The Men’s Freestyle portion of the 2023 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will take place on May 21 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The winners of this tournament will earn a spot in Final X to compete in a best-of-3 series on June 10 for a spot on Team USA’s 2023 World Team. With 7 of the 10 Final X spots already filled, only 61kg, 92, and 125kg will compete at the WTT Challenge Tournament. 

Of any weight at the WTT Challenge Tournament, 61kg might be the deepest and most interesting of the entire event. Vito Arujau won the US Open last month and is already sitting in Final X but the field in Colorado Springs at 61kg will be incredibly deep. Check out the below article for the projected seeds and an in-depth breakdown of 61kg at the 2023 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.

Projected 61kg Seeding:

1. Austin DeSanto
2. Seth Gross
3. Daton Fix
4. Nahshon Garrett
5. Nathan Tomasello
6. Joe Colon
7. Aden Valencia

Other athletes who can enter: Nick Suriano, Pat Glory, Jakob Camacho, Jore Volk, Austin Assad, Cooper Flynn, Caleb Smith, Joe Manchio, Dalton Henderson

DeSanto, Gross, Or Fix?

61kg has three clear favorites at the WTT Challenge Tournament - Austin DeSanto, Seth Gross, and Daton Fix. All of those wrestlers have shown they’re capable of challenging the best in the world and could come away with the title in Colorado Springs. 

Let’s start with Austin DeSanto. We dug deep into the progress he’s made in freestyle over the past year in this article and DeSanto backed that up with his performance at the US Open. In Vegas, DeSanto teched 2018 World Medalist Joe Colon (12-0) and then defeated 2022 world team member Seth Gross (5-4) to make the US Open finals. Though DeSanto lost to Vito Arujau, he proved he’ll be a threat to defeat anyone in the field at the WTT.

Austin DeSanto's win over Seth Gross at the 2023 US Open:

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Though he lost to DeSanto just a few weeks ago, Seth Gross should not be underestimated at the trials. In fact, last year Gross lost to Nico Megaludis (4-1) at the US Open before getting revenge at the trials with a pin. Then, Gross went on to pull off the biggest upset of Final X last year when he defeated Daton Fix in an epic, 3-match series. Gross has proved he’s able to make key adjustments in a short amount of time and with the limited field at the trials, we should expect him to be prepared against the likes of both Austin DeSanto and Daton Fix.

Seth Gross' win over Daton Fix to make the 2022 World Team:

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Daton Fix might have lost to Gross last year at Final X,  but we shouldn’t underestimate him at the Trials. Fix is one of the best 61kg wrestlers in the world when he’s wrestling his best and he proved that when he won a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships. Fix is by far the most credentialed wrestler in this field and has past tech fall wins over both Seth Gross and Vito Arujau in freestyle. Beyond that, Fix was 3-0 against Austin DeSanto in college. If Fix wrestles to his potential, he’ll win the world team trials and set up a showdown with Vito Arujau at Final X.

Daton Fix's win over Seth Gross at the 2021 World Team Trials:

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Don’t Underestimate The Field

Nahshon Garrett, Joe Colon, Nathan Tomasello, and Aden Valencia are all entered at 61kg and are serious threats to challenge the favorites. Garrett has always had the high-powered offense to defeat anyone at 61kg. In fact, Garrett is 3-0 in his freestyle career against Seth Gross and had a great US Open defeating Cody Brewer (11-0), Daniel DeShazer (10-0), and Nathan Tomasello (10-0). If the seeding does follow my predictions, Garrett has a very navigable path to the finals with Tomasello in the quarters and DeSanto in the semis. Garrett and DeSanto wrestled earlier this year at the Henri Deglane in January. In that match, Garrett got up to an 8-point lead before DeSanto came back to win 14-13. 

Nahshon Garrett's win over Seth Gross at the 2020 RTC Cup:

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Nathan Tomasello is a dangerous challenge for any wrestler in this bracket. Tomasello placed 4th at the US Open last month and has past freestyle wins over Nick Suriano (2021 WTT), Joe Colon (2021 WTT), and Nahshon Garrett (2019 Senior Nationals). The biggest challenge for Tomasello will be getting by Daton Fix. The two have wrestled 4 times in freestyle with Fix winning all 4. 

Nathan Tomasello's win over Joe Colon at the 2021 World Team Trials:

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Aside from Daton Fix, Joe Colon is the only wrestler in the field with a senior-level world medal. Colon won world bronze back in 2018 and has wins on his freestyle resume both Seth Gross, Nahshon Garrett (2), and Aden Valencia. Though Colon might be a bit past his prime, he has the skills to pull off an upset and could upend one of the favorites early on in the tournament. 

Joe Colon's and Seth Gross put up 36 points in a match at 2020 Beat The Streets:

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Then there’s Aden Valencia who might be the biggest dark horse of anyone at the trials. Valencia, still a high school junior, had a breakout performance at the US Open where he defeated Michael Colaiocco (14-4), Shelton Mack (3-2), Josh Rodriguez (14-6), and Daniel DeShazer (2-1). On top of those wins, Valencia lost only to Austin DeSanto (3-0) and Joe Colon (13-11) at the US Open. Valencia might be young, but he’s proven he can wrestle with, and beat, some of the best on the senior level. 

Aden Valencia's win over Josh Rodriguez at the 2023 US Open:

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Will Nick Suriano Enter The World Team Trials?

Nick Suriano failed to make Final X after placing second at the US Open to Zane Richards. However, he’s qualified for the WTT Challenge Tournament and could enter at 61kg. Suriano hasn’t wrestled at 61kg since the 2021 World Team trials when he failed to place after losing to Nathan Tomasello. Despite that, Suriano would still be a huge threat to anyone in this bracket based on his past freestyle wins over Nahshon Garrett and Joe Colon. On top of that, Suriano also holds a win over Daton Fix from their 2019 NCAA Final bout and was 1-1 in college against Austin DeSanto. 

After Suriano, Patrick Glory, Jakob Camacho, and Jore Volk are all wrestlers who aren’t yet registered but could make a big impact in this bracket. You can see everyone who’s currently registered for the 2023 WTT Challenge Tournament here.

Who Will Win 61kg At The WTT Challenge Tournament?

This weight is incredibly challenging to predict. The depth of talent in the lower seeds could definitely cause an early-round upset and shake up this weight. However, I'm picking Daton Fix to come out on top and earn a spot in Final X. Fix's skills in freestyle are undeniably the best of any wrestler in this bracket and make him the favorite in my opinion. Regardless, of who wins, this bracket will be entertaining from start to finish and will produce some of the best matches of the entire tournament.

Full predictions:

1) Daton Fix, 2) Austin DeSanto, 3) Seth Gross, 4) Nahshon Garrett