Jordan Burroughs after winning the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia
Men’s freestyle pre-seeds released for U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
The men’s freestyle pre-seeds for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling have been finalized by the USA Wrestling National Coaching Staff ahead of this week’s much-anticipated event in State College, Pa.
Athletes awarded the No. 1 seed for the challenge tournament in each weight class are Zane Richards at 57 kg, Nick Lee at 65 kg, Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg, Aaron Brooks at 86 kg, J’den Cox at 97 kg and Hayden Zillmer at 125 kg.
Four athletes will forego the challenge tournament and advance directly to the best-of-three championship series set for Saturday night at Bryce Jordan Center—Kyle Dake at 74 kg, David Taylor at 86 kg, Kyle Snyder at 97 kg and Mason Parris at 125 kg. All four earned an automatic berth to the championship series by medaling at the 2023 World Championships, qualifying their weight class for the Olympic Games.
Two athletes will advance directly to the challenge tournament semifinals courtesy of winning a medal at the 2023 World Championships in an adjacent weight class—Zain Retherford at 65 kg and Zahid Valencia at 86 kg. These wrestlers will be placed in the bottom side semifinal of their respective bracket.
Seeding criteria considered in the building of these seeds include the USA Wrestling Performance Index (PIN), head-to-head results, common opponents and tournament placements at national and international events.
Challenge tournament seeding and athletes sitting out to the semifinals or best-of-three championship series is not final until the completion of weigh-ins. The tournament will be re-seeded as necessary post-weigh-ins.
Fans looking to attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in person can still purchase all session tickets and single session tickets through Ticketmaster.
For those unable to grab a ticket, fear not—all the action from Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast by NBC properties, April 19-20. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions will be televised on USA Network. NBC’s streaming platform Peacock will host live streams of each mat throughout the competition.
Complete brackets and live results for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be hosted on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @usawrestling on the various social media platforms for regular updates throughout the event.
For more information about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.
2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wrestling | April 19-20, Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pa.
Men’s Freestyle Pre-Seeds
57 kg
Challenge Tournament
1. Zane Richards (Illini WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Thomas Gilman (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Daton Fix (Cowboy WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Spencer Lee (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Nico Megaludis (Pitt WC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Nick Suriano (Sunkist Kids WC)
7. Liam Cronin (Nebraska WTC)
8. Daniel DeShazer (Gopher WC-RTC)
9. Luke Lilledahl (X-Calibur Athletics WC)
10. Jax Forrest (Bishop McCourt)
11. Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg WC)
65 kg
Challenge Tournament Semifinal
Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Challenge Tournament
1. Nick Lee (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. James Green (Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Beau Bartlett (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Joseph McKenna (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Kaleb Larkin (Sunkist Kids WC)
8. Seth Gross (Wisconsin RTC/Sunkist Kids WC)
9. Alec Pantaleo (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
10. Matthew Kolodzik (New Jersey RTC/New York AC)
11. Jesse Mendez (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
12. Nahshon Garrett (Lehigh Valley WC/Titan Mercury WC)
74 kg
Best-of-Three Championship Series
Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Challenge Tournament
1. Jordan Burroughs (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids WC)
2. Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Keegan O’Toole (Tiger Style WC)
4. Quincy Monday (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Mitchell Mesenbrink (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Meyer Shapiro (Spartan Combat RTC)
7. Vincenzo Joseph (Sunkist Kids WC)
8. Alex Marinelli (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Alex Facundo (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
10. Levi Haines (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
11. Tyler Berger (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids WC)
12. Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC)
13. Ladarion Lockett (Cowboy WC)
86 kg
Best-of-Three Championship Series
David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Challenge Tournament Semifinal
Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids WC)
Challenge Tournament
1. Aaron Brooks (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Chance Marsteller (New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Trent Hidlay (Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Alex Dieringer (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Mark Hall (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Carter Starocci (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Maxwell Dean (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
8. David McFadden (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Connor Mirasola (Askren Wrestling Academy)
10. Evan Wick (SoCal RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
11. Patrick Downey (Sanford MMA)
97 kg
Best-of-Three Championship Series
Kyle Snyder (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Challenge Tournament
1. J’den Cox (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Isaac Trumble (Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Michael Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Kollin Moore (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Nathan Jackson (New Jersey RTC/New York AC)
6. Jonathan Aiello (Cavalier WC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Eric Schultz (Nebraska WTC)
8. Anthony Cassioppi (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Christian Carroll (Cowboy WC/Titan Mercury WC)
125 kg
Best-of-Three Championship Series
Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Challenge Tournament
1. Hayden Zillmer (Gopher WC-RTC)
2. Nick Gwiazdowski (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Greg Kerkvliet (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Dominique Bradley (Sunkist Kids WC)
5. Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force RTC)
6. Christian Lance (Sunkist Kids WC)
7. Gary Traub (Cowboy WC/Titan Mercury WC)
8. Demetrius Thomas (Pitt WC)
9. Trent Hillger (Gopher WC-RTC)
10. Jaron Smith (Orange Crush)