World Team Trials preview at 71 kg/156 lbs. in Greco-Roman
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by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Chris Gonzalez of the United States after a victory at the 2016 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Kadir Caliskan.
In this month’s World Team Trials, we are likely to see the U.S. Greco-Roman program flex its depth at 71 kg/156 lbs., with championship potential coming from several wrestlers.
2016 World Team member Chris Gonzalez looks to hold down the top spot at 71 kg. A relatively new name in Senior Greco-Roman, Gonzalez stormed past Alejandro Sancho, a tournament favorite, in the best-of-three finals series of the World Team Trials last November in New York City. He went on to represent the U.S. in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he took home a 10th-place finish in his first international outing against the world’s best.
In 2015, Gonzalez earned a bronze medal at the Eduardo Campbell Cup, where two of his three opponents were American. That was his only previous international experience. Although bouncing back from an injury, Gonzalez is as confident as ever to prove himself again as the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at the weight.
Eyeing the World Team spot is 2016 Olympic Team Trials champion at 66 kg, RaVaughn Perkins. With the weight not yet qualified for Rio, Perkins was tasked with competing at the 1st and 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier. He earned bronze at the first qualifier in Mongolia, but it was not enough, because he lost the special Olympic qualification match to Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania. That sent Perkins to Turkey for the second qualifier, where he finished eighth.
This year, Perkins decided to move up to 71 kg and has already proven to be a force at the weight. At the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International in January, his first competition back since May, he defended his 2016 title and won gold, defeating Japan’s Shogo Takahashi in the finals. Not long after, he traveled to the Thor Masters in Denmark and Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia, where he had solid showings in both tournaments. He left Croatia with a bronze medal.
Greco veteran Patrick Smith is a strong contender who continues to improve. After capturing what was once an elusive U.S. Senior Nationals championship, Smith is on the right track to becoming a U.S. World Team member.
The two-time Pan-American champion has made every National Team since 2013, including spots on the 2016-17 National Team at both 66 kg and 71 kg. At the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, Smith finished second to Perkins, who bested him in two of three bouts. In addition to his Pan-American golds, Smith was a 2014 University World silver medalist and has also notched top-10 finishes at other prestigious tournaments like Grand Prix of Hungary, Grand Prix of Zagreb and UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals.
Falling to Smith in the 2017 Senior Nationals finals was Anthonie Linares. The 2015 University Nationals champion recently won bronze at the Dave Schultz Memorial International and was the 2016 University Nationals runner-up. He is expected to compete at 71 kg.
Also likely to enter the field at 71 kg is 2017 Junior Greco-Roman Austrian Open champion Logan Kass. A student-athlete at Northern Michigan, Kass finished fifth at Senior Nationals and has tacked on plenty of international experience in the last year. In addition to his gold at the Junior Austrian Open, Kass returned a silver medal to the U.S. from the Malar Cup in Sweden last November. He also got two matches in at the Klippan Cup.
After spending the last few years as a volunteer assistant coach at North Dakota State, former OU wrestler Chase Nelson has returned to Greco competition. Nelson finished third at Senior Nationals and could make some noise at this year’s Trials.
Other names to look out for include Mason Manville, Cody Pack, Bradley Dolezal and Alex Mossing.
The World Team spot at 71 kg will be determined April 29, along with 59 kg, 75 kg and 85 kg at the 2017 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Las Vegas.
2017 World Team Trials qualifiers at 71 kg/156 lbs.
’16 Non-Olympic Weight World Team member – Chris Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
’14 University World medalist – Patrick Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’16 University Nationals runner-up – Anthonie Linares, San Jose, Calif. (New York AC/NMU-OTS)
’16 University Nationals third place – Alex Mossing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals third place – Chase Nelson, Fargo, N.D. (Bison WC)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals fourth place – Marco Lara, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals fifth place – Logan Kass, New Prague, Minn. (NMU-OTS)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals sixth place – Cody Pack, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Legends of Gold)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals seventh place – Bradley Dolezal, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’17 Armed Forces Championships first place – Michael Hooker, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
’17 Armed Forces Championships runner-up – Brandon Mueller, Albuquerque, N.M. (U.S. Air Force)
*NOTE: 2017 NCAA Division I qualifiers, ’17 NCAA Division II All-Americans, ’17 NCAA Division III All-Americans, ’17 NAIA All-Americans, ’17 Junior College All-Americans and ’17 NCWA finalists are all qualified for Greco-Roman World Team Trials
2017 U.S. Senior Nationals results at 71 kg/156 lbs.
1st - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Anthonie Linares (New York AC), 8-0
3rd - Chase Nelson (Bison WC) tech. fall Marco Lara (U.S. Army WCAP), 13-4
5th - Logan Kass (NMU-OTS) won by injury default Cody Pack (Legends of Gold)
7th - Bradley Dolezal (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Christopher Rodgers (NMU-OTS), 8-0
2016 World Team Trials results at 71 kg/156 lbs.
1st - Chris Gonzalez, Bolingbrook, Ill. (U.S. Army WCAP) dec. Alejandro Sancho, Miami, Fla. (NYAC/NMU), two matches to one
Bout One – Sancho dec. Gonzalez, 2-1
Bout Two – Gonzalez dec. Sancho, 2-1
Bout Three – Gonzalez dec. Sancho, 4-1
3rd - Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) by inj. dft. over Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
In this month’s World Team Trials, we are likely to see the U.S. Greco-Roman program flex its depth at 71 kg/156 lbs., with championship potential coming from several wrestlers.
2016 World Team member Chris Gonzalez looks to hold down the top spot at 71 kg. A relatively new name in Senior Greco-Roman, Gonzalez stormed past Alejandro Sancho, a tournament favorite, in the best-of-three finals series of the World Team Trials last November in New York City. He went on to represent the U.S. in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he took home a 10th-place finish in his first international outing against the world’s best.
In 2015, Gonzalez earned a bronze medal at the Eduardo Campbell Cup, where two of his three opponents were American. That was his only previous international experience. Although bouncing back from an injury, Gonzalez is as confident as ever to prove himself again as the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at the weight.
Eyeing the World Team spot is 2016 Olympic Team Trials champion at 66 kg, RaVaughn Perkins. With the weight not yet qualified for Rio, Perkins was tasked with competing at the 1st and 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier. He earned bronze at the first qualifier in Mongolia, but it was not enough, because he lost the special Olympic qualification match to Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania. That sent Perkins to Turkey for the second qualifier, where he finished eighth.
This year, Perkins decided to move up to 71 kg and has already proven to be a force at the weight. At the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International in January, his first competition back since May, he defended his 2016 title and won gold, defeating Japan’s Shogo Takahashi in the finals. Not long after, he traveled to the Thor Masters in Denmark and Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia, where he had solid showings in both tournaments. He left Croatia with a bronze medal.
Greco veteran Patrick Smith is a strong contender who continues to improve. After capturing what was once an elusive U.S. Senior Nationals championship, Smith is on the right track to becoming a U.S. World Team member.
The two-time Pan-American champion has made every National Team since 2013, including spots on the 2016-17 National Team at both 66 kg and 71 kg. At the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, Smith finished second to Perkins, who bested him in two of three bouts. In addition to his Pan-American golds, Smith was a 2014 University World silver medalist and has also notched top-10 finishes at other prestigious tournaments like Grand Prix of Hungary, Grand Prix of Zagreb and UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals.
Falling to Smith in the 2017 Senior Nationals finals was Anthonie Linares. The 2015 University Nationals champion recently won bronze at the Dave Schultz Memorial International and was the 2016 University Nationals runner-up. He is expected to compete at 71 kg.
Also likely to enter the field at 71 kg is 2017 Junior Greco-Roman Austrian Open champion Logan Kass. A student-athlete at Northern Michigan, Kass finished fifth at Senior Nationals and has tacked on plenty of international experience in the last year. In addition to his gold at the Junior Austrian Open, Kass returned a silver medal to the U.S. from the Malar Cup in Sweden last November. He also got two matches in at the Klippan Cup.
After spending the last few years as a volunteer assistant coach at North Dakota State, former OU wrestler Chase Nelson has returned to Greco competition. Nelson finished third at Senior Nationals and could make some noise at this year’s Trials.
Other names to look out for include Mason Manville, Cody Pack, Bradley Dolezal and Alex Mossing.
The World Team spot at 71 kg will be determined April 29, along with 59 kg, 75 kg and 85 kg at the 2017 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Las Vegas.
2017 World Team Trials qualifiers at 71 kg/156 lbs.
’16 Non-Olympic Weight World Team member – Chris Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
’14 University World medalist – Patrick Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’16 University Nationals runner-up – Anthonie Linares, San Jose, Calif. (New York AC/NMU-OTS)
’16 University Nationals third place – Alex Mossing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals third place – Chase Nelson, Fargo, N.D. (Bison WC)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals fourth place – Marco Lara, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals fifth place – Logan Kass, New Prague, Minn. (NMU-OTS)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals sixth place – Cody Pack, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Legends of Gold)
’17 U.S. Senior Nationals seventh place – Bradley Dolezal, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’17 Armed Forces Championships first place – Michael Hooker, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
’17 Armed Forces Championships runner-up – Brandon Mueller, Albuquerque, N.M. (U.S. Air Force)
*NOTE: 2017 NCAA Division I qualifiers, ’17 NCAA Division II All-Americans, ’17 NCAA Division III All-Americans, ’17 NAIA All-Americans, ’17 Junior College All-Americans and ’17 NCWA finalists are all qualified for Greco-Roman World Team Trials
2017 U.S. Senior Nationals results at 71 kg/156 lbs.
1st - Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Anthonie Linares (New York AC), 8-0
3rd - Chase Nelson (Bison WC) tech. fall Marco Lara (U.S. Army WCAP), 13-4
5th - Logan Kass (NMU-OTS) won by injury default Cody Pack (Legends of Gold)
7th - Bradley Dolezal (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Christopher Rodgers (NMU-OTS), 8-0
2016 World Team Trials results at 71 kg/156 lbs.
1st - Chris Gonzalez, Bolingbrook, Ill. (U.S. Army WCAP) dec. Alejandro Sancho, Miami, Fla. (NYAC/NMU), two matches to one
Bout One – Sancho dec. Gonzalez, 2-1
Bout Two – Gonzalez dec. Sancho, 2-1
Bout Three – Gonzalez dec. Sancho, 4-1
3rd - Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) by inj. dft. over Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
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