News flash: Joe Colon is talented. OK, that's not really a news flash, but there has always been a discrepancy between his skills and his results on the mat.

Before the 20th Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs, CO, last week, we touted 61kg as a weight that might as well be a World Team Trials preview. As with any tournament Colon enters, he figured to be in the mix but was by no means the favorite.

For those not clued in to the Iowa high school scene, or even the NJCAA scene, Colon's coming-out party was pinning Tony Ramos in the 2013 Midlands finals. He went on to place third as the one seed at the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and followed that up by finishing second at the 2015 WTT to Ramos.

Fast forward a few years, and Colon finally found that mojo with another win over Ramos at the Schultz Memorial. This hip-tip sequence late in the second sealed the deal for Colon and put him in the finals.






With Logan Stieber, Kendric Maple, and Brandon Wright all (likely) moving up, Colon emerges as the front-runner at 61kg. He didn't get to avenge his loss to Cody Brewer at this June's WTT but will be seeded above him now this spring.

Colon also becomes a problem at this weight -- which promises to be among the most entertaining next summer -- due to the new spacing of international tournaments, with semifinals held on the evening of day one and the finals taking place hours after weighing in on day two.