#GrecoMonday: Looking at who is already registered for Senior Nationals

Photo of Joe Rau at the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier by Tony Rotundo/Wrestlers are Warriors.

 With USA Wrestling’s Senior Nationals a little over a week away, individual registrations are beginning to roll in. The tournament is slated to take place in the Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa, October 9-11. The six Olympic weights will be contested across all three styles, Greco-Roman, men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. Today, we’re going to look at some of the notable Greco entries.
The sole Senior World Team member currently entered is Joe Rau at 87 kg. Rau is a two-time Senior World Team member (2014, 2019) and was the 2016 Olympic Team Trials champion. In his most recent competition, Rau bested 2019 Men’s Freestyle World Team member Pat Downey at the Beat the Streets Rumble on the Rooftop in June. The match featured one period of freestyle and one period of Greco-Roman.
In March, Rau qualified the U.S. for the Olympics at 87 kg with a gold medal performance at the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier in Ottawa, Canada.
Three-time age-group World medalist Cohlton Schultz is another big name already registered. Schultz is currently No. 2 on the National Team at 130 kg. He is a 2017 Cadet World champion, a 2018 Junior World bronze medalist and a 2019 Junior World silver medalist. This past year, Schultz took an Olympic redshirt at Arizona State.
Another wrestler from the ASU room to look for is Chad Porter, a 2019 U23 World Team member and 2018 Junior World Team member. Porter, who will be a redshirt junior this year, competes at 87 kg.
Ohio State is another school that will be represented well in Iowa. Leading the way is Brady Koontz, who is No. 2 on the National Team at 55 kg. Koontz has competed on Cadet Junior and U23 World Teams. His twin brother Dylan is also entered. They are both expected to compete at 60 kg.
Nicholas Boykin, a former USOPTC resident who started college at Ohio State last year, is registered at 97 kg. Boykin was a member of the 2019 Junior World Team. Fritz Schierl is another Buckeye slated to compete. Schierl, who is registered at 77 kg, is a two-time U23 World Team Trials runner-up.
Current No. 3 at 60 kg, Taylor LaMont is another college stud registered. LaMont, who competes collegiately for Utah Valley, has wrestled in a record-setting six age-group World Championships in a row. He is a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist.
In addition to college talent, the field also has some Greco specialists. Current USOPTC resident Nolan Baker is registered at 67 kg. He is a 2018 U23 World Team member. At his most recent competition, he placed fourth at the 2019 Senior Nationals in December.
Another wrestler to look for at 67 kg is Benjamin Peak. An athlete at Northern Michigan’s Olympic Training Site, Peak has had strong success at the age-group level, including a bronze at the 2019 Junior Pan Am Championships. On the Senior level, Peak finished fourth at last year’s World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.
Cal Poly graduate Britain Longmire is registered at 60 kg. Longmire has placed at the last three U.S. Opens and finished third at the 2019 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.
Another interesting entry at 60 kg is Conor Knopick. A recent Iowa State commit, Knopick is currently a senior in high school. He represented the U.S. at the 2019 Cadet World Championships and is looking to challenge himself at the Senior level.
New entries are coming in every hour. Next week, look for a more in depth breakdown as the field solidifies.