2019 US Open Wrestling Championships

2019 US Open Preview 79kg: The Ringer

2019 US Open Preview 79kg: The Ringer

We tell you everything you need to know about 79kg at the 2019 U.S. Open of wrestling.

Apr 23, 2019 by Andrew Spey
null
All the senior men's freestyle brackets at the U.S. Open will be incredibly rad, but not all senior men's freestyle brackets at the U.S. Open are created equal, and certain brackets, like 65kg, will be a tad more rad than the 79kg bracket.

Unlock this article, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

All the senior men's freestyle brackets at the U.S. Open will be incredibly rad, but not all senior men's freestyle brackets at the U.S. Open are created equal, and certain brackets, like 65kg, will be a tad more rad than the 79kg bracket.

But 79kg will still be rad, and feature some of the heaviest of hitters from the US of A. Join us, as we breakdown everything you need to know about the 79kg senior men's freestyle division at the U.S. Open.

Watch the 2019 U.S. Open Live On Flo

April 25-28 | 12 PM ET

Historical Perspective

2018 was the first year since 1962 that UWW (or its predecessor, FILA) sponsored a 79kg weight class in the senior men's freestyle world championships. The addition of the non-Olympic weight was sorely needed, however, as the gap between 74 and 86 kilograms is nearly 26 pounds, leaving many tweeners in the 175-pound range with no natural weight class in which to compete.

We now mercifully have a weight class of approximately 174 pounds between 163 and 189 pounds (that's 74 and 86kg for you metric types). The United States has one and only gold medal awarded in the reinstated 79kg weight classes so far. In fact, the United States has never surrendered a point at this weight class in world championship competition, as Kyle Dake scored 37 points and was scored on exactly zero times in his gold medal run in Budapest. 

Below, our historic results at worlds in the 79kg weight division.

2018: Kyle Dake, gold

Watch Dake take a vicious intentional headbutt from Gadzhimagomedov and then powerbomb him off the stage for the match-clinching five-point throw in the semifinals of the Budapest World Championships:


U.S. Open Previews: 57kg | 61kg | 65kg | 70kg | 74kg

Contenders

Dake has already accepted his bid to Final X - Rutgers, so up for grabs in Vegas this weekend is a bye to the finals of the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh. 

The top contender is Alex Dieringer, who received the No. 1 preseed, which USA Wrestling announced recently. Although the Hodge trophy winner was unable to solve Zahid Valencia in the finals of the 2018 Team Trials Challenge Tourney, Dieringer did give Kyle Dake all he could handle in the finals of the 2018 U.S. Open.

Watch Dieringer push Dake to the brink in the video below:

null


Without Valencia and Dake in his path, Dieringer is expected to blitz through this field. His tricep control dumps and fireman's carries are as deadly as they come, and Dieringer is one of the most powerful pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country. 

One of the wrestlers tasked with slowing down the hard-charging Dieringer is Chance Marsteller, who just wrapped up his college career as a two-time All-American at Lock Haven University. Marsteller has a few similar moves in his arsenal as Dieringer, as Chance also has a slick fireman's. With a more compact frame, however, Marsteller relies less on horsepower and more on craftiness. 

Completing the list of contenders, and also wrestlers who received preseeds, is Nate Jackson, an All-American at Indiana and now an assistant coach at Princeton. Jackson's frame is extremely long for 79kg, and a potential semifinal match with Marsteller will be a flashback to Marsteller's NCAA battles with Evan Wick of Wisconsin, another exceedingly tall middleweight. Jackson is more about explosivity than cradles, which should make for some serious fireworks on the mat should he and Chance meet.  

Watch Nate Jackson advance to the semifinals of the 2018 Team Trials Challenge Tournament:

null

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In


Notable Unregistered Wrestlers

As mentioned, Kyle Dake will be sitting this tournament out, as he has accepted his Final X bid. As an NCAA champ, Zahid Valencia has already qualified for the challenge tournament, and it appears he will be taking a little time off before jumping back into freestyle season. 

Zahid's NCAA finals opponent Mark Hall is also not registered. Hall has not qualified for the Team Trials, so he'll have to go to the Last Chance Qualifier on May 3 after the Open if he wants to try and make the team. Or he could skip the trails process and compete in other events this summer. All cool options! And we'll anxiously await the next time he takes the mat, whenever that may be. 

Other Notable Entries

Probably the most recognizable name in the list of entrants that we haven't mentioned yet is Joe Smith of Oklahoma State. Smith is a two-time All-American but was unable to find the podium in Pittsburgh at the 2019 NCAAs after receiving the 33rd seed, due to Smith competing the entire year at 174 before dropping to 165 for the postseason. 

Two other names to look out for are CJ Brucki, who is training at the NJ-RTC with Nate Jackson, and Stacey Davis, who is at the Wolfpack-RTC in Raleigh. 

Spey's Spredictions:

1) Alex Dieringer

2) Nate Jackson

3) Chance Marsteller

4) Stacey Davis

Ringer will be one of the biggest favorites of any weight class, but after that, I could see the top four playing out in many different ways. I like Jackson to make the finals but this is definitely a bracket that could produce some surprises.