Ragusin tears through 57 kg bracket, Snyder out at Senior Nationals in Iowa

Photo of Dylan Ragusin. Photo by Austin Bernard, @owphotog.

CORALVILLE, Iowa – Michigan freshman and unseeded Dylan Ragusin shocked the field, earning a bid to the 57 kg men’s freestyle finals of the 2020 Senior Nationals in Coralville, Iowa, on Saturday.

A two-time age-group World Team member in Greco, Ragusin won his first-round match handily, 11-0, and went on to upset Senior National Team Darian Cruz in the round of 16. Continuing his impressive day, the Illinois native downed No. 7 Skylar Petry in the quarterfinals, 8-1, and dominated No. 6 Sean Russell in the semifinals, 16-5, to earn his finals bid.

Coming through the other side of the 57 kg bracket was 2016 Cadet World silver medalist and 2019 Junior World silver medalist Vitali Arujau, who is an NCAA athlete at Cornell. Arujau entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and collected three-straight technical falls without giving up a single point. In the semifinals, he defeated No. 4 Jack Mueller in an entertaining 11-6 bout.

At 97 kg, 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Kyle Snyder went down in the semifinals against 2015 NCAA champion and multiple-time National Team member Kyven Gadson, bowing out with an injury, but not before Gadson was able to score two takedowns and a step out for a 5-0 lead. Prior to the semis, Gadson had a solid day, collecting a decision and a pin.

For the 97 kg title, Gadson will face 2018 U23 World silver medalist and 2017 Junior World runner-up Kollin Moore, who edged out No. 2-seed Hayden Zillmer in the semifinals, 6-5.

In addition to Ragusin, another surprise finalist is No. 9 seed and Northern Colorado wrestler Andrew Alirez, who registered back-to-back upsets early in the tournament, taking out No. 8 and 2017 Junior World silver medalist Mitch McKee, 11-5, in the round of 16, followed by a 6-4 victory over top-seed and 2017 U23 World bronze medalist Joey McKenna in the quarterfinals. To secure his finals bid, Alirez defeated 12th-seeded Northwestern wrestler Yahya Thomas, 7-1.

Alirez will face Evan Henderson, the No. 3 seed, in the finals. Henderson capped off a successful day with a big win over home crowd favorite and No. 2 seed Jaydin Eierman, 13-5, in the semifinals.

At 74 kg, we’ll see a rematch from the 2019 Senior Nationals as No. 1 Logan Massa will go head-to-head with No. 3 Anthony Valencia. The two met in the Senior Nationals quarterfinals in December with Massa claiming an 18-8 technical fall.

Valencia pulled off a few close bouts to earn a spot in the finals, while Massa outscored his opponents 52-12.

Coming out of retirement, two-time NCAA champion for Cornell and 2014 Junior World bronze medalist Gabe Dean advanced to the finals at 86 kg and put together an impressive day, earning either a tech fall or pin in three of his four matches. He defeated 2019 Junior World bronze medalist Trent Hidlay, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Tomorrow night, Dean will face multiple-time NCAA All-American for Indiana Nate Jackson, who is the No. 1 seed. Jackson tallied 10-0 tech falls in his first three matches and wrapped up his day with a 7-4 semifinal win over 2019 NCAA champion for Northern Iowa Drew Foster.

In the heavyweight finals, 2019 Junior World champion Mason Parris will take on two-time Junior World Team member Tanner Hall.

Parris, the No. 2 seed, collected four notable wins on Saturday, including a first-period pin over No. 6 Trent Hillger in the semifinals.

Hall made the finals, upending freestyle veteran and three-time USA Wrestling national champion Dom Bradley in the semifinals, 3-2. Earlier in the day, Hall turned in two technical fall wins.

The 2020 Senior Nationals wrap up tomorrow with placement matches and the finals. Action begins at 10 a.m. live on FloWrestling.

Finals matchups
57 kg: Vitali Arujau (TMWC) vs. Dylan Ragusin (Cliff Keen WC)
65 kg: Andrew Alirez (unattached) vs. Evan Henderson (TMWC)
74 kg: Logan Massa (Cliff Keen WC) vs. Anthony Valencia (Sunkist Kids)
86 kg: Nate Jackson (NYAC) vs. Gabe Dean (TMWC)
97 kg: Kyven Gadson (Cyclone RTC) vs. Kollin Moore (TMWC)
125 kg: Tanner Hall (Sunkist Kids) vs. Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC)

Semifinals results

57 kg
Vitali Arujau (TMWC) df. Jack Mueller (TMWC), 11-6
Dylan Ragusin (Cliff Keen WC) df. Sean Russell (Gopher WC), 16-5

65 kg
Andrew Alirez (unattached) df. Yahya Thomas (TMWC), 7-1
Evan Henderson (TMWC) df. Jaydin Eierman (TMWC), 13-5

74 kg
Logan Massa (Cliff Keen WC) df. David Carr (Cyclone RTC), 4-0
Anthony Valencia (Sunkist Kids) df. Evan Wick (TMWC), 10-8

86 kg
Nate Jackson (NYAC) df. Drew Foster (Panther WC), 7-4
Gabe Dean (TMWC) df. Trent Hidlay (TMWC), 2-1

97 kg
Kyven Gadson (Cyclone RTC) df. Kyle Snyder (TMWC), injury default
Kollin Moore (TMWC) df. Hayden Zillmer (Gopher WC), 6-5

125 kg
Tanner Hall (Sunkist Kids) vs. Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids), 3-2
Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC) df. Trent Hillger (Badger RTC), fall 2:11