seed Ben Provisor. On the top side of the bracket, #1 seed Mahmoud Sebie defeated Ryan Epps, 6-0 and #4 seed John Stefanowicz defeated #5 seed Tim Young, 8-0.
Greco Roman 60 kg
Top-seeded Ildar Hafizov gets a 9-0 tech fall over Phillip Moomey. Hafizov will face past world team member Sammy Jones in the semis who defeated Randon Miranda, 5-0.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Max Black won a battle over Dylan Gregerson, 4-1. Black will wrestle Dalton Roberts in the semis – Roberts teched Taylor Lamont in their quarter-final bout, 9-1.
Greco-Roman 77 kg
Kamal Bey dropped a few Bey Bombs in his tech fall win over Vincent Dolce. Bey will wrestle RaVaughn Perkins in the semis – Perkins defeated Danny Braunagel in the quarters – 4-1.
On the bottom side of the bracket, 44 year-old and two-time Olympian Aliaksandr Kikinou made the semis by defeating Jesse Porter – 6-0. Benji Peak, although he looked a little hobbled, teched Tyler Eischens 9-0 in the quarters. Peak and Kikinou will wrestle in the semis in what will be a rematch from the Senior Nationals where Peak won.
Session 1 – Round Of 16
Men’s Freestyle 65 kg
Big matches to start the tournament at 65 kg! We’ve got Larkin vs Kolodzik, Mendez vs McKenna, Bartlett vs Garrett, and Pantaleo vs Gross on the mats and ready to roll. Jesse Mendez gets a big head pinch in the first to take a 4-0 lead. Just a few seconds later Beau Bartlett hits a four-pointer of his own and the Penn State crowd is feeling it.
Kaleb Larkin gets the first win of the day with a 13-2 tech fall over Matt Kolodzik. Larkin gave up the first takedown but then locked up a leg lace and finished it off in the first period. Larkin’s going to be a fun one to watch at 65 kg – he’s really long and seems to be tricky in a lot of areas.
Garrett and Bartlett are putting points on the board – it’s 9-6 Bartlett with just over a minute to go. Mendez is still controlling McKenna – he’s leading 6-1 with just 30 seconds to go. Pantaleo is holding on to a 4-2 lead but looks to be fading slightly.
And that’ll do it for the rest of the 65 kg matches – Bartlett wins 10-6, Mendez wins 8-2, and Pantaleo holds on 5-3.
Men’s Freestyle 86 kg
Connor Mirasola and David McFadden are battling in a low-scoring bout. Mirasola took a 1-0 lead into the break and then added another point off a stepout in the second to lead 2-0 with about 2 minutes to go. McFadden gets in deep on a double with 30 seconds to go but Mirasola feeds him some heavy hips to fend off the takedown. Mirasola wrestles through the position and gets the takedown. And Mirasola wins it 4-0.
Max Dean vs Evan Wick now – wild to see these two meet considering Wick wrestled at 165 in college while Dean ended his college career at 197. Wick is rolling here with a couple early takedowns. Now Wick gets to his lace and ends it with a tech – Wick moves on.
And now the match everyone is waiting for in the first round – Carter Starocci vs Pat Downey! Huge cheers from the Penn State crowd as Starocci takes the mat. Early shot from Starocci but Downey counters it with a pancake and scores 2 – Downey leading 2-0. Starocci continues to move forward and gets in on Downey’s legs again but Downey takes him through for another exposure, but Starocci wrestles through for a reversal – it’s 4-1 now. Downey looks to be fading slightly but he’ll hold his lead going into the break.
Downey doesn’t have anyone in his corner so a trainer matside steps up to towel Downey off. Downey’s looking really fatigued early in the second and signals for injury time – the crowd does not like that and lets him know with some boos. Downey took a good 2-3 minutes of injury time but makes his way back to his feet. Starocci gets to a single now and finishes right to a lace to take a 7-4 lead and the crowd is the loudest they’ve been all morning – huge cheers for Starocci. Downey’s fading fast now and Starocci is feeling it. Starocci adds a few more takedown and he wins 12-4.
Men’s Freestyle 74 kg
Fun first-round match here for Penn State fans with Alex Facundo taking on Levi Haines. Facundo is more offensive to start this on – Haines gets put on the clock early but can’t score so Facundo takes the lead, 1-0. Facundo gets to Haines’ legs in the second and finishes for a takedown to lead 3-0.
Meyer Shapiro and Ladarion Lockett are up now – I looked away and suddenly Ladarion Lockett has a 10-1 lead over Shapiro at the break! Shapiro comes out of the break looking to get his offense going but Lockett counters for a takedown and gets the tech! Wow – did not expect that from the high schooler.
Vincenzo Joseph and Jarrett Jacques are locked in a battle along with Alex Marinelli and Tyler Berger. Jacques is leading Cenzo late and holds on to win on criteria – 6-6. Jacques is tough but that’s definitely an upset.
Marinelli holds a 1-0 lead into the break. Marinelli adds a takedown in the second and Berger’s having trouble getting to any offense. Not much going on for the rest of the second period and Marinelli wins 4-0.
Men’s Freestyle 97 kg
Christian Carroll vs Tony Cassioppi! This is the only 97 kg match this round and it’s a fascinating matchup. Carroll redshirted this past year for Oklahoma State and Cassioppi is a 3-time All-American – both guys are dropping from heavyweight. And it’s Carroll who strikes first with a takedown in just thirty seconds! Cassioppi is putting the pressure on and gets close to scoring a few times but can’t finish on Carroll. Cassioppi finally gets a takedown with 30 seconds left to take the lead on criteria. Cassioppi gets another takedown before the end of the second and adds a turn to lead 6-2 going into the break.
Carroll starts the second period like the first and gets a takedown to cut the lead to 6-4 but he’ll need one more takedown to take the lead. Cassioppi takes a shot and almost finishes but Carroll hips in and throws him off balance and gets an exposure – Carroll takes the lead on criteria with only 10 seconds left! Cassioppi coming forward but can’t score – big win for Christian Carroll.
Men’s Freestyle 125 kg
The big boys are on the mat! Gary Traub is taking on Jaron Smith while Trent Hillger and Demetrius Thomas are squaring off on Mat 1. Jaron Smith looks to be making the most of his trials – he had to qualify at the last chance and holds a 6-2 lead in the second. Traub can’t get to his offense and Smith wins – 6-2. Meanwhile, Thomas and Hillger are putting up some offense – Thomas led early 5-1 but Hillger stormed back to lead on criteria, 5-5. Thomas gets back to his offense with a couple of takedowns to win 11-7.
Men’s Freestyle 57 kg
Fantastic round-one matches up now – Marcus Blaze vs Nick Suriano, Jax Forrest vs Liam Cronin, and Daniel DeShazer vs Luke Lilledahl! We’ve got three high schoolers on the mat in Blaze, Forrest, and Lilledahl. Jax with a takedown in just 10 seconds to lead early and then gets right to his top work and Forrest is out to an 8-0 lead in less than a minute. Forrest gets another takedown for the tech in just 1:18 seconds and the crowd loves it. Pretty interesting – cheers for Jax Forrest were probably the loudest outside of any Penn State wrestlers.
Suriano gets a passivity point but not much else happening in this one. Suriano leads 1-0 heading to the break. Now in the second, Blaze gets to his single and finishes the takedown to take the 2-1 lead. Suriano pressing forward and earns a stepout to tie the match but Blaze still leads on criteria. Suriano continues to pressure and now he gets to a leg and finishes to take the lead 4-2 with under 30 seconds. Suriano is defending well and Blaze can’t get to his legs – Suriano wins, 4-2.
Similar to the Blaze-Suriano match, it’s 1-0 at the break with Lilledahl leading off a passivity point. Now, DeShazer gets a point as the shot clock expires to lead on criteria. Not a ton of action from either wrestler but with less than a minute, DeShazer gets another point to lead outright, 2-1. Now, with under 20 seconds to go, Lilledahl gets to DeShazer’s legs and finishes out of bounds for the takedown – Lilledahl up 3-2. DeShazer’s pressuring forward but he can’t do it, Lilledahl wins.
Women’s Freestyle 57 kg
The first women’s matches are up now with three 57 kg matches on the mat. Not a ton going on early in these matches – Cam Guerin leading Shelby Moore 3-0 at the break, Cristelle Rodriguez is controlling Alexis Janiak, 7-2, and Carolina Moreno is down early with an injury.
Rodriguez rolls to a tech and Amani Jones wins by injury default over Moreno. Guerin controls from start to finish and wins by 5-1 over a tough Moore.
Women’s Freestyle 50 kg
Mia Palumbo vs Emilie Gonzalez and Nyla Valencia vs Ava Bayless are on the mats now at 50kg. Valencia and Bayless are scrapping! A couple of fun exchanges between those two and Valencia leads 5-2 at the break. Valencia continues to pressure forward and get to her offense. She adds a couple takedowns and exposure to win 11-4. Meanwhile, Palumbo is rolling against Gonzalez and gets an 11-0 tech fall.
Greco-Roman 60 kg
The Greco boys are starting to take the mats and we’ve got our first big headlock as Taylor Lamont throws Billy Sullivan to his back early! Lamont gets the first-period fall. Phillip Moomey grinds out a 4-2 win over Brady Koontz.
Full 2024 Olympic Trials Schedule
*All times listed are Eastern Standard Time
Friday, April 19
Session 1: 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Challenge Tournament: Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rounds*
(ALL STYLES AND WEIGHTS)
*All championship matches will wrestle prior to consolation rounds
Session 2: 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Challange Tournament: Semifinals and Finals
(ALL STYLES AND WEIGHTS)
Saturday, April 20
Session 3: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 1**
**Weights not currently qualified for the Olympics will wrestle match 2 in this session
Challenge Tournament: Consolations, Consolation Semi-finals, 3rd place and True 3rd (if needed)
(ALL STYLES AND WEIGHTS)
Session 4: 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 2**
**Weights not currently qualified for the Olympics will wrestle match 3 at beginning of session (if needed)
Final 2 out of 3 Championship Series Round 3 (If Needed)
