USA Wrestling will host the 2024 Pan-Am Qualifier Wrestle-Off on February 3 in Denver, Colorado. The winners of each weight on Saturday will then travel to Acapulco, Mexico at the end of February to attempt to qualify their respective weights for the Olympics for Team USA. Check out the below article to see a full preview, predictions, and schedule for this all-important event.

Men’s Freestyle 65 kg, Best of 3 - Nick Lee vs Yianni Diakomihalis

Nick Lee and Yianni Diakomihalis will meet in a rematch of Final X 2023 where Lee won two straight matches (7-6 and 8-8) to earn the 65 kg World Team spot for Team USA. On top of the Final X matches, Lee also defeated Yianni at the 2020 Olympic Trials in the third-place bout, 16-8. That makes Lee 3-0 in his career against Diakomihalis in freestyle matches.

Despite the head-to-head record, many believe Yianni is still a favorite in this matchup. Most of this is based on Yianni’s accolades internationally - Diakohmihalis won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships while Nick Lee failed to place at last year’s Worlds. However, Nick Lee should not be underestimated on Saturday.

You can watch their Final X matches below, but I want to briefly break down why Nick Lee is such a challenging matchup for Yianni. First, Nick Lee can match Yianni’s conditioning and doesn’t wear out as the match progresses. Yianni often forces his opponents into extended scramble positions and uses his conditioning to widen the gap against his opponents as the match progresses. However, Lee has a world-class gas tank and wrestles just as hard at the end of the match as at the beginning of the match. I don't expect conditioning to be a factor in this match.

The other strength of Nick Lee’s game is in upper body positions. Lee used this particularly well in match 2 of Final X when Yianni was in deep on a takedown. Lee forced Yianni to come up to a body lock and Lee finished through for an inside trip, taking Yianni to his back. Lee has the advantage in upper body positions and Yianni needs to stay away from that position in their wrestle-off.

The final area worth highlighting is Nick Lee’s ability to turn Yianni’s offense into his own points. In match 2 of Final X, Nick Lee scored all 8 of his points off of Yianni’s leg attacks. Lee was able to exploit Yianni’s inability to finish clean and that could be a determining factor in their upcoming match. 

With all of that in mind, I'm still picking Yianni Diakomihalis to come out on top in Denver but I think it will take 3 matches. I believe Yianni will make the necessary adjustments when finishing his leg attacks and wrestle smarter matches than we saw at Final X. 

Nick Lee's win over Yianni Diakomihalis in the second match of Final X 2023:

Lee vs Diakomihalis Match History:

• Nick Lee over Yianni Diakomihalis at 2023 Final X - 8-8
• Nick Lee over Yianni Diakomihalis at 2023 Final X - Lee 7-6
  
• Nick Lee over Yianni Diakomihalis at 2020 Olympic Trials - Lee 16-8

Prediction - Yianni Diakomihalis over Nick Lee in 3 matches 

Women’s Freestyle 53 kg, Best of 3 - Dom Parrish vs Jacarra Winchester

The 53 kg best of 3 matches will feature a matchup of world champions between Dom Parrish and Jacarra Winchester. Along with their accolades, Winchester and Parrish are familiar opponents and have met several times on the mat over the past 8 years. From what I could find, the two have wrestled 8 times with Jacarra Winchester holding an 8-0 record, outscoring Parrish by a combined score of 68-7.

Jacarra Winchester's win over Dom Parrish at the 2016 US Open:

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Considering that data, all signs point to Jacarra Winchester winning two straight matches against Dom Parrish. However, there’s also reason to think these matches will be highly competitive and Parrish shouldn’t be underestimated. At age 31, Winchester is nearing the end of her career and hasn’t wrestled 53 kg since the Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, Parrish is still only 27 and might just be entering the prime of her career.

Beyond their ages, Parrish has shown progression on the mat internationally but also in her matches against Winchester. In their most recent match at the Bout At The Ballpark, Parrish wrestled Winchester tough only losing 5-2. In that match, Parrish was able to get to Winchester’s legs numerous times throughout the match but only secured one takedown. The main point - Parrish is closing the gap and while Winchester is still the heavy favorite, their matches on Saturday should highly competitive.

Jacarra Winchester's win over Dom Parrish at the 2022 Bout At The Ballpark:

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Winchester vs Parrish Match History:

• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2022 Bout At The Ballpark - 5-2
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2019 Poland Open - 8-0
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at 2019 Final X - 8-3 
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at 2019 Final X - 10-0 
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2018 WTT - 10-0 
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2018 WTT - 11-0 
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2018  US Open - 5-3 
• Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish at the 2016 US Open - 11-1

Prediction - Jacarra Winchester over Dom Parrish in 3 matches 

Women’s Freestyle 62 kg - Kayla Miracle vs Winner of Macey Kilty-Jennifer Page

The format at 62 kg is different from 53 kg in women’s freestyle and 65 kg in men’s freestyle. First, Macey Kilty and Jennifer Page will wrestle one match. The winner of that bout will then wrestle Kayla Miracle in a best-of-3 series. Being the returning world team member, Miracle gets the advantage of sitting out to the best of 3.

The matchup between Jennifer Page and Macey Kilty is intriguing for a variety of reasons. First, both are world medalists - Macey Kilty won silver at 65 kg at last year’s world championships while Page won bronze at 59 kg. Will the size advantage favor Kilty? Or will Kilty struggle after cutting down the extra 3 kilos?

Beyond that, Kilty and Page have wrestled twice splitting matches at the 2019 Senior Nationals and 2020 Senior Nationals. Kilty won in 2019 (5-4) while Page won in 2020 (4-3). We should expect a highly competitive bout on Saturday decided by the slimmest of margins.

Kilty vs Page Match History:

• Jennifer Page over Macey Kilty at the 2020 Senior Nationals - 4-3
• Macey Kilty over Jennifer Page at the 2019 Senior Nationals - 5-4

Prediction - Macey Kilty over Jennifer Page

The match between Page and Kilty should set up a great best of 3 with Kayla Miracle. Miracle has a career record of 5-3 against Page and a 2-1 record against Kilty. Whoever Miracle wrestles, we should expect an incredible series that I’m predicting will go a full three matches.

Miracle vs Page Match History:

• Kayla Miracle over Jennifer Page at 2022 Final X - 5-3
• Kayla Miracle over Jennifer Page at 2022 Final X - 12-2
• Jennifer Page over Kayla Miracle at 2022 Final X - 13-2
• Kayla Miracle over Jennifer Page at the 2022 US Open - Fall 
• Jennifer Page over Kayla Miracle at the Bill Farrell 2016 - 2-2
• Kayla Miracle over Jennifer Page at the Bill Farrell 2015 -13-3

Miracle vs Kilty Match History:

• Kayla Miracle over Macey Kilty at the 2021 Henri Deglane - Miracle 8-2
• Kayla Miracle over Macey Kilty at the 2020 Olympic Trials - Miracle injury default
• Macey Kilty over Kayla Miracle at the 2020 Olympic Trials - 4-3
• Kayla Miracle over Macey Kilty at the 2020 Olympic Trials - 8-4

Prediction - Macey Kilty over Kayla Miracle in 3 matches

Women’s Freestyle 68 kg - Emma Bruntil vs Amit Elor/Forrest Molinari/Mallory Velte

The format at 68 kg is different than any other weight taking place at the event. The first bout is between Mallory Velte and Forrest Molinari. The winner of that match will then wrestle two-time world champion Amit Elor. Then the winner of that will face 2023 world team member Emma Bruntil in a best of 3 series.

We should expect a war in the first bout between Molinari and Velte. Velte is two-time world medalist winning bronze at the 2018 and 2022 world championships while Molinari owns a bronze medal of her own from 2021 worlds. The two have met 6 times in their senior-level career with each wrestler winning 3 matches. This is truly a coin-flip match and is almost impossible to predict considering their history.

Match 3 between Mallory Velte and Forrest Molinari at Final X 2022:

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Velte vs Molinari Match History:

• Forrest Molinari over Mallory Velte at the 2022 Yasar Dogu - Molinari 7-4
• Mallory Velte over Forrest Molinari at 2022 Final X - Velte 10-0
• Forrest Molinari over Mallory Velte at 2022 Final X - Molinari - 3-1
• Mallory Velte over Forrest Molinari at 2022 Final X - Velte 9-1
• Forrest Molinari over Mallory Velte at the 2017 Dave Schultz - Molinari - 4-2
• Mallory Velte over Forrest Molinari at the 2017 US Open - Velte - 6-2

Prediction - Mallory Velte over Forrest Molinari

At only 20 years old, Amit Elor is already a two-time world champion and looks poised to go down as one of Team USA’s all-time greats. Beyond her senior world titles, Elor has also won 6 world titles at age-level competitions (2021 U17 Worlds, 2021 U20 Worlds, 2022 U20 Worlds, 2022 U23 Worlds, 2023 U20 Worlds, 2023 U23 Worlds). What’s fascinating about Elor’s potential matchups on Saturday is that she’s never competed against Mallory Velte, Forrest Molinari, or Emma Brunti. Despite the unknown factor, we should still consider Elor as the favorite in this field and Elor’s performance in Denver will answer a lot of questions about what we can expect from her at 68 kg as she makes her push for Olympic gold.

Elor's win in the finals of the 2023 Senior World Championships:

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Prediction - Amit Elor over Mallory Velte

Then there’s Emma Bruntil who surprised most by making the world team last year at 68 kg when she defeated Forrest Molinari at Final X. As mentioned, Bruntil has never wrestled Amit Elor but she’s very familiar with Velte and Molinari. In total, Bruntil has wrestled Molinari 8 times and Velte 11 times holding a 5-6 record against Velte and 3-5 record against Molinari. Bruntil is a strong defensive wrestler but has limited offensive attacks outside of her low-single. Regardless of who she wrestlers on Saturday, we should expect a battle from Bruntil.

Prediction - Amit Elor over Emma Bruntil in 2 matches

Full Schedule For The 2024 Pan Am Qualifier Wrestle-Off

*All times below are Eastern Standard Time

12:00 NOON

Match # 1: 65 KG – Nick Lee – Red vs Yianni Diakomihalis – Blue

1:00 PM

Match # 2: 62 KG - Macey Kilty – Red vs Jennifer Page – Blue

Match # 3: 68 KG – Amit Elor – Red vs Mallory Velte – Blue

Match # 4: 65 KG – Yianni Diakomihalis – Red vs Nick Lee – Blue

2:00 pm

Match # 5: 62 KG - Kayla Miracle – Red vs Winner Match # 2 – Blue

Match # 6: 68 KG - Emma Bruntil – Red vs Winner Match # 3 – Blue

(IF NEEDED) Match # 7: 65 KG - Nick Lee – Red vs Yianni Diakomihalis – Blue

3:00 PM

Match # 8: 62 KG - Winner Match # 3 – Red vs Kayla Miracle – Blue

Match # 9: 68 KG – Winner Match # 4 – Red vs Emma Bruntil – Blue

4:00 PM

(IF NEEDED) Match # 10: 62 KG - Kayla Miracle – Red vs Winner Match # 2 – Blue

(IF NEEDED) Match # 11: 68 KG - Emma Bruntil – Red vs Winner Match # 3 – Blue