Freestyle World Team Trials preview at 125 kg/275 lbs.
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Nick Gwiazdowski won his first Senior U.S. Open title at heavyweight in April in Las Vegas. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
For two Olympic cycles, Tervel Dlagnev was the top U.S. star at super heavyweight, making two Olympic teams, winning two World medals and competing in four World Championships. This year, Dlagnev joined the staff at Ohio State and has been coaching instead of wrestling. The question is who can step up and carry the banner for the USA without Dlagnev?
Winning the U.S. Open for the first time was Nick Gwiazdowski, a two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist for NC State. The Gwizz, as he is known, has placed fourth at the Olympic Team Trials and World Team Trials at this weight class in recent years. By winning the Open in Las Vegas, Gwiazdowski goes directly to the best-of-three Championship Series in Lincoln.
Placing second behind Gwiazdowski at the U.S. Open was 2015 World Team member Zach Rey, who was second behind Dlagnev at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and at two U.S. World Team Trials. A 2011 NCAA champion for Lehigh, Rey is strong and very experienced on the international level. He won the 2015 Pan American Games and has won medals around the world. When Rey gets his offense untracked, he is very hard to beat.
2009 Junior World champion Dom Bradley has been a top contender at this weight for many years. He has made the Senior National Team five times, but has not make a World Team. Bradley was third in the 2016 Olympic Trials, and third at four World Team Trials. He boasts a pair of U.S. Open titles and other medals from foreign tours. Bradley, who was a star at Missouri, is capable of making a run to the finals.
Bobby Telford, a multiple All-American for Iowa, is another young big man who has been knocking on the door in Senior freestyle. Telford finished fourth at the U.S. Open this year, after taking third place in the 2016 U.S. Open. Among his top international placements was fifth at the 2016 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. Telford was also a 2011 UWW Junior Nationals champion while an underclassman in college.
A two-time NCAA champion for Minnesota, Tony Nelson, placed fifth at the U.S. Open but punched his ticket to Lincoln earlier when he won the 2016 Bill Farrell International. As a college senior, and a two-time national champion, Nelson lost to Gwiazdowski in the 2014 NCAA finals. Nelson was a 2012 University Nationals champion and placed fifth in the 2012 University Worlds.
Also qualifying for the World Team Trials in Las Vegas were sixth-place finisher Justin Grant and seventh-place finisher Nathan Butler. Grant, who wrestled for Bloomsburg, has been a U.S. Open place winner three times. He won the 2017 Guelph Open in Canada, and was second at the Dave Schultz Memorial. Butler, an NCAA qualifier for Stanford, was a bronze medalist at the 2015 Junior World Championships and also won a bronze medal at the 2015 Grand Prix of Spain.
Winning the Last Chance Qualifier at 125 kg was former UNI star Blaize Cabell, who defeated former Purdue wrestler Braden Atwood in the finals, 7-5. Cabell was a heavyweight in college, but has wrestled often at 97 kg in freestyle. He has an option to go either weight class as he chooses.
The U.S. has some good depth at heavyweight in freestyle, but only Zach Rey has past World Championship experience. Gwiazdowski needs just two wins to earn his first World Team berth, but whoever battles through the Challenge Tournament should be very competitive and capable of winning that finals series. The next U.S. heavyweight star could emerge in Lincoln, right in time for a new Olympic cycle.
The 2017 Freestyle World Team Trials will be hosted at the Devaney Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, June 10. Tickets can be purchased here
The event will be broadcast by Flowrestling.
World Team Trials Qualifiers at 125 kg/275 lbs.
’17 U.S. Open champion advances to Trials finals series – Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC)
World Team Trials Tournament qualifiers
’16 Olympian – Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
’16 Bill Farrell highest U.S. medalist – Tony Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’17 Dave Schultz highest U.S. medalist – Dom Bradley, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
’17 U.S. Open runner-up – Zach Rey, Northampton, Pa. (Lehigh Valley WC)
’17 U.S. Open fourth place – Bobby Telford, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
’17 U.S. Open sixth place – Justin Grant, Easton, Pa. (New York AC)
’17 U.S. Open seventh place – Nathan Butler, Leavenworth, Kansas (Stanford-California RTC)
’17 Last Chance Trials Qualifier highest placer – Blaize Cabell, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Valley RTC)
2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials results at 125 kg/275 lbs.
1st - Tervel Dlagnev (Sunkist Kids) dec Zach Rey (Lehigh Valley AC), two matches to none
Dlagnev dec Rey, 3-1
Dlagnev dec Rey, 5-3
3rd – Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids) dec. Nick Gwiazdowski (NYAC), 2-2
For two Olympic cycles, Tervel Dlagnev was the top U.S. star at super heavyweight, making two Olympic teams, winning two World medals and competing in four World Championships. This year, Dlagnev joined the staff at Ohio State and has been coaching instead of wrestling. The question is who can step up and carry the banner for the USA without Dlagnev?
Winning the U.S. Open for the first time was Nick Gwiazdowski, a two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist for NC State. The Gwizz, as he is known, has placed fourth at the Olympic Team Trials and World Team Trials at this weight class in recent years. By winning the Open in Las Vegas, Gwiazdowski goes directly to the best-of-three Championship Series in Lincoln.
Placing second behind Gwiazdowski at the U.S. Open was 2015 World Team member Zach Rey, who was second behind Dlagnev at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and at two U.S. World Team Trials. A 2011 NCAA champion for Lehigh, Rey is strong and very experienced on the international level. He won the 2015 Pan American Games and has won medals around the world. When Rey gets his offense untracked, he is very hard to beat.
2009 Junior World champion Dom Bradley has been a top contender at this weight for many years. He has made the Senior National Team five times, but has not make a World Team. Bradley was third in the 2016 Olympic Trials, and third at four World Team Trials. He boasts a pair of U.S. Open titles and other medals from foreign tours. Bradley, who was a star at Missouri, is capable of making a run to the finals.
Bobby Telford, a multiple All-American for Iowa, is another young big man who has been knocking on the door in Senior freestyle. Telford finished fourth at the U.S. Open this year, after taking third place in the 2016 U.S. Open. Among his top international placements was fifth at the 2016 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. Telford was also a 2011 UWW Junior Nationals champion while an underclassman in college.
A two-time NCAA champion for Minnesota, Tony Nelson, placed fifth at the U.S. Open but punched his ticket to Lincoln earlier when he won the 2016 Bill Farrell International. As a college senior, and a two-time national champion, Nelson lost to Gwiazdowski in the 2014 NCAA finals. Nelson was a 2012 University Nationals champion and placed fifth in the 2012 University Worlds.
Also qualifying for the World Team Trials in Las Vegas were sixth-place finisher Justin Grant and seventh-place finisher Nathan Butler. Grant, who wrestled for Bloomsburg, has been a U.S. Open place winner three times. He won the 2017 Guelph Open in Canada, and was second at the Dave Schultz Memorial. Butler, an NCAA qualifier for Stanford, was a bronze medalist at the 2015 Junior World Championships and also won a bronze medal at the 2015 Grand Prix of Spain.
Winning the Last Chance Qualifier at 125 kg was former UNI star Blaize Cabell, who defeated former Purdue wrestler Braden Atwood in the finals, 7-5. Cabell was a heavyweight in college, but has wrestled often at 97 kg in freestyle. He has an option to go either weight class as he chooses.
The U.S. has some good depth at heavyweight in freestyle, but only Zach Rey has past World Championship experience. Gwiazdowski needs just two wins to earn his first World Team berth, but whoever battles through the Challenge Tournament should be very competitive and capable of winning that finals series. The next U.S. heavyweight star could emerge in Lincoln, right in time for a new Olympic cycle.
The 2017 Freestyle World Team Trials will be hosted at the Devaney Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, June 10. Tickets can be purchased here
The event will be broadcast by Flowrestling.
World Team Trials Qualifiers at 125 kg/275 lbs.
’17 U.S. Open champion advances to Trials finals series – Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC)
World Team Trials Tournament qualifiers
’16 Olympian – Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
’16 Bill Farrell highest U.S. medalist – Tony Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
’17 Dave Schultz highest U.S. medalist – Dom Bradley, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
’17 U.S. Open runner-up – Zach Rey, Northampton, Pa. (Lehigh Valley WC)
’17 U.S. Open fourth place – Bobby Telford, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
’17 U.S. Open sixth place – Justin Grant, Easton, Pa. (New York AC)
’17 U.S. Open seventh place – Nathan Butler, Leavenworth, Kansas (Stanford-California RTC)
’17 Last Chance Trials Qualifier highest placer – Blaize Cabell, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Valley RTC)
2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials results at 125 kg/275 lbs.
1st - Tervel Dlagnev (Sunkist Kids) dec Zach Rey (Lehigh Valley AC), two matches to none
Dlagnev dec Rey, 3-1
Dlagnev dec Rey, 5-3
3rd – Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids) dec. Nick Gwiazdowski (NYAC), 2-2
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