Zain Vs JO In The Quarters!? Reacting To 70kg Pre-Seeds

Breaking down the pre-seeds and potential matchups for the 2021 World Team Trials at 70kg.

Sep 8, 2021 by Jon Kozak

Zain Vs JO In The Quarters!? Reacting To 70kg Pre-Seeds

The world team trials will take place September 11-12 in Lincoln, Nebraska. In this article, we’ll break down the 70kg pre-seeds and take a look at some of the most intriguing potential match-ups.

Sep 11-12, 2021, 3:00 PM UTC

2021 World Team Trials

USA Wrestling has released their pre-seeds for all weights at the world team trials. To view every weight in men’s freestyle click here. Check out what the pre-seeds look like at 70kg

James Green
Alec Pantaleo
Ryan Deakin
Zain Retherford
Jordan Oliver
Tyler Berger
Brayton Lee
Elroy Perkin
Brock Mauller
Jarrett Jacques

The Big Surprises

Ryan Deakin at the 3 seed is the major shock at 70kg. Though Deakin defeated James Green at the 2019 US Open, he has since lost to Green (twice), David Carr, Evan Wick, Branson Ashworth, and Tyler Berger. The Tyler Berger loss was at the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier from March 2021. Because the recency of that loss, I expected Berger to be seeded above Deakin based on the most recent head to head result. Instead, the seeding committee chose to emphasize Deakin’s gold medal performance at the 2019 US Open.

Another surprise is Jordan Oliver at the 5 seed. Oliver just won the Olympic Trials in a bracket that included both Zain Retherford and James Green. It seems to be a disservice to Oliver’s performance at the Olympic Trials to seed him behind Retherford. However, it seems the seeding committee valued Retherford’s head to head wins over Oliver from the 2019 World Team Trials.

Breaking Down The Bracket

If the seeds hold, Jordan Oliver and Zain Retherford will meet in the quarter-finals of the world team trials! In 2019, the two met in finals of the world team trials challenge tournament where Retherford won consecutive matches - 7-6 (both matches). The winner of this quarter-final match will then most likely face James Green in the semi-finals. Oliver and Retherford have the toughest draw of any wrestler in the field just to make the finals.

Zain Retherford's win over Jordan Oliver from the 2019 World Team Trials:

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Though Ryan Deakin received a favorable seed, he’s facing a challenging match-up with Tyler Berger in the quarter-finals. As previously mentioned, Berger defeated Deakin at the Last Chance qualifier in March. What’s most notable about that match is Berger teched Deakin 10-0 in just over 1 minute. The winner of the Berger-Deakin match will most likely face Alec Pantaleo who has a winning record over both competitors in freestyle.

Watch Tyler Berger's Win over Ryan Deakin:

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Alec Pantaleo and Brayton Lee wrestled an intense match at the RTC Cup in December of 2020. Though Pantaleo won that match by a 10-0 tech fall, he left with a sizable knot on his left eye. Should these two meet in the quarters, Pantaleo will be the favorite but the match should be full of intensity and action.

Pantaleo vs Lee from the 2020 RTC Cup:

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Does James Green Stay On Top?

James Green has been the representative at 70kg for the United States every year since 2015. On top of that, he’s won 2 world medals (bronze in 2015 & silver in 2017). While he did recently lose to Alec Pantaleo at the 2021 Poland Open in June, Green has 3 past wins over Pantaleo and will be the favorite once again this weekend. Green should cruise through Elroy Perkin in the quarters and be setup against the winner of Retherford and Oliver. Green has two wins over Oliver from the 2016 World Team trials but lost to Retherford at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

Alec Pantaleo's win over James Green from the Poland Open in June 2021:

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My Pick:

The construction of this bracket sets up Alec Pantaleo with the most favorable draw of any competitor. He is opposite the two wrestlers who have a winning record over him in James Green and Zain Retherford. On top of that, he will most likely have to go through wrestlers he has had past success over in Brayton Lee and Tyler Berger or Ryan Deakin. Because of those reasons, I believe we'll see Pantaleo take the 70kg spot for Team USA and challenge for a world title in October.

Complete Picks:

Quarter Finals