With 2019 coming to an end the Senior wrestling event schedule is shifting towards the Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo from Friday July 24th to Sunday August 9th. The U.S Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials Qualifier was held at the Fort Worth Convention Center over the weekend. Many past and current Buckeyes traveled to Fort Worth, Texas hoping to get one step closer of attaining their Olympic dreams. The Top 5 finishers in each weight class automatically qualify for the Olympic Trials which will be held at State College in Pennsylvania on April 4th-5th.
57KG: Nathan Tomasello- Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Nathan Tomasello has struggled with injuries over the last couple years but when he is healthy not many people on the planet can beat him. He is finally healthy and it has shown over the last few days. Tomasello opened up his tournament with a 9-2 decision over Daniel DeShazer from the Gopher Wrestling Club. In the round of sixteen, he defeated Gabriel Townsell from Standford 13-2. In the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals, Tomasello faced fellow teammates Frank Perrelli, Nahshon Garrett, and Spencer Lee. He defeated Frank Perrelli 10-0 and Nahshon Garrett 15-2. In the finals, Spencer Lee, who has also looked dominant racking up 4 consecutive technical superiority victories. Lee defeated Tomasello by an 8-2 decision in the finals. Tomasello finished in second place securing his place at the Olympic trials.
65KG: Joey Mckenna- Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Mckenna is one of the most intelligent and technically sound wrestlers in the U.S. and it has shown over the last few days. Mckenna opened up his tournament with a 10-0 victory over Rob Mathers with the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. He then defeated Jayson Ness from the Gopher Wrestling Club by an 8-2 decision in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, Mckenna defeated a fellow teammate and the 4 seed Evan Henderson 11-1. In the semi-finals, Mckenna got some revenge defeating teammate Yianni Diakomihalis 6-5. In very similar fashion to their first match, this match came down to the last few seconds. But this time, Mckenna took the lead via criteria at the end of the match. Yianni’s corner challenged the call but lost which cost him a point. Mckenna then faced Jordan Oliver from the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club in the finals. Oliver outscored his opponents 40-0 in the first 4 rounds of the tournament. Oliver defeated Mckenna 10-0 in the finals. Mckenna finished in second place securing his place at the Olympic trials.
86KG: Myles Martin- Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Myles Martin was a four time All-American at Ohio State and a National Champion as a true freshman. Myles has been training at the Ohio Regional Training Center since he graduated and really seems to be progressing on the Senior level. This past week we received news that arguably the best wrestler in the world, J’Den Cox will be joining the Ohio RTC. With Cox as a training partner Martin will only get better and better. Martin opened up his tournament with a 10-0 victory over Ramon Fry. In the round of 16, Martin defeated Leonardo Tarantino from the Boston Regional Training Center 12-2. In the quarter-finals, he defeated teammate Nicholas Heflin 7-0. In the semi-finals, Martin defeated another teammate Alex Dieringer 6-4 in a hard fought battle. This match had come of the hardest hand fighting I have seen. Martin faced Zahid Valencia from the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club in the finals. Martin loses by a 7-5 decision to Valencia in the finals. Martin finished the tournament in second place and qualifies for the Olympic trials.
97KG- Kollin Moore- Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Kollin Moore is the only current Ohio State wrestler in the finals at the U.S. Senior Nationals. This season, Moore is 14-0 on the season and has looked dominant. Kollin is a redshirt Senior so he is starting to transition to the Senior circuit. Moore started his tournament with a 10-0 victory over Erik Hinckley in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, he defeated teammate Derek White 6-3. In the semi-finals, he defeated the number one seed Kyven Gadson from the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club 6-3. Moore faced Hayden Zillmer from the Gopher Wresting Club in the finals. Moore stormed out to a 10-2 lead but gave up 8 consecutive points to lose by criteria in the finals. Kollin Moore finished second and qualified for the Olympic Trials.
Former Ohio State Wrestler and current Penn State athlete Daniel Kerkvliet also competed this past weekend. Kerkvliet lost a close match to Anthony Nelson 3-2 in the semi-finals. Kerkvliet went on to finish third qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Ohio State was also represented in the Greco-Roman bracket with Dylan Koontz, Brady Koontz, and Fritz Schierl competing. Dylan Koontz was the 8 seed in the 60kg weight class and won his first match 9-0 but lost in the round of 16 by the same score. Dylan then won two matches in the consolation bracket before losing in the round of 8. Brady Koontz was the 7 seed in the 60kg weight class and won his first match 2-1. Brady lost 5-5 in the round of 16. Brady then lost his first match in the consolation bracket. Fritz Schierl competed in the 77kg weight class and won his first match 9-5. Schierl lost 8-0 in the round of 16. Schierl then made it to the round of 8 in the consolation bracket before losing 6-0.
Yet again this tournament provided Tom Ryan with an excellent recruiting tool. The coaches at Ohio State are excellent at developing wrestlers in their state of the art facilities and also provide daily opportunities to train with the world class wrestlers with the Ohio Regional Training Center.
Written by Brandon Dodson
Follow on twitter @recruitingbucks
Photo Credit given to https://usawevents.sportngin.com/page/show/5243187-2019-senior-nationals-and-trials-qualifier
Comments