For the most part, a lot of redshirts are competing in the darkness of open tournaments that don’t get as much attention during the season as Midlands or Southern Scuffle, but when they hit the mat they show out. 

And for a few guys that was the exact result at the US Open. We’ve seen these guys sparingly throughout the season, but when they got to Las Vegas it was showtime. 

But, before I even get to them, there’s one guy who is a few years from being able to take a redshirt that stepped up to the senior level and came away with an 8th place finish and lots of attention. Beau Bartlett. The high school junior absolutely battled at the open going 3-3 with losses to eventual champ Cody Brewer, two-time World Team member Tony Ramos and two-time NCAA AA Earl Hall. He picked up wins over Jordan Conaway, who he teched 12-2, Austin Assad and Shelton Mack. Pretty impressive showing for the youngster.

Okay, now here are the top performers who spent the last year redshirting.

David Carr, Iowa State (74kg)

Carr won possibly the most loaded class in the division. During the year we saw him compete at a few opens but it was his freestyle results that gave him the most attention as he went down to the wire against Frank Molinaro at the Schultz. And at the open he put on a show to win the title. He started out with dominance and finished the same way. He got tested in the round of 16 by Andrew Merola and also had close matches with Nelson Brands and DJ Shannon in the quarters and semis, but then he left no doubt in the finals against Danny Braunagel.

Watch Carr battle with Nelson Brands in the quarters.

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Sammy Sasso, Ohio State (70kg)

He had a rocky start against Quincy Monday that resulted in a 13-10 thriller. After picking up that win, he decided that he had given up enough points for the entire weekend. He went on to pin or tech every opponent from then on. His results included techs over Ethan Leake, Anthony Artalona and Brayton Lee and pins over Jace Luchau and Peyton Robb in classic Sammy Sasso sit the corner cradle fashion. It was an impressive run and now he sits in the Junior World Team Trials finals.

Trent Hidlay, NC State (86kg)

Puts on a few ell bees and does what he does. That Hidlay hook was working in Vegas and helped him take out some tough competition. En route to the stop sign, Hidlay claimed wins over Cade Belshay, Tate Samuelson, Abe Assad, Gavin Hoffman and Zach Braunagel, in that order. His semifinal matchup against Hoffman, his former Bison Legend teammate, was the one most had their eye on because of the familiarity between the two. But even Hoffman was no match for the underhook. With him being able to be successful at a higher weight class the question of where he will fit into the Wolfpack lineup next season has come to the surface. He could be back at 174 like he was for his redshirt season, or he could make the jump to 184.

Watch Hidlay take out his former club teammate, Gavin Hoffman.

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Lucas Davison, Northwestern (92kg)

For me, he’s always been one of the most under the radar talents in the country. When you see his name on the entry list you know he can do well because he’s incredibly solid. But he’s a silent assassin. He just goes to work, does his job and goes home. He’s a force and if you overlook him, well, let’s just say it’s not smart because you’re going to be in for a long day against him. He’s won Fargo a few times and was an elite level high schooler in Indiana and now it seems like that is transferring to the next level very well. He only gave up three points the entire weekend which all came in his 6-3 win over Oklahoma’s Jake Woodley in the finals. Everyone else was sent packing in the first period with a tech fall L for their troubles.

Anthony Cassioppi, Iowa (125kg)

This is nothing that we haven’t seen from this big man before, but wow he really brings the power now. The Hawkeye redshirt blitzed the field and didn’t give up a point on the way to the top. He also never left the first period. Cassioppi will certainly be one of the top contenders next season as he looks to take over the enforcer duties at the top of the Iowa lineup.

Watch Cassioppi blast through Seth Nevills.

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Aaron Brooks, Penn State (79kg)

Ok so I know that I’m breaking the theme a bit by adding Brooks to this list since he wasn’t redshirting last year, but c’mon, he deserves the nod because of how dominant he’s is and that includes past tournaments as well. He won the Schultz and is now looking to make another world team. He may have given up some points on the way to this year’s open title, but he was always in control. We’ll see if he enters the lineup next year for the Nittany Lions or if he takes a redshirt year. Only time will tell but Brooks is deadly and a lot of fun to watch.

Gabe Tagg, UNC (61kg)

I'm breaking the theme here again, but Tagg deserves it as well. And maybe having him and Brooks in here is a nod to the EAP program but, they should get some props too. Anyway, this is the best I've seen him compete. He had four techs and pin in the finals over freshman AA Roman Bravo-Young to win his first stop sign in his career. Very nice run for the future Tar Heel.

Watch Tagg take out RBY in the finals.

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