Richard Carlson selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
by Taylor Miller-Gregorio, USA Wrestling
Headshot of Richard Carlson by Minnesota Storm Training Center.
Richard Carlson (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on April 6, 2022.
Winning his bracket at the 2022 Bill Farrell International last weekend, Carlson secured a spot on the U.S. Pan American team in Greco-Roman.
He competed at 87 kg in a five-man round robin, where he went 4-0 on the day in dominant fashion. Carlson opened with a 13-0 technical fall over 2021 Junior World Team member Kodiak Stephens, followed up by a 9-1 tech fall over Christian DuLaney. In the third round, Carlson downed Miguel Baray, 9-0, in just 30 seconds.
In his final match, Carlson took on 2021 Senior World Team member Alan Vera, who was also undefeated heading into the bout. Vera took a 7-0 lead into the break, thanks to a big four-pointer, but with less than a minute remaining in the bout, Carlson locked up a throw of his own, putting Vera to his back for the fall at the 5:07 mark for the gold.
Carlson will represent the USA at the Pan American Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, in May.
Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level.
To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Manager of Communications and Social Media Taylor Miller-Gregorio at tmiller@usawrestling.org.