Five best-of-three series determined for Sunday, five challenge finals to be wrestled tonight in Senior men's freestyle

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Senior men’s freestyle competition of the 2018 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament kicked off on Saturday morning at the RCTC Sports Center in Rochester, Minn.

The morning session set the stage for the half of the best-of-three finals scheduled for tomorrow. The other half will be determined tonight in the Trials Challenge tournament finals at 6 p.m. CT live on Flowrestling.org.

Below is a breakdown of each weight.

57 kg
Challenge bracket final: Daton Fix vs. Zach Sanders
Waiting in best-of-three finals: U.S. Open champion Tony Ramos
57 kg went as expected except for No. 6 Tim Lambert upsetting No. 3 Frank Perrelli in the opening round. In the semifinals, top-seeded Daton Fix beat Zane Richards, 9-2, and second-seeded Zach Sanders won 10-0 over Tim Lambert. At the U.S. Open Fix was the runner-up, while Sanders took third, both falling to Tony Ramos, 2-2 and 8-4, respectively. Winner of tonight’s challenge bracket finals will face U.S. Open champion Ramos in the best-of-three finals tomorrow.

61 kg

Best-of-three finals: Nahshon Garrett vs. Nico Megaludis
The seeds held in this bracket as well, and the top two seeds, Garrett and Megaludis, will meet in the best-of-three finals tomorrow. In the semi-finals, Garrett had another high-scoring 16-12 affair with Seth Gross. At the U.S. Open Garrett defeated Gross in the semis, 18-13.  On the other side of the bracket Megaludis defeated Tyler Graff, 7-2. Megaludis defeated Graff at the Open for third, 10-0. Garret and Megaludis both took losses to Open champion, Joe Colon, where Garret finished in second and Megaludis in third.

The winner of tomorrow’s best-of-three finals will move on to Final X in Bethlem, Pa., on June 23 to take on U.S. Open champion Joe Colon for the World Team Spot.

65 kg

Best-of-three finals: Jaydin Eierman vs. Logan Stieber
The biggest story of the Open was Jaydin Eierman knocking off past World Champion Logan Stieber in the quarterfinals. Tomorrow we’ll be treated to best-of-three series between the two. Although it nearly didn’t happen. While Eierman rolled with an 8-0 win over Jayson Ness in the top half off the bracket. Stieber struggled against Evan Henderson in the semis, relying on a four-point throw in the last minute of the match to win 6-6 on criteria. Stieber beat Henderson 10-0 at the Open. This will be one of the most intriguing best-of-three finals, and we’ll see if Stieber can get back to championship caliber form.

70 kg

Challenge bracket final: Frank Molinaro vs. Hayden Hidlay

Waiting in best-of-three finals: U.S. Open champion Jason Chamberlain
In the top half of the bracket Hayden Hidlay put away Dylan Ness 6-2 in the semifinals. On the bottom half, Frank Molinaro earned an 8-0 victory over Alec Pantaleo. Hidlay and Molinaro will face off for the opportunity to wrestle the U.S. Open Champion Jason Chamberlain in tomorrow’s best-of-three finals. Chamberlain, defeated Molinaro 4-2 in the semifinals and then defeated Hidlay 4-1 in the finals. Waiting in Final X in Lincoln, Neb., on June 9 is World silver medalist James Green.

74 kg

Challenge bracket final: Nazar Kulchytskyy vs. Tommy Gantt

Waiting in best-of-three finals: U.S. Open champion Isaiah Martinez
To make the finals, Nazar Kulchytskyy pinned Evan Wick, while Tommy Gantt beat U.S. Open runner-up Dan Vallimont, 12-2. Waiting in the best-of-three finals is Open champion Isaiah Martinez. Neither Kulchytskyy nor Gantt wrestled in the Open as they had already qualified for the Challenge Tournament. The winner of the best-of-three will face returning 2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Jordan Burroughs at Final X in Lincoln on June 9.

79 kg

Best-of-three finals: Alex Dieringer vs. Zahid Valencia
In their semifinals matches, both wrestlers won by technical fall. Dieringer defeated Nate Jackson, 12-2, while Valencia shut out Josh Apser, 10-0. Dieringer was the U.S. Open runner-up, losing 5-5 on criteria to Kyle Dake in the finals. Valencia did not compete as he already had a challenge tournament berth due to winning the NCAA Championship. The winner of the best-of-three will face Dake in Final X in State College, Pa., June 16.

86 kg

Best-of-three finals: Richard Perry vs. Nick Reenan
U.S. Open runner-up Richard Perry won his semifinal match 11-0 over TJ Dudley. While U.S. Open third-placer Nick Reenan defeated Joe Rau, 10-0. Perry and Reenan met in the first round of the Open, with Perry coming away with a 6-2 victory. Winner of tomorrow’s best-of-three series will challenge U.S. Open champion David Taylor in Final X in State College on June 16. Taylor defeated Perry in the Open finals, 8-0.

92 kg

Best-of-three finals: Hayden Zillmer vs. Deron Winn
Zillmer defeated Nikko Reyes in a shocking 21 seconds, utilizing a sequence of gut wrenches to punch his ticket to the finals. Winn defeated Timmy McCall in the semis, 4-2, to advance. Zillmer produced a runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, losing to J’den Cox, 2-0, in the finals. Winn took fourth, losing 3-0 to Cox in the semifinals and to Enock Francois by fall in the third-place match. As the winner of the Open, Cox already qualified for Final X in Bethlehem, Pa., June 23. Cox is a 2016 Olympic bronze and 2017 World bronze medalist, competing at 86 kg in both events.

97 kg

Challenge bracket finals: Kyven Gadson vs. Ty Walz

Waiting in best-of-three finals: U.S. Open champion Austin Schafer
Top-seeded Kyven Gadson defeated Blaize Cabell by fall to advance to the finals, while No. 2 Ty Walz scraped by an always-tough Nathan Burak, 2-1, to challenge Gadson in the challenge bracket finals. Walz beat Burak in the Open semifinals, 4-3, before falling to Austin Schafer in the finals, 14-7. Gadson also lost to Schafer, 4-3, in the semifinals but battled back to take third. Schafer sits in the best-of-three series, while returning 2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder will face the winner at Final X in Lincoln on June 9.

125 kg

Challenge bracket finals: Tony Nelson vs. Gable Steveson

Waiting in best-of-three finals: U.S. Open champion Adam  Coon
In a somewhat unlikely challenge final, we will see a former University of Minnesota heavyweight Tony Nelson take on future University of Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson. In order to get here, both wrestlers needed to pull off upsets against wrestlers they lost to at the U.S. Open. Nelson defeated Open runner-up Jake Varner, who defeated him in the quarterfinals of the Open, 5-1. Varner was a 2012 Olympic Champion at 96 kg. Steveson, a three-time age-group World champion, avenged a 2-2 loss he took to Dom Bradley in the third-place match. Bradley is a six-time National Team Member, while Steveson is only 17 years old. The winner of Steveson vs. Nelson will face off with U.S. Open Champion Adam Coon. Coon defeated Steveson 11-0 in the Open quarterfinals and Bradley 3-3 in the semifinals.

2018 FREESTYLE WORLD TEAM TRIALS

at Rochester, Minn., May 18-20

Senior men’s freestyle

Challenge bracket finals matchups (Saturday night)
57 kg: Daton Fix (Titan Mercury) vs. Zach Sanders (Minnesota Storm)
70 kg: Hayden Hidlay (Titan Mercury) vs. Frank Molinaro (Titan Mercury)
74 kg: Nazar Kulchytskyy (Titan Mercury) vs. Tommy Gant (Titan Mercury)
97 kg: Kyven Gadson (Sunkist Kids) vs. Ty Walz (Titan Mercury)
125 kg: Tony Nelson (Minnesota Storm) vs. Gable Steveson (Minnesota Storm)

Best-of-three finals matchups (Sunday afternoon)
61 kg: Nahshon Garrett (Sunkist Kids) vs. Nico Megaludis (Nittany Lion WC)
65 kg: Jaydin Eierman (Titan Mercury) vs. Logan Stieber (Titan Mercury)
79 kg: Alex Dieringer (Titan Mercury) vs. Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids)
86 kg: Richard Perry (New York AC) vs. Nick Reenan (Titan Mercury)
92 kg: Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota Storm) vs. Deron Winn (Titan Mercury)

Challenge bracket semifinals results
57 kg
Daton Fix (Titan Mercury) dec. Zane Richards (Titan Mercury), 9-2
Zach Sanders (Minnesota Storm) TF Tim Lambert (Sunkist Kids), 10-0

61 kg
Nahshon Garrett (Sunkist Kids) dec. Seth Gross (Sunkist Kids), 16-12
Nico Megaludis (Nittany Lion WC) dec. Tyler Graff (Titan Mercury), 7-2

65 kg
Jaydin Eierman (Titan Mercury) pin Jayson Ness (Minnesota Storm), 3:40
Logan Steiber (Titan Mercury) dec. Evan Henderson (Titan Mercury), 6-6

70 kg
Hayden Hidlay (Titan Mercury) dec. Dylan Ness (Minnesota Storm), 6-2
Frank Molinaro (Titan Mercury) dec. Alec Pantaleo (Michigan RTC), 8-0

74 kg
Nazar Kulchytskyy (Titan Mercury) pin Evan Wick (Titan Mercury), 1:09
Tommy Gant (Titan Mercury) TF Dan Vallimont (New York AC), 12-2

79 kg
Alex Dieringer (Titan Mercury) TF Nate Jackson (New Jersey RTC), 12-2
Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids) TF Josh Asper (Navy-Marines RTC), 10-0

86 kg
Richard Perry (New York AC) TF Tim Dudley (Sunkist Kids), 11-0
Nick Reenan (Titan Mercury) TF Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm), 10-0

92 kg
Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota Storm) TF Nikko Reyes (Valley RTC), 10-0
Deron Winn (Titan Mercury) dec. Timmy McCall (Titan Mercury), 4-2

97 kg
Kyven Gadson (Sunkist Kids) pin Blaize Cabell (Valley RTC), 2:16
Ty Walz (Titan Mercury) dec. Nathan Burak (Titan Mercury), 2-1

125 kg
Tony Nelson (Minnesota Storm) dec. Jake Varner (Nittany Lion WC), 3-2
Gable Steveson (Minnesota Storm) dec. Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids), 5-4