2016 U.S. Olympic Trials

Heavyweight Men's Freestyle Preview

Heavyweight Men's Freestyle Preview

Every wrestler circles the Olympic Team Trials as their main goal in their four-year cycle. Without winning at the trials, the wrestler can’t earn the sport

Apr 6, 2016 by Brock Hite
Heavyweight Men's Freestyle Preview
Every wrestler circles the Olympic Team Trials as their main goal in their four-year cycle. Without winning at the trials, the wrestler can’t earn the sport’s ultimate prize: an Olympic gold medal. 

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Every wrestler circles the Olympic Team Trials as their main goal in their four-year cycle. Without winning at the trials, the wrestler can’t earn the sport’s ultimate prize: an Olympic gold medal. 

Now, the four-year wait is nearly over. Wrestlers will battle in Iowa City's Carver Hawkeye Arena on April 9 and 10 for the right to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in Rio. 

Note: Some of the trial winners will have to earn the spot for the U.S. at the Last Chance Qualifiers in Mongolia or Turkey later this spring.

The Field 86kg (189 lbs)

Jake Herbert (2015 USA World Team member)
Ed Ruth (Bill Farrell highest medalist)
Kyle Dake (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 1st)
David Taylor (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 2nd)
Keith Gavin (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 3rd)
Jon Reader (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 4th)
Richard Perry (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 5th)
Clayton Foster (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 6th)
Tyler Caldwell (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 7th)
Austin Trotman (Dave Schultz highest medalist)
Myles Martin (NCAA champion)
Gabe Dean (NCAA champion)
J'Den Cox (NCAA champion)
Deron Winn (Last Chance Qualifier Champion)

Rankings Used To Seed

1. Jake Herbert, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)
2. Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC)
3. David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
4. Keith Gavin, Charlottesville, Va. (Titan Mercury WC)
5. Ed Ruth, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
6. Jon Reader, Brookings, S.D. (Sunkist Kids)
7. Richard Perry, Philadelphia, Pa. (New York AC/Penn WC)
8. Clayton Foster, Laramie, Wyo. (GRIT Athletics /Wyoming RTC)

The Favorites

Jake Herbert stunned me with his dominance of Ed Ruth last year after a long layoff and shoulder surgery. He didn’t have the world tournament he hoped for, but Herbert seems ready to compete well following a second shoulder surgery. Although he lost to Salas Perez and didn’t qualify the weight class at the Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier, Herbert’s performance leads me to believe he is healthy and ready for the trials.

Kyle Dake just wins…. domestically…. when not wrestling Jordan Burroughs… but you get the point. Dake is certainly undersized, but that didn’t stop him from winning U.S. Senior Nationals in December. If the seeds hold up, there will be an interesting storyline for his quarterfinal. Dake went 2-1 at the Medved in February as he lost to Omargadzhy Magomedov of Belarus. The Belarusian didn’t make the finals to pull Dake into the repechage, because he was defeated by American Richard Perry -- the same Richard Perry that is seeded seventh and will probably be Dake’s quarterfinal opponent.

David Taylor
would have one of the best resumes in American history if not for Dake, who has been his Kryptonite dating back to the 2012 Olympic Team Trials. It appeared that Taylor's move to 86kg would give him a fresh start away from his nemesis, but that was short-lived as Dake announced his move to 86kg shortly after him. Taylor was impressive on his way to Senior National finals with technically superior wins over former teammate Ruth and Perry. Unfortunately for Taylor, Dake was waiting in the finals. Can Taylor finally get past Dake? Will Perry do the work for Taylor? How will Taylor match up with Jon Reeder? So many questions will be answered in just a few days.


The Dark Horses

Richard Perry brought a silver and bronze medal home from his past two outings overseas. Both competitions were at the Medved Prizes tournament in Belarus, which has arguably been the toughest tournament outside of Worlds the past two years. Perry has great freestyle experience, but he hasn’t been able to get over the hump domestically. Could this be his time to put things together against other American competitors?

There might not be anyone in the Trials with more questions surrounding them than Ed Ruth. He earned the world team spot in 2014 and it looked like it would be his for a long time. Since that world tournament in 2014, Ruth has dabbled in MMA training, relocated to Arizona to train with the Sunkist Kids Club, and been defeated soundly by Herbert and Taylor. If a properly motivated and trained Ruth shows up in Iowa City, will any of you bet against him? I certainly wouldn’t, but I doubt we'll see the best version of Ruth.

Early Matches To Watch

Kyle Dake vs Richard Perry, Quarterfinal
When Dake and Taylor at 86kg, there were a lot of questions about how they would perform and what guys would provide stylistic problems for each competitor in the new weight. Could Perry be a bad matchup for Dake?

David Taylor vs Jon Reader, Quarterfinal
Just like Dake meeting Perry for the first time at 86kg, you can’t be totally sure what you are going to get when Taylor and Reader take to the mat. The unknown makes me eagerly anticipate the early round bouts at 86kg so much more than the weights we have already seen play out over and over.

J'Den Cox vs His Draw
J'Den Cox is a complete wildcard at 86kg. He had a great Fargo rivalry with world champion Kyle Snyder, which leads you to believe Cox will be a challenge for anyone in the field. He most certainly will be one of the biggest guys out there, but you make the team by wrestling, not by being bigger than your opponents. 

The Pick

Kyle Dake over Jake Herbert, two matches to one

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The Field 97kg (213 lbs)

Kyle Snyder (2015 USA World Team member)
Jake Varner (Past Olympic medalist from 2012)
J.D. Bergman (Bill Farrell highest medalist)
Wynn Michalak (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 1st)
Scott Schiller (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 2nd)
Kyen Gadson (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 3rd)
Dustin Kilgore (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 4th)
Micah Burak (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 5th)
JT Felix (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 6th)
Enock Francois (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 7th)
Cayle Byers (Dave Schultz highest medalist)
Kallen Kleinschmidt (Last Chance Qualifier Champion)

Rankings Used To Seed

1. Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC)
2. Jake Varner, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
3. J.D. Bergman, Columbus, Ohio (New York AC/Ohio RTC)
4. Dustin Kilgore, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
5. Cayle Byers, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
6. Wynn Michalak, Champaign, Ill. (Titan Mercury WC)
7. Kyven Gadson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
8. Scott Schiller, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)

The Favorites

Kyle Snyder proved his world title was no fluke with his performance overseas this winter. He didn't win titles, but his two losses were close decisions to an all-time great in Gatsalov and The Russian God of Thunder, Anzor Boltukaev. Even with the losses, he confirmed his spot among elite 97kg wrestlers in the world. He waits in the best-of-three series for a challenger.

Jake Varner is the reigning Olympic champion. He has been wrestling well this winter, and I believe this is the best version of Jake Varner we have seen since the 2012 Olympic Games. I expect to see in the championship series trying to take down the reigning world champion.

The Dark Horses

The only other wrestler in the field with world team experience, ​J.D. Bergman ​has created problems for Varner in the past. This season, he wrestled very well, but struggled to close matches. Bergman made tweaks throughout the season trying to get that gas-tank issue resolved, which will help since he's the biggest threat to Varner in the mini-tournament. He's probably the guy Snyder would least like to see through the mini-tournament because of their familiarity with each other from the Ohio Regional Training Center.

Wynn Michalak is a big-move guy. He can pin anyone and has plenty of great wrestlers on his resume as victims. I can’t see him stringing enough of those kinds of wins together to make the team, but he sure could throw a wrench into some plans of the bracket going to chalk.

Early Matches To Watch

J.D. Bergman vs Scott Schiller, Quarterfinal
Bergman worked on figuring out his conditioning this season. In the first three minutes, he looks as good as anyone in the weight class, but can he finish his matches? Was Scott Schiller’s run a U.S. Senior Nationals a fluke, or is he ready to break into the top tier of this weight class?

The Pick

Kyle Snyder over Jake Varner, two matches to zero

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The Field 125kg (275 lbs)

Zach Rey (2015 USA World Team member)
Tervel Dlagnev (Past World medalist from 2013 or 2014)
Nick Gwiazdowski (Bill Farrell highest medalist)
Dom Bradley (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 1st)
Tyrell Fortune (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 2nd)
Bobby Telford (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 3rd
Anthony Nelson (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 4th)
Eric Thompson (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 5th)
Connor Medbery (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 6th)
Justin Grant (Olympic Trials Qualifier - 7th)
Matt Meuleners (Dave Schultz highest medalist)
Blaize Cabell (Last Chance Qualifier Champion)

Rankings Used To Seed

1. Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
2. Zach Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley AC)
3. Nick Gwiazdowski, Delanson, N.Y. (New York AC/Wolfpack WC)
4. Dom Bradley, Blue Springs, Mo. (Sunkist Kids)
5. Tyrell Fortune, Tempe, Ariz. (Titan Mercury WC)
6. Bobby Telford, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
7. Anthony Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
8. Eric Thompson, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)

The Favorites

The big question at 125kg focuses on Tervel Dlagnev’s health. Is he the same guy after surgery? If the answer is yes, the weight class is a wrap. Even if he's at 90%, he's a solid favorite. But if he isn’t the same guy, the door will start to open.

Zach Rey got the opportunity to represent the United States at the 2015 World Championships when Dlagnev couldn’t compete due to injury. He's very close to being a top-15 wrestler in the world at 125kg, but he needs a go to attack. Rey sometimes struggles to score.

The Dark Horses

Nick Gwiazdowski appears to be the future of this weight class. He got by Dom Bradley at the Bill Farrell to qualify for the Trials back in November. It's probably too soon to be his time, but he will be there in the near future.

Dom Bradley won a junior world championship back in 2009, but he has the same problem Rey has: scoring points. He could defeat anyone in the field, but it's hard to see him winning five of these tight matches to earn the Olympic berth.

The Pick

Tervel Dlagnev over Zach Rey, two matches to zero

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Olympic Team Trials Schedule

Saturday, April 9
Men’s freestyle (65 kg and 125 kg)
Women’s freestyle (58 kg, 63 kg and 69 kg)
Greco-Roman (59 kg, 66 kg, 85 kg and 98 kg)
8:00 a.m. – Doors open to Carver-Hawkeye Arena
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Preliminaries through Challenge Tournament finals
5:00 p.m. – Doors open to Carver-Hawkeye Arena
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Best two of three Championship Series

Sunday, April 10
Men’s freestyle (57 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg)
Women’s freestyle (48 kg, 53 kg, 75 kg)
Greco-Roman (75 kg and 130 kg)
8:00 a.m. – Doors open to Carver-Hawkeye Arena
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Preliminaries through Challenge Tournament finals
5:00 p.m. – Doors open to Carver-Hawkeye Arena
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Best two of three Championship Series.