2017 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships

Four Must Watch Junior Greco Finals

Four Must Watch Junior Greco Finals

Four finals matchups to watch at the UWW Junior Greco-Roman world team trials

Apr 27, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
Four Must Watch Junior Greco Finals
The finals have been set for our UWW Junior Greco Trials, and we've got some good ones for you. Finals start at 3pm Pacific and will of course be LIVE on Flo.

Remember, complete brackets and archived matches can be found on FloArena. A full results page is here. Now let's get to can't miss finals.

66kg: Dom Demas vs Lenny Merkin

This is one I didn't see coming. Merkin knocked two world teamers out to set this match up with Demas. Turns out the boys up in Princeton can wrestle some upper body. Demas is one of the more exciting guys in this bracket, and presents yet another world teamer for Merkin. The Tiger freshman will have to fight off arm spins and excellent par terre lifts to take this one.

74kg: Jesse Porter vs Jake Allar

This one is a rematch of last year's UWW junior semis, won by Porter 14-6. Allar has a Fargo title to his name and was a 2015 Cadet world team member, but is taking on one of the bright up and comers on the senior level. Porter was in the finals of Senior Nationals and the Dave Schultz, so he could prove to be too much for Allar.

84kg: Tommy Brackett vs Wyatt Koelling

Brackett gave one of the all-time greatest Fargo interviews ever last year, saying "Freestyle is the F word to me." There is almost no one in the entire field who has made as rapid an ascent as Brackett. He placed at Senior nationals fewer than 18 months after going 0-2 in Fargo. Koelling was a 2015 Cadet world teamer with Allar in his second consecutive junior final.

55kg: Randon Miranda vs Gabriel Townsell

Fun one between two guys changing weights. Miranda is coming up from 50 where he was on last year's junior team, and Townsell is coming down from 60 where he was third here last year. Townsell's height (or lack thereof) will present a problem for Miranda, but coming off of a folkstyle season may have trouble fighting through Miranda's ties. Then again, it hasn't seemed to hurt Merkin so far.


Finals Matchups

50kg: Elijah Varona (New York RTC/NYAC) vs Cevion Severado (Xtreme Regional Training Center)
55kg: Randon Miranda (NYAC) vs Gabriel Townsell (Stanford - California RTC)
60kg: Wesley Dawkins (MWC Wrestling Academy) vs Dalton Young (Team Washington)
66kg: Lenny Merkin (Princeton Wrestling Club) vs Dominick Demas (Columbus Wrestling Club)
74kg: Jesse Porter (NYAC) vs Jake Allar (Minnesota Storm)
84kg: Thomas Brackett (West Tennessee Takedown Club) vs Wyatt Koelling (Missouri Wrestling Foundation)
96kg: Blake Smith (NMU-OTS) vs Haydn Maley (ROSEBURG MAT CLUB)
120kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah Wrestling Club) vs Cohlton Schultz (NYAC)