The 2025 US Open is set to go down April 23-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 61 kg is the deepest weight at the Open this year in the senior men's freestyle division with an incredible group of wrestlers competing for the chance to wrestle world champion Vito Arujau at Final X for the world team spot. Check out the article below for a complete preview and prediction of 61 kg at this year’s US Open. 

The Favorites

• Marcus Blaze
• Daton Fix
• Seth Gross
• Nahson Garrett

The above list of favorites displays the depth at 61 kg, specifically at the US Open, but also in the United States. Daton Fix won a world silver medal in 2021, Seth Gross placed 5th at worlds in 2022, and Nahshon Garrett made a senior world team in 2018. Despite the senior accolades of that group, Marcus Blaze (a senior in high school) might be considered THE favorite of this group. Blaze finished as the World Team Trials runner-up at 61 kg in 2024, recording notable wins over Garrett, Gross, and Fix while only losing to Vito Arujau. Beyond that finish, Blaze was third at the 2024 Olympic Trials at 57 kg and is a two-time medalist at age-level world championships (gold at U17 Worlds in 2023 and bronze at U20 Worlds in 2024). Blaze, who will be a freshman next year at Penn State, has established himself as one of the best in the world at 61 kg, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if he wins this bracket in Vegas.

Blaze's win over Daton Fix:

Blaze's win over Seth Gross:

Blaze's win over Nahshon Garrett:

As mentioned above, Daton Fix has the best international accolades of any wrestler in this bracket. Fix is also the most consistent wrestler in this group with top 3 finishes in the United States at 61 kg every year since 2021, and he has career wins over almost everyone in this bracket (outside of Marcus Blaze). Even Fix’s loss to Blaze was a narrow one, and Fix was leading the match 2-1 before giving up a stepout with only 2 seconds left in the match. Fix might also be the most dangerous top wrestler in the bracket and is capable of ending any match if he gets on top. Fix has as good of a shot as any wrestler in this bracket to make the finals, and I’d be shocked if he finishes outside of the top 3.

Fix's win over Seth Gross at the 2023 WTT:

2022 world team member Seth Gross is also a serious contender and looks to be wrestling as good as ever in his recent tech fall win over Austin DeSanto. On top of that, Gross has proved he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world at 61 kg over the past few years with victories over Daton Fix, Alec Pantaleo, Andrii Dzhelep (2025 Euro bronze), Suleyman Atli (2-time world medalist), Aman (2024 Olympic bronze medalist), Jesse Mendez, and several other high-level competitors. Gross has the most unique wrestling style in this bracket and is dangerous in any position - he’s a proficient pinner, has incredible defense, and has world-class par terre offense. All of those attributes make Gross a tough matchup for anyone in this field and leave him on the short list of wrestlers who can win 61 kg gold in Vegas.

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

The final contender is Nahshon Garrett. Garrett might have the best neutral offense of any wrestler in this bracket. Garrett won the 2023 world team trials in a year he defeated both Seth Gross and Daton Fix. In fact, Garett is undefeated in his career against those two wrestlers - 6-0 against Gross and 1-0 against Fix. Despite those results, Garrett can struggle with consistency at times, and his losses against Marcus Blaze (5-0 at the 2024 WTT) and Austin DeSanto (3-1 at the 2023 Henri Deglane) make me hesitant to pick Garrett to win this bracket. Even still, Garrett’s potential is undeniable, and if he’s wrestling his best, he can defeat anyone at this weight.

Nahshon Garrett's win over Daton Fix at the 2023 WTT:

The Contenders

• Austin DeSanto
• Nico Megaludis
• Nathan Tomasello

This group of wrestlers all have victories over wrestlers in the “favorites” tier, but have never made a senior world team. Austin DeSanto has past victories over both Seth Gross and Nahshon Garrett. Despite that success, DeSanto is 0-4 against Daton Fix in freestyle. Similarly, Nico Megaludis has victories over Gross and Garrett. However, Megaludis has never wrestled Fix in freestyle, and he lost to Marcus Blaze at the Olympic Trials (2-2). Like the other two, Nathan Tomasello has victories over Gross and Garrett, but Tomasello is 0-4 against Daton Fix and has never wrestled Marcus Blaze. Because of those past results, any of these three wrestlers has the potential to make a deep run in this bracket, but it’d be surprising to see any win or even make the finals.

DeSanto's win over Gross:

Tomasello's win over Garrett:

Megaludis' win over Gross:

Sleepers & Landmines

• Nic Bouzakis
• Ben Davino
• Jax Forrest

The young Buckeyes are interesting sleepers in this bracket and have the potential to upset some of the more established wrestlers. Because Nic Bouzakis has fallen short of the podium twice at NCAAs, some might forget his freestyle accolades. Bouzakis has made 4 age-level world teams and won a bronze medal at the 2023 U20 World Championships. He also notably defeated his now teammate Jesse Mendez in a 3 match series to make the 2022 U20 world team. Bouzakis has a unique style, and this will be the first time he wrestles many of the top wrestlers in this field. Because of that, I think he has a great chance to pull off an upset or two in Vegas.

Ben Davino is still eligible to compete in U20s so he’s an interesting prospect in the senior division. Davino just finished his redshirt year in Columbus and went 19-1 with notable wins over Nic Bouzakis, Ethan Oakley, Tyler Wells, and several other ranked wrestlers. His only loss on the year was in overtime against All-American Dylan Shawver. Beyond his college results, Davino is a proficient freestyle wrestler and made the U17 World Team in 2023. He also notably made the finals of the U20 world team trials last year, where he lost 2 close matches to Marcus Blaze (5-2 and 6-3). Davino has outstanding neutral offense, and while I don’t expect him to make the finals, he won’t be an easy match for anyone in this field.

U17 world silver medalist Jax Forrest was a late addition to this field and was originally entered in the U20 division before switching to seniors on Friday, April 18. Like Blaze, Forrest is an incredible high school talent and is already proven on the senior level. Forrest placed 4th at the 2024 Olympic Trials (57 kg) and 3rd at the 2024 World Team Trials (61 kg) while recording wins over Daniel DeShazer, Liam Cronin (twice), and Nico Provo. So why isn't Forrest in the "Contenders" category? He still hasn't recorded a signature win against the best wrestlers in the field and lost to Austin DeSanto (9-6) at last year's World Team Trials. Still, Forrest has incredible freestyle skills and he has the potential to defeat anyone in the bracket at 61 kg this year. 

61 kg Predictions

Marcus Blaze might only be 18 years old and a senior in high school, but in the past year he’s recorded victories over Daton Fix, Nahshon Garrett, Seth Gross, Nico Megaludis, Luke Lilledahl, Nasir Bailey, Ben Davino, and Jax Forrest. He’s truly one of the best in the world at 61 kg. He holds incredible position on his feet, executes outstanding match-strategy, and has the neutral offense to score on anyone in the world. Blaze is only getting better and because of that, he’s my pick to win the US Open at 61 kg and challenge Vito Arujau for the world team spot at Final X.

Full medal predictions:

1st Place - Marcus Blaze

2nd Place - Daton Fix

3rd Place - Seth Gross

4th Place - Jax Forrest