U.S. Open Champion Jordan Oliver in strong position to make first Senior World Team

VIDEO: Jordan Oliver’s post-championship interview

Last weekend in Las Vegas, Jordan Oliver made a statement, one he’s been looking to make for a long time.

The Easton, Pa., native lit up the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas at the 2017 U.S. Open, winning the 65 kg/143 lbs. championship and earning a bye to the finals of the men’s freestyle World Team Trials, set for June 9-10 in Lincoln, Neb.

“It’s amazing,” Oliver said. “It’s just like winning your first NCAA title. I don’t think it really settled in the first night I won. Over the next couple of days, it started to settle in. I’m letting it sink in that I won the U.S. Open and put myself in a good position to make my first World Team and chase a World title.”

He entered as the No. 3 seed, behind Frank Molinaro and Zain Retherford, respectively, both who placed ahead of Oliver at the 2016 Olympic Team Trials.

To open his tournament, Oliver rattled off two quick technical falls that only lasted seconds into the second period, recording an 11-1 win over Jaydin Eierman and a 13-3 win over Deondre Wilson.

He kept up the momentum in the quarterfinals, shutting out reigning U.S. Open champion and 2014 World Team member Jimmy Kennedy, 6-0.

In the semifinals, Oliver, a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, came face-to-face with Retherford a two-time NCAA champion from Penn State and the 2017 Dan Hodge Trophy winner.

In a controversial match that came down to the final seconds. Oliver trailed 3-0 halfway through the second period. Retherford was pegged with a caution and two for hands in the face, allowing Oliver to cut his lead to 3-2.

A crazy scramble ensued and Oliver was awarded two for exposure with no time left on the clock. Retherford’s corner challengde, but the call was confirmed, resulting in another point for Oliver and a 5-3 win.

“My toughest match was Zain, who was the only guy that held me off,” Oliver said. “He’s the best person that I can prepare myself for that will translate into any opponent who makes it to the finals in June. Zain’s head and hands defense is awesome. It was second to none, and it was hard to penetrate him. If I can break through that, then I’ll know what to do against anybody.”

The victory landed him a spot in the finals against 2016 Olympian Molinaro, a match that lived up to the excitement surrounding it.

Molinaro went up 2-0 after the first period, but a takedown and exposure put Oliver up 4-2. With less than 45 seconds left in the match, Molinaro scored a go-behind takedown to tie it, but in the end, it was Oliver holding criteria, 4-4.

“There were a couple of close matches, but in those situations where matches got close and things started getting tight, I didn’t panic,” Oliver said. “I was really at a sense of ease and real comfortable. We train those positions—up by a point, down by a point, up by four, down by four—all the time in practice. So when I got in those positions, I knew where I was at and I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to walk away with a win in every match.”

It was the first national championship for Oliver in his Senior career. He has produced two second-place finishes at the U.S. Open and finished as a runner-up at the World Team Trials three times, but what many don’t know is that prior to this year, he has been plagued with injuries that kept him from a breakthrough.

In 2014-15, he suffered a knee injury heading into the U.S. Open. The next year, he underwent back-to-back setbacks with a broken nose and separated shoulder just weeks before the Olympic Team Trials in 2016.

Battling through it, Oliver showed up to the Trials but lost in his first match to eventual Olympic Trials runner-up Aaron Pico, 11-9. He was forced to forfeit out due to his injury.

Since coming back from injury, Oliver has made lifestyle changes to help his weight cut and has put the pedal to the metal on the mat, thanks to the support of his world-class coaches and teammates in Tempe, Ariz.

Led by World champion and Olympic silver medalist Zeke Jones as well as Lee Pritts and Chris Pendleton, Oliver has found a new perspective on wrestling to add to what he learned during his time at Oklahoma State under two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion John Smith.

“Getting to pick someone else’s mind and getting a different view on wrestling is helpful,” Oliver said. “Working with Coach Jones and coming up with new ways to approach opponents is great. He and Pritts and Pendleton have helped make a difference. I still talk with the Coach Smith and Coach (Eric) Guerrero regularly, and I’m so thankful for the roles they’ve played in my wrestling. I still go back to Stillwater (Oklahoma) as much as I can to train with them. The more minds I can get wrestling knowledge from, the better it is.”

The room is sprinkled with even more talent from those who train alongside him like 2012 Olympian Kelsey Campbell, 2017 women’s freestyle World Team member Victoria Anthony, U.S. Open finalist Nahshon Garrett and three-time Canadian Olympian Haislan Garcia.

Working daily with these hammers helps put Oliver in position to make his first U.S. Senior World Team.

With his spot in the 2017 World Team Trials finals guaranteed, Oliver is one step closer to his goal of being a World champion and is committed to being prepared for whoever dares to challenge him in June.

“Going into World Team Trials, I’m going to try to open the gap on these guys and get out to faster scores in the first period,” he said. “Maybe I can turn these two and four-point wins into six-point wins or a tech fall. I really need to be savvy with my attacks and pull the trigger when guys present the opportunity for me to score. Also, I have to get some turns. Obviously, I can take down anybody in the country, but if I start adding turns that will make a difference.”