The men’s freestyle seeds for the 2023 US Open were released yesterday and overall, they’re okay. We always hear the cliche saying, "seeds don’t mean anything!" That might be true, especially in a tournament where only the champion will qualify for Final X. However, because there’s so much on the line at the US Open, it’s imperative that seeds are correct. For that reason, I want to highlight a few instances that shine a lot on some of the inconsistencies in the Men's Freestyle seeds.

Why Did Spencer Get The #2 Seed?

Yes, I know - he’s Spencer Lee and most are likely picking him to win the US Open in a field that contains Nick Suriano, Zane Richards, and Pat Glory. I picked him to win too! However, Spencer hasn’t wrestled a senior-level freestyle tournament (or any freestyle tournament) since December 2019! In that time, Richards, Suriano, and Glory have all been more active in freestyle.

Spencer Lee's win over Nathan Tomasello in the 2019 Senior National Finals:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Zane Richards received the #1 seed because he made the national team last season finishing 3rd on the ladder behind Thomas Gilman and Vito Arujau. Richards also had an impressive win over 2022 World Bronze medalist Zanabazar Zandanbud at the World Cup last December. Despite that, Nick Suriano has never lost to Richards with their last meeting coming at the last tournament Spencer Lee wrestled - Senior Nationals in December of 2019. So if Spencer is getting credit for winning the 2019 Senior Nationals, shouldn’t Suriano get credit for beating Richards?

Suriano's win over Richards at the 2019 Senior Nationals:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Then there’s Pat Glory. He obviously just won 125 pound NCAA bracket where Spencer Lee placed 6th. While that was in a different style, Glory also made the U23 world team back in 2021. Again, Glory has wrestled more freestyle recently and just won NCAAs. 

All of this to say - I don’t know how the seeding committee rationally got to Spencer as the #2 seed. In my opinion, you either put Spencer at the #1 seed or put him at the #4 seed. You can make the argument that the last time he was in a freestyle tournament, he won it with Suriano and Richards in the bracket. Or you say he hasn’t wrestled freestyle in 3.5 years and you put him behind Richards, Suriano, and Glory who have more recent results.

65kg Is A Mess

First things first, Evan Henderson should be the #1 seed! Henderson made Final X last year by making the World Team Trials finals with wins over Nick Lee, Kendric Maple, and Pat Lugo. At that same tournament Joey McKenna (who got the #1 seed), lost to Ian Parker in the quarter-finals before wrestling back for third. The seeding committee gave Zane Richards the benefit of his finish on the national team, why not give the same benefit to Evan Henderson?

The only rationale for giving McKenna the #1 seed is that McKenna defeated Henderson the last time they wrestled - February 2022 at the Yasar Dogu. That was 3 months before the World Team Trials. The WTT should carry more weight because it’s a more recent result, and it was at a USA Wrestling event used to determine the world team. 

Joey McKenna's win over Evan Henderson at the 2022 Yasar Dogu:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

The contradictions continue in the 65kg seeding after the top 2. Get ready, because we’re going to do a deep dive here. At last year’s US Open, Ian Parker lost to Matt Kolodzik but then Parker came back to take 3rd beating Cole Matthews. Then Ian Parker defeated Joey McKenna (the #1 seed) a month later at the World Team Trials before taking 4th (losing to only Yianni and McKenna). Kolodzik failed to place at WTT losing to Nick Lee and Beau Bartlett. 

Fast forward to June at U23 Nationals. There, Cole Matthews won while securing a win over Ridge Lovett. At the same tournament, Lovett went on to beat Beau Bartlett (remember Bartlett beat Kolodzik at WTT). Then in January of 2023, Lovett also beat Matt Kolodzik at the Henri Deglane in France to place 3rd. Based on all of those results, here’s how the seeds should shake out:

Kozak's Official 65kg seeds:

1. Evan Henderson
2. Joey McKenna
3. Nick Lee
4. Pat Lugo
5. Ian Parker
6. Cole Matthews
7. Ridge Lovett
8. Beau Bartlett
9. Matt Kolodzik
10. Anthony Ashnault
11. Luke Pletcher 
12. Brandon Wright

The actual official 65kg seeds:

1. Joseph McKenna
2. Evan Henderson
3. Nick Lee
4. Patricio Lugo
5. Ridge Lovett
6. Matthew Kolodzik
7. Ian Parker
8. Anthony Ashnault
9. Luke Pletcher
10. Beau Bartlett
11. Brandon Wright
12. Cole Matthews

Simply put - Evan Henderson, Ian Parker, Cole Matthews, and Beau Bartlett should all be seeded higher.

Keegan And Kueter Should Get The Same Treatment

I can’t make sense of Keegan O’Toole and Ben Kueter’s seeds. Keegan got the #4 seed behind Jason Nolf, Joey Lavallee, and Vincenzo Joseph. However, O’Toole is also ahead of Tommy Gantt, Collin Purinton, and Josh Shields. While O’Toole is a junior world champion and 2-time NCAA champion, he doesn’t have any senior-level experience. Meanwhile, Gantt, Purinton, and Shields have been incredibly active on the senior level - all placed at the US Open last year. Shields placed second, Purinton 3rd, and Gantt 6th. Then Gantt went on to place 4th at the 2022 World Team Trials. 

It’s challenging to project where O’Toole fits with no senior-level experience, however, if he’s behind Lavallee and Joseph, he should also be behind Gantt, Purinton, and Shields.

Kueter is in a similar situation as O’Toole - a past junior world champion with no senior-level experience. He doesn't have the NCAA experience but Kueter won junior worlds in 2022 yet he received the #5 seeds behind Morgan Smith and Sam Mitchell. Those two wrestlers are far less credentialed than those seeded behind O’Toole at 74kg. 

What’s my point here? Either Kueter needs to go to the #3 seed or O’Toole needs to move down to the #7.

Ben Kueter's gold medal match at the 2022 U20 World Championships:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Mason Parris At The 4?

Mason Parris should 100% be seeded above Dom Bradley. While Mason Parris didn’t wrestle freestyle last year, he defeated Dom Bradley the last time they wrestled - 7-3 at the Olympic trials in April 2021. Beyond that, Mason Parris made the 2021 World Team Trials finals, taking second behind Nick Gwiazdowski where Bradley placed 4th. At that tournament, Parris defeated Zillmer while Bradley lost to Zillmer twice. 

Parris being seeded behind Bradley doesn’t fit the logic used at other weights - primarily used at 57kg with Spencer Lee. Parris has more recent results in freestyle than Spencer does and he has a head-to-head win over the wrestler he’s seeded behind. Instead, Parris received the #4 seed and will likely face Olympic Champion Gable Steveson in the semi-finals. If Parris loses, he could still go to the World Team Trials in May to qualify for Final X but that doesn’t mean that he’s seeded correctly at the Open.

Mason Parris' win over Hayden Zillmer at the 2021 World Team Trials:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

At the end of the day, seeding isn’t the most important thing but it does matter. It’s worth mentioning that USA Wrestling is now using a Performance Index (PIN) for seeding purposes. This is an entirely new process and I’m going to be honest, I don’t understand fully understand how it works (though it is briefly explained here). The seeding process should follow a simple procedure that has a clear set of criteria and time frames when considering head-to-head results. 

Regardless of the seeds, the US Open will be incredible and is the deepest field in recent memory. And remember, "seeds don't mean anything!"