Three things to watch for at US Wrestling Olympic Team Trials
From Aug. 5-11, the eyes of the wrestling world will be on the 2024 Summer Olympics at Champs-de-Mar Arena in Paris.
Before wrestling biggest stars can compete for the ultimate goal, national teams must be set. The United States will determine its roster for Paris this weekend at the US Olympic Trials in State College, Pennsylvania. The competition begins Friday and wraps up Saturday.
Individual countries must qualify for each weight class with either a top-five finisher at the World Championships, a finals appearance at the Pan-American Qualifier or a top-three finish at the World Olympic Games qualifier. Of the 18 weight classes that will be held at the Olympics (six men's freestyle, six women's freestyle and six men's Greco-Roman), the United States has qualified for 13 of them.
This weekend at the Olympic Trials, the winners of the 13 qualified weight classes will earn a spot on the US Olympic Team. The person who earned Team USA the right to compete in that weight class in the Olympics receives a bye to the best-of-three match finals at the Trials. In the five weight classes the US has not qualified for yet, (men's freestyle 57 and 65 kg and 60, 67 and 77 kg in men's Greco-Roman), this weekend's winners will need to finish in the top three at the World Olympic Games qualifier on May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey to make the Olympic team.
Just as other Iowa legends have years past, several Iowans are trying to write their own history this summer, starting with the trials. Here, we'll dive into the storylines developing before the trials and what it means for current Hawkeyes on the women's side who are competing.
Spencer Lee's path to the US Olympic Team
Lee is the standout of the group of wrestlers with Iowa connections. The three-time NCAA champion and twotime Dan Hodge Trophy winner is looking healthy for the first time in years with several great performances in the past few months, including a 2023 Senior Nationals first-place finish and his victory at the Bill Ferrell Open to qualify for the Olympic Trials at 57 kg.
He draws the No. 4 seed in the class and has a bye to the quarterfinal where he will face No. 5 Nico Megaludis, the 2016 NCAA Champion at 125 pounds and a four-time All-American with Penn State. These two faced off at the Senior National this December, with Lee prevailing in a 6-2 result.
If Lee can do that again, his most likely opponent will be No. 1 Zane
Richards in the semifinals. Richards was a 2023 World Team member on his way to earning the top seed and will be a tough challenger for Lee if they meet.
If Lee were to make it through his half of the bracket, we could be set up for an all-Iowa final with No. 2 Thomas Gilman, a former three-time All-American for the Hawkeyes and 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist at 57 kg. The two are quite familiar with one another, with each spending time and practicing together in the Iowa wrestling room at one time. With the way the brackets shape up, we could very well be looking at an Iowa representative for the US at 57 kg once again.
Regardless of who wins, they will not be ensured an Olympic team spot since the United States has not qualified for the 57 kg class. The winner at the Olympic Trials must then finish in the top three at the World Olympic Games qualifier on May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey.
In short, the Hawkeyes' best chance at a male qualifier for the Olympics likely lies here at 57 kg between Lee and Gilman, but they've got a lot of work to do to get to that spot. As of now, with Lee's knees looking as healthy as ever, he appears to be the favorite.
Can Kylie Welker overcome Adaline Gray in the 76-kilogram class?
Nine female Hawkeyes are making their way to Happy Valley, but the top name will be Kylie Welker, just as it was for the entirety of Iowa's inaugural season and national title run.
Welker was a teenager when the Olympic Trials were last held in 2021. Despite that, she ran to the finals and needed two victories in the best-ofthree finals to make the Olympic team. However, six-time world champion, two-time Olympian and 2020 silver medalist Adaline Gray stood in her way, as the veteran thrashed Welker for backto-back technical superiority wins.
Gray, 32, recently gave birth to a set of twins in 2023, but was able to earn her ninth world team medal and is automatically guaranteed a spot in the finals at 76 kg. If she were to defeat her opponent there in the best-of-three series, she would be the oldest female US Olympic wrestler by three years.
Of course, a rematch between Welker and Gray is anything but a foregone conclusion. Welker's first match in the second round would be teammate Marlynne Deede if seeding holds, followed by a potential NCWWC 170pound title rematch against Yelena Makoyed. Most of all, if Welker were to advance to the challenge tournament final for the spot to try and upend Gray, she would likely have to beat No. 1 Kennedy Blades. This year at the Zagreb Open in Croatia, Blades pinned Welker to secure a bronze medal.
Welker is Iowa women's wrestling's best athlete at the event, but she may have the toughest road to representing the United States at the Olympics this year.
Other Hawkeyes to watch include several Iowa women, Marinelli and Cassioppi
Reigning NCAA champions David Carr of Iowa State (ankle injury) and Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa will not be participating at the Olympic Trials despite qualifying for the event, meaning the only freestyle competitors on the men's side will be former Hawkeyes.
The two competing outside of Lee and Gilman are Alex Marinelli at 74 kg and Tony Cassioppi at 97 kg. Austin DeSanto, who qualified for the Olympic Trials with a fifth-place finish at Senior Nationals at 65 kg, will not be competing.
Marinelli is in the toughest weight class the United States has to offer in many ways. Should he defeat No. 9 Alex Facundo (current Penn State wrestler, a gold medalist at the 2024 Pan-American games), he would then have the honor of facing Jordan Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and sixtime world champion. Burroughs is going to be out for blood after missing out on the 2020 Summer Olympics and is one of the best wrestlers in the world. With Kyle Dake awaiting the winner of the challenge bracket, Marinelli's path is a brutal one.
For Cassioppi, he faces a similar predicament. If he can advance past Christian Carrol, a top recruit from the 2023 class that chose Oklahoma State, the former Hawkeye would then battle J'Den Cox. A bronze medalist in 2016, Cox is the favorite to emerge from the challenge bracket and take on Kyle Snyder, who has a bye to the best-of-three finals for the Olympic spot.
On the women's side, the rest of the field is as follows for the Iowa Hawkeye women:
Ava Bayless - No. 8 at 50 kg Nyla Valencia - No. 9 at 50 kg Emilie Gonzalez - No. 10 at 50 kg Felicity Taylor - No. 6 at 53 kg Brianna Gonzalez - No. 7 at 53 kg Reese Larramendy - No. 3 at 68 kg Marlynne Deede - No . 7 at 76 kg Rose Cassioppi - No. 9 at 76 kg William Penn (NAIA) also has two competitors in Adaugo Nwachukwu (No. 2 at 62 kg) and Mia Palumbo (No. 7 at 50 kg) in the field.
In short, the women of the state of Iowa have a tough road ahead of them to qualify for the Olympic team. Unlike the 50-kg weight class for men's freestyle, a first-place finish for any of the women would be an automatic qualifier for the Olympic games since the United States had qualified all six weight classes.
The weight class to watch for Iowa fans will be 50 kg, where we will learn quite a bit about the lightweights for the Hawkeyes, particularly Valencia after coming back from injury. In the first round alone, we'll see Valencia face Bayless in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup, which will give us a quick glimpse at who could start at 109 pounds next season. Whoever wins that would likely have a second-round matchup against No. 1 Audrey Jimenez, who recently made news after winning a state title in Arizona this winter against the boys and is a four-time World medalist. The winner of the challenge tournament will take on Sarah Hildebrant, a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, for a ticket to Paris.
Except for Welker, Larramendy is the highest-seeded wrestler in the field for Iowa at No. 3 at 68 kg. With two-time World Champion and wrestling phenom Amit Elor waiting in the finals, plus No. 1 Forrest Molinari (2023 Pan-American games champion) and No. 2 Alexandria Glaude (three-time women's college wrestling champion at McKendree), this could be a place for Larramendy to place herself among the elite wrestlers of the class as she has shown in flashes this season.
On paper, Welker and Larramendy are the Hawkeyes' best chance to make the Olympic team on the female side of things, with the rest facing quite the uphill battle. Regardless, with some interesting position battles taking place at 50 kg and wrestlers like Rose Cassioppi that we haven't seen a lot of, there's a lot to be learned from an event like this.
One other note for Iowans to take notice of is a pair of wrestlers in the GrecoRoman field -Brady Koontz (University of Dubuque, No. 10 at 60 kg) and Brandon Marshall (Big Game Wrestling Club, No. 8 at 97 kg). Both of them also face significant resistance to earning an Olympic spot.
Full brackets and seeding for the US Olympic Trials can be found on usawrestling.com and live results can be tracked on trackwrestling.com.