For those competing in men and women’s freestyle, this week’s U.S. Open in Las Vegas is as it always is — the national championships and a crucial step towards potentially making the World Team, a journey that will reach its conclusion at Final X in June. 

Greco-Roman athletes in 2025 have a shot to jump the line, however. For them, there is not a multi-tier World Team selection process. Instead, the 20 Greco wrestlers who advance to the final round in their respective weight classes will be duking it out in a best-of-three series with the winners assuring themselves of a spot at the World Championships in September. 

The assignment couldn’t be any simpler. 

As such, nearly every major and well-accomplished American Greco-Roman athlete — with the exception of only a few — with whom the general wrestling audience is familiar will be in the cut this week. This includes all six of the gentlemen who prevailed at last year’s Olympic Trials as well as nine of the 10 World roster members from ‘23. No one is sitting out. They can’t. This is it. No byes to Final X, no free passes based on recent glossy achievements. 

While each of the 10 weight categories that will be contested this week have plenty to offer for hardcore followers of this discipline, there are three in particular that could stand out the most in addition to commanding attention from more casual Greco observers. 

60 kilograms

As is custom, 60 kilograms is a lead story thanks in large part to the continued, pulsating presence of multi-time World rep Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP), whose best weapon is his resolve, followed closely by superior conditioning. Roberts also has the benefit of having been in this spot so many times before, and experience tends to matter when the stakes are raised at Trials events. But the timing could be right for Northern Michigan’s Max Black. 

Black has consistently improved over the past three years, has made age-group World Teams, is a current U.S. National Team member, and gave Roberts a solid test at last year’s Olympic Trials prior to recording a close decision victory over Roberts five months later in Croatia. That was only one match, and one might argue that it was totally inconsequential. Maybe it was. But given how much confidence Black has gained, and how competitive he is in his own right — coupled with his steady, legitimate development on the Senior level — even if that overseas win against Roberts never happened, people would still be convinced of his chances in this imaginary final and in the tournament altogether. 

But it’s not just these two top seeds upon whom everyone should focus when it comes to 60 kg. Randon Miranda (NYAC) is back in the fold and has in the past defeated both Black and Roberts. There is nothing Miranda has not seen at this stage of his career, not domestically at least. And if he is healthy, and the weight cut goes smoothly, we are talking about a definitive threat. 

So too might be Dylan Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC), who can pose problems, especially from par terre top. Joe Couch (West Point WC), Camden Russell (NYAC/MWC), ‘24 U20 World silver Isaiah Cortez (Daniel Cormier WC) stepping up to Senior… The storylines are all available to make for a great bracket. But then you also have Rhett Peak (NYAC), a young but mature wrestler who himself has made a big splash in a short time, and is capable of going on a run. 

Of course, no one should consider dismissing the opportunity this tournament represents for Zane Richards (TMWC/IRTC). A freestyle World Team member just two years ago, Richards has become immersed in Greco-Roman training and is walking into the Trials as the fourth seed. That last part does not matter. Seeds in a bracket like this are basically immaterial past the opening round. What does matter is that Richards has been prepared well for this tournament and how he handles hardened, more Greco-seasoned counterparts is going to attract eyeballs. 

72 kilograms

72 kilograms making the cut is almost mind-blowing. A terrible motor vehicle accident resulted in RaVaughn Perkins (NYAC) being taken out of the game late last year; not long after, returning World Team member Benji Peak (Combat WC) endured a devastating injury; and four-time World Teamer Patrick Smith decided, for the moment, anyway, to hit the pause button on his career. On a personal level, this was all difficult and sad news to absorb. But in terms of the sport and ‘25 World Team selection concerns, it had appeared that 72 kg might falter big-time due to lack of depth. 

Though Perkins, Peak, and Smith are missed, the bracket is not lacking in firepower. 

‘20 Olympian/multiple-time World Team member Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) is in at 72 kg for a Trials for the first time since ‘19, when he was fresh off of basic training and AIT. Sancho has more experience at 72 than just that one challenge tournament and it is a weight class that fits him quite well. More importantly, he is possibly the most dominant par terre wrestler in the country, or shares that title with Brady Koontz (55 kg, TMWC/Dubuque RTC). Sancho also knows how to win tight matches, and he knows how to win them with short time on the clock. He might not have a ton of runway left in his own career, as well. Sancho has reached the stage where he has to make the most of these opportunities. That should produce a locked-in performance complemented by a sense of urgency. 

Right behind Sancho in seeding order is Peyton Robb (NYAC/Nebraska Wrestling TC), who in Greco circles was once viewed as a “must have” type of prospect — this despite the fact that there was little to no chance of the U.S. program actually landing him after high school. Robb went on to enjoy a tremendous collegiate career, but now that he is committed to Greco there is almost a sense of relief. Robb is a grinding yet dynamic force and his competitiveness is tough to match. The U.S. needs the brand of attitude he brings with him on the mat.

One guy who has just that is ‘23 US Open champ Justus Scott (Army/WCAP). Scott is problematic on the feet because he is violent and choppy, but with some sneaky entries and attacks. Very much an in-your-face athlete who is willing to trade pretentious ties for hectic clashing if it means softening up the opposition. 

Last quad saw Noah Wachsmuth (NYAC) fully emerge as a top Senior competitor. It was as though he had figured it out in a flash. Wachsmuth had been training full-time since he was an age-grouper, but it took him a minute to find his footing. Now a two-time National Team member, there is no way anyone with brains should look past him. 

A batch of solid contenders can be found past Wachsmuth at #4. Tough and talented Tyler Antoniak (NYAC/MWC), ‘22 U.S. Open runner-up Pete Ogunsanya (Army/WCAP), and young Jadon Skellenger (Lehigh Valley) could all have meaningful moments and advance to the decisive rounds. Who knows just how much Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) has been able to train? If he has had reasonable time on target, fan favorite and ‘21 National champ Ortiz could wind up wrecking this thing. 

The sleeper of the bracket, the wrestler who could surge and turn the most heads? Aliaksandr Kikiniou — son of the ‘24 World Team member with the same name. The high school-aged Kikiniou is beholden to a classical, expressive Greco-Roman skill-set and approaches prodigy level in several technical areas. He also holds a win over Robb, as the pair are 1-1 against each other. The one hitch is youth. He might still have just a little too much of it. Other than that, it is hard to picture Kikiniou being overmatched by anyone here, and it would not be a shock to the system if his performance is a superlative one. 

130 kilograms

The conversation ends where, for many fans, it actually begins — with Olympian/’18 World silver Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen) and three-time World Team member Cohlton Schultz at heavyweight. Should both big men advance to this bracket’s best-of-three final, their series will be the most anticipated for the general wrestling audience. 

Their whole saga is well-known by now. Back in ‘19, Coon downed Schultz in two straight at Final X: Lincoln, then he did so again in the ‘21 Olympic Trials finals series. But when Coon returned to Greco following an 18-month break from the sport to pursue a potential NFL career, Schultz had not only caught-up, he had seemed to have breezed past Coon both physically and competitively. Schultz was rarely threatened by Coon throughout their four matches in ‘23, leading the latter to reassess and adapt his training, from a positional and tactical perspective, in time for the ‘24 Olympic Trials. As it were, Coon’s effort was an inspired one, and it culminated with his earning of the Olympic Team spot and an appearance at the Paris Games last August. 

Injury, surgery, and subsequent recovery were the protocol for Coon in the months since the Olympics, whereas Schultz plugged along through his final collegiate season for Arizona State, ultimately placing third at the NCAA Division I Championships in March. Where these two stand entering this week is the question on everyone’s mind. Coon has been active in the wake of his regaining full health. He has focused solely on his training in this particular style and has participated in as much Greco-related activity as he can. For his part, Schultz did show face at the Olympic Training Center back in the late fall when the Ukrainian National Team was in town. Reports from that excursion indicated that Schultz was, in so many words, pretty much having the time of his life back in the room and had been throttling UKR’s Mykhailo Vyshyvetskyi in most of their live go’s. Even if hyperbolic, the point is that Schultz is and has always been a “Greco guy” who wrestled collegiate folkstyle, was excellent at it, but it is in this specific genre where he truly belongs. 

But is there a chance that all of this Coon/Schultz talk is a bit premature? Are two-time U20 World bronze Aden Attao (Beaver Dam RTC) and Courtney Denzel Freeman (Marines) being completely overlooked? For sure. Coon and Schultz are, rightfully, the headliners, and neither Attao, Freeman, Keith Miley, or anyone else is expected to interrupt that narrative. One problem: it can happen. 

Attao (#3 seed) had his own injury issue, an arm injury from last summer, but he is recovered (obviously) and coming off of his first slate of months in a grinding collegiate environment. One wonders if any of that could dilute his authentic Greco-Roman arsenal that features slick arm spins, headlocks, and bodylocks. Rare is it for a heavyweight to brandish such a skill-set, and Attao does. What’s more, his timing is impeccable for a young athlete and he has proven it against equally-terrific foreigners. 

For those who might remember, Freeman (#4) put on a scoring display, albeit in a losing effort, against Coon in the ‘23 Nationals and his overall offensive might has to be respected. This is also where frustration enters the discussion. Freeman wields such an impressive array of tools, and is such a force with which to reckon, but he ventures off into MMA and grappling competitions. Now, he says that doing so is a virtual necessity, lest he risk his brain malfunctioning due to boredom from low activity. Fair enough. But it is fair to wonder if he is being held back by not committing all of his time and energy singularly to wrestling. Nevertheless, there is no question that him and Attao both have more going for them in this tournament than the majority might realize, we just don’t yet know if it is enough to spoil another three-match showdown between Coon and Schultz.