World Champion Snyder headlines list of college stars facing Olympic Redshirt decisions this fall

Kyle Snyder at the 2015 World Championships. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com

In advance of the 2016 Olympic Games set for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next August, a number of NCAA student-athletes will seize the opportunity to use an Olympic Redshirt for the 2015-16 collegiate season and focus solely on capturing their Olympic dream.


USA Wrestling has established four determining criteria to establish eligibility for an Olympic Redshirt. Only one of the four criteria must be met in order to qualify.


If a wrestler has 1) been a member of a past U.S. National Team, 2) placed in the top eight at the 2015 U.S. World Team Trials, 3) earned a Junior or University World medal or 4) placed in the top three at the 2015 NCAA Championships or is a past NCAA champion and placed in the top two at the 2015 University Nationals, then he is eligible to take an Olympic Redshirt this year.


Among those NCAA student-athletes who have declared intentions to use an Olympic Redshirt for 2016 are Kyle Snyder of Ohio State University, Jesse Thielke of the University of Wisconsin, Anthony Valencia of Arizona State University, Connor Medbery of the University of Wisconsin, and Kevin Beazley of Old Dominion University.


Snyder became the youngest World champion in U.S. history at age 19 in September. He stormed to five straight wins, including a 5-5 criteria win over reigning World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia in the 97 kg gold medal match, on his road to a World title.


During his true freshman year of NCAA competition for Ohio State in 2014-15, Snyder posted a 30-4 record and was runner-up at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. He will take the Olympic Redshirt in preparations for Rio and return to Ohio State for the 2016-17 season as a sophomore.


“I decided to take the Olympic Redshirt because it seemed like the best way for me to solely focus on training before the Olympic Games,” Snyder said. “I am going to take this time to develop in all areas of my freestyle wrestling. I also plan on spending a lot of time learning more about the right way to think about the sport of wrestling.”


Thielke is a two-time U.S. National Team member in Greco-Roman wrestling and made the 2013 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team that competed at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He also owns a Junior World bronze medal to his credit from 2012.


The past two years, Thielke has started at 141 lbs. for the University of Wisconsin. He will return to the Badgers as a junior for the 2016-17 collegiate season.


"I had always planned on taking an Olympic Redshirt in 2016, as it has been my dream to become an Olympic champion and the greatest U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler of all time ever since I started wrestling,” Thielke said. “Having the opportunity to pursue this goal and train Greco-Roman full time this year is a vital piece in that equation. I am giving myself the best chance to bring home gold from Rio.”


Thielke’s Badger teammate, Medbery, is coming off his first NCAA All-American honors after finishing in fourth place at last year’s NCAA Championships as a Redshirt Junior.


Valencia joined the Arizona State Sun Devils this year as part of a resurgence to the prestigious college program, led by ASU Head Coach and former U.S. Freestyle National Coach Zeke Jones. The 19-year-old standout qualified for Olympic Redshirt eligibility by placing in the top eight at the 2015 U.S. World Team Trials. He was third in the U.S. Open as a high school senior.


The Old Dominion Monarch Beazley emerged as a serious Olympic candidate on the Greco-Roman side this year, finishing in second place at the U.S. World Team Trials. He is coming off his best college season having qualified for the NCAA Championships as a Redshirt Junior. He also made two U.S. Junior World Team’s in Greco-Roman.


The three freestyle Olympic Redshirt declarations of Snyder, Medbery and Valencia are all expected to train the bulk of the year on campus at their respective Regional Training Centers while the two Greco-Roman declarations of Thielke and Beazley will train full-time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.


An additional 11 NCAA student-athletes have been deemed eligible to take an Olympic Redshirt but have either opted to forego the opportunity or have yet to declare their intentions.


Three past Junior World medalists, Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State University, Joey McKenna of Stanford University and Nathan Butler of Stanford University, have confirmed they will not take an Olympic Redshirt this year.


Other eligible candidates to take an Olympic Redshirt year include Adam Coon of the University of Michigan, Gabe Dean of Cornell University, Patrick Downey of Iowa State University, Thomas Gilman of the University of Iowa, Stevan Micic of the University of Michigan, Jacob Mitchell of CSU Pueblo, Sam Stoll of the University of Iowa and Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern University.


Coon, a 2015 NCAA runner-up, was the lone wrestler to qualify for Olympic Redshirt eligibility through all four available criteria.


These wrestlers must wait until the end of the 2015-16 collegiate season to apply for the Olympic Redshirt within their university’s compliance department, in similar fashion to the traditional NCAA Redshirt process. Each wrestler must prove that they have met the criteria established by USA Wrestling and not violated any NCAA eligibility rules at the end of the 2015-16 collegiate season to be granted the Olympic Redshirt.


It is expected that additional athletes will declare for Olympic Redshirt, but many may forgo this opportunity to focus on college goals.

Eligible Olympic Redshirts for 2016
Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion University), 2015 U.S. National Team member*

Nathan Butler (Stanford University), 2015 Junior World bronze medalist

Adam Coon (University of Michigan), 2015 U.S. National Team member

Gabe Dean (Cornell University), 2014 Junior World bronze medalist

Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State University), 2013 Junior World silver medalist

Patrick Downey (Iowa State University), 2012 Junior World silver medalist

Thomas Gilman (University of Iowa), 2014 Junior World bronze medalist

Joey McKenna (Stanford University), 2014 Junior World bronze medalist
Connor Medbery (University of Wisconsin), Top eight at 2015 U.S. World Team Trials*

Stevan Micic (University of Michigan), 2015 Junior World bronze medalist

Jacob Mitchell (CSU Pueblo), Top eight at 2015 U.S. World Team Trials
Kyle Snyder (Ohio State University), 2015 U.S. World Team member*

Sam Stoll (University of Iowa), 2013 Junior World bronze medalist
Jesse Thielke (University of Wisconsin), 2013 World Team member*

Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern University), 2015 NCAA Championships third place and University Nationals runner-up
Anthony Valencia (Arizona State University), Top eight at 2015 U.S. World Team Trials*

*Wresters in bold have declared intentions to take Olympic Redshirt