Tim Hands of 5 Point Move is back again to preview the Greco-Roman upper weight classes at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raliegh, NC.

When you split Senior Greco’s ten weight classes in half, it works out like this: the lighter weights, the “ninjas” of the sport, are best known for speed, technique, and throws. Right off the bat you might think, ‘Ah, okay, well that’s all you need’, at least when it comes to entertainment. But such a stream of thought is foolhardy, and that’s because the mid to upper weights, especially at the 2019 US Greco-Roman World Team Trials, have something just as important to offer -- drama. 

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Only one weight class out of the remaining five offers discernible distance between the top guy and everyone else right now, and that’s 97 kilograms. The other four, beginning with 77 kilos and ending at heavyweight, feature hearty depth and a gaggle of contenders who are knocking on the proverbial door. 

The Trials challenge tournament observes the above concept and stands to deliver, even at 97, since that aforementioned “top guy” (G’Angelo Hancock) enjoys the honor of sitting out until the Final X Series. Each of these weight classes appears too close to call, which should make for a thrilling two days of action beginning Friday morning from Raleigh, North Carolina. 

77 Kilograms

Final X Entrant - Kamal Bey (Sunkist, world no. 5)

2019 US Open runner-up - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm)

What do the people want? Going by the mood, most seem to feel there is unfinished business between Bey and Smith given how their Open final panned out. It also feels like Smith is the next best guy due to how consistently he has performed this season, making another crack at Bey a natural fit for what would be a seething Final X matchup. But Mason Manville (NLWC) in a much more pronounced sample size than he put forth a year ago has delivered the goods thus far, and Corey Hope (NYAC) will be even sharper in Raleigh than he was in Vegas. What this all means is that athletes like Peyton Walsh (Marines), Jesse Porter (NYAC/OTS), and Brandon Mueller (AFRTC) better have their games stepped up, especially in par terre.

At the highest level, this is a “turn and not be turned” game. Prolonged pummel stalemates on the feet just aren’t going to cut it in this weight class domestically. Smith is big on pressure, but he has blossomed at 77 because he is creating workable opportunities off of what largely used to be control ties.That approach, or one just like it, has a much better chance of getting it done than waiting for the refs to sort it out. This is a bottlenecked bracket where the winner will need to be someone who never stops asserting himself. Since they’re all so close in skill-level, look for par terre to enter in as the great equalizer. 

82 Kilograms

Final X Entrant - Kendrick Sanders (NYAC/OTS)

2019 US Open runner-up - Spencer Woods (NYAC/OTS)

We specifically mentioned Woods in the first preview because it was as if he got shot out of a cannon in Vegas only to land in the consciousness of a bracket badly in need of some spice. And that’s precisely what Woods offers -- a penchant for unorthodox positions, sick athleticism, and a youthful zeal that gets your attention. Thing is, Cheney Haight (NYAC) has been in one too many rodeos not to have made proper adjustments by now, and John Stefanowicz (Marines) is the best fighter in the bracket. Both understand what this tournament demands, and both are once again seen as the favorites this time around. It’s up to the next-gen trio of Chandler Rogers (CRTC), Junior World silver Andrew Berreyesa (NYAC/FLWC), Terrence Zaleski (Marines), and Carter Nielsen (Minnesota Storm/OTS) to wreck the narrative. They can do it, too. With how the seeding is expected to unfold, the money round should be the quarterfinal. Watch out for an upset in the round-of-eight, because the smart money says you’ll see one. 

87 Kilograms

Final X Entrant - Joe Rau (TMWC/Chicago RTC)

2019 US Open runner-up - Patrick Martinez (NYAC)

87 is the headline bracket, but it’s dichotomistic. Here is where you’ll find the longest list of combined credentials (six World-level appearances including two Olympiads, five National titles), so that’s nice. But it is also where the most brutality lies in store. These bouts almost always center around rib-punching underhooks and whiplash-giving snaps, but not a ton of points. 

Along with Provisor and Patrick Martinez (NYAC), who comprised both halves of last year’s Trials best-of-three final, you’re getting the returns of multi-time National Teamer Jon Anderson (Army/WCAP) and ‘16 Open champ Kevin Radford (Sunkist). Right there, that’s more than bonus material. If either, or better yet both, come correct and ready to throw down, there’s no telling how that will tip the balance. Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) needs to make a statement here, and with James Souza (Army/WCA) now a legit fixture, one of the glossier names could get knocked off. Violence is the name of the game at 87. We’re not even in the Olympic Year yet and the intensity surrounding this bracket’s potential couldn’t be ramped up any higher. 

97 Kilograms

Final X Entrant - G’Angelo Hancock (Sunkist, world no. 3)

2019 US Open runner-up - Lucas Sheridan (Army/WCAP)

It’s an interesting landscape at 97 kilos. Sheridan, who jumped up to this weight class in ‘18 before winning the Bill Farrell Memorial and earning his first-ever National Team spot, has made three straight domestic finals when you count last year’s challenge tournament. Marine Captain Daniel Miller won the ‘18 Open and later provided Hancock a stiff test in the Trials best-of-three series. Naturally, these two profile as the main event on Saturday, and both are 1-1 against each other this season, with Sheridan blowing past Miller via tech in the Open semis too tough to ignore. Minnesota Storm rep Eric Twohey, despite his newness, is, perhaps surprisingly, not to be discounted. While Twohey has yet to collect the scalp of a bigger name, he has progressed rapidly and his ability to negotiate the tie-ups and work to favorable positions keeps growing. What you want to see is ‘16 Open runner-up Khymba Johnson (NYAC/OTS) get himself into the argument. This is where he needs to be, this weight class, and if he could hone in and attack more consistently -- and confidently -- it would go a long way towards fulfilling some of the potential he’s always had but is yet to fully realize.

130 Kilograms

Final X Entrant - Adam Coon (Cliff Keen WC)

US Open Champion - Jacob Mitchell (Army/WCAP)

The heavyweight field in Raleigh begins and ends with Robby Smith (NYAC/Chicago RTC). Everyone knows this, especially the likes of WCAP teammates Toby Erickson (Army/WCAP) and National champ Jacob Mitchell (who doesn’t receive the Final X bye due to Coon’s World medal and is thus forced to fight it out this week). On one hand, Smith appears more vulnerable than at any other point in recent memory. On the other, that perception has the chance to become nullified immediately should he prevail in his first match on Friday. That’s all it would take. West Cathcart’s (IRTC) return to Senior Greco, which began at the Schultz in January, has been a breath of fresh air, and former Fargo champ Haydn Maley (CARTC) has the makings to develop into a star. 

But the young gun who will get the most attention is Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist), and rightfully so. A Cadet World champ in ‘17 and a Junior bronze last year, Schultz is remaining highly active. He just sealed up his third Junior World Team spot, is entering this tournament, and the U23’s come next. There is no doubt a place for Schultz on the National Team is a possibility (depending on where he winds up in the bracket), and a match between he and Smith would make for adrenalizing theater. That being said, it’s not the main story. Smith’s viability is. The majority of the country wants to run back the 2018 Trials finals and find out whether or not it was a fluke. While that seems likely, it is certainly not a given.