The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials, which will determine the wrestlers who will represent the United States at the Paris Summer Games, will take place Friday and Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State in State College, Pa. The Olympics begin July 26; the wrestling competition starts Aug. 5 and stretches to the end of the Games, Aug. 11.
U.S. Olympic wrestling trials: How to watch, what to know, the Minnesota ties
The meet to determine which wrestlers will represent the United States at the Paris Olympics will go on Friday and Saturday at Penn State.
By Theo Franz
April 18, 2024 at 11:45PM
How to watch
NBC Sports will broadcast live on USA Network and will stream coverage via Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
Peacock will stream matches across four mats from morning sessions starting at 9 a.m. Friday (early rounds of the challenge tournament) and Saturday (early rounds of the best-of-three finals). Coverage on USA Network will begin at 5:30 p.m. each day (challenge tournament Friday, second and third rounds of finals Saturday).
All the coverage will be available for streaming via NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. A total of 60 hours of coverage is planned.
How the trials work
The United States qualified to compete in 13 weight classes at the Paris Games: women’s freestyle at 50, 53, 57, 62, 68 and 76 kilograms; men’s freestyle at 74, 86, 97 and 125 kilograms; and men’s Greco-Roman at 87, 97 and 130 kilograms. The U.S. has not qualified for Olympic berths at two weights in men’s freestyle (57 and 65 kg) and three in Greco-Roman (60, 67 and 77 kg). Olympic trials winners in those weights will wrestle at the World Olympic Games Qualifier starting May 9 in Istanbul, Turkey. They must place in the top three at that qualifier to compete at the Olympics.
One wrestler from each of the 13 weight classes in which the U.S. qualified received a bye into the Saturday’s best-of-three finals. Those who received byes:
* Women: Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kg, Dominique Parrish at 53 kg, Helen Maroulis at 57 kg, Kayla Miracle at 62 kg, Amit Elor at 68 kg and Adeline Gray at 76 kg. Hildebrandt, Maroulis and Gray earned automatic berths to the championship series by medaling at the 2023 World Championships. Parrish, Miracle and Elor qualified by reaching the finals at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier.
* Men’s freestyle: Kyle Dake at 74 kg, David Taylor at 86 kg, Kyle Snyder at 97 kg and Mason Parris at 125 kg. All four medaled at the 2023 World Championships, qualifying their weight class for the Olympics.
* Greco-Roman: Spencer Woods at 87 kg, Alan Vera at 97 kg and Cohlton Schultz at 130 kg. All three won the automatic berth by qualifying their weight class for the Olympic Games at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico.
The remaining wrestlers in each weight class will compete Friday in a challenge tournament, and the winner will advance to Saturday’s championship finals and face the wrestler who received a bye.
In the five weight classes in which the U.S. did not qualify — men’s freestyle 57 and 65 kg, Greco-Roman 60, 67 and 77 kg — the wrestlers who reach the challenge tournament semifinals will wrestle in the Saturday finals.
Wrestlers with Minnesota ties
MEN’S FREESTYLE
Daniel DeShazer (Gopher Wrestling Club): Two-time national champion at Nebraska-Kearney. Seeded eighth at 57 kg.
Seth Gross: (Apple Valley): Won the NCAA championship for South Dakota State at 133 pounds in 2018 and competed at the world championships in 2022. Seeded eighth at 65 kg.
Mark Hall (Apple Valley): In 2016 became the first wrestler to win six high school state titles in Minnesota. Won an NCAA championship in 2017 for Penn State. Seeded fifth at 86 kg.
Trent Hillger (Gopher Wrestling Club): Four-time All-America at Wisconsin. Seeded ninth at 125 kg.
Greg Kerkvliet (Simley): Won the NCAA heavyweight championship for Penn State in March. Seeded third at 125 kg.
Hayden Zillmer (Crosby-Ironton, Gopher Wrestling Club): A former North Dakota State wrestler, he is the top seed in the challenge tournament at 125 kg.
GRECO-ROMAN
Richard Carlson (Mounds View, Minnesota Storm): Seeded second at 87 kg in his second Olympic trials. He defeated former Olympian John Stefanowicz at Senior Nationals in December.
Tyler Eischens (Anoka): Won the 2019 Pac-12 title at 174 pounds for Stanford and qualified for the NCAA tournament three times. Seeded seventh at 77 kg.
Ryan Epps (Cannon Falls/Augsburg/Minnesota Storm): Won two national championships at Augsburg. Seeded ninth at 87 kg.
Dylan Gregerson (Minnesota Storm): Qualified for the U23 world championships in 2021. Seeded seventh at 60 kg.
Taylor LaMont (Minnesota Storm): Five-time NCAA tournament qualifier for Utah Valley and Wisconsin. Seeded eighth at 60 kg.
Donny Longendyke (White Bear Lake, Augsburg, Minnesota Storm): Won the 2015 NCAA Division III heavyweight championship at Augsburg. Seeded fifth at 130 kg.
Fritz Schierl (Minnesota Storm): Two-time Senior Nationals All-American for Ohio State. Seeded eighth at 87 kg.
Patrick Smith (Chaska, Gophers, Minnesota Storm): A former Gophers wrestler and a four-time world championships participant. Seeded fifth at 67 kg.
WOMEN’S FREESTYLE
Vayle-Rae Baker (Augsburg): A National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships All-America pick for King University in 2022-23. Seeded first at 53 kg in the challenge tournament.
Marlynne Deede (Augsburg): 2023 national champ at Augsburg and four-time All-America. Seeded seventh at 76 kg.
Brooklyn Hays (Augsburg, Minnesota Gold Wrestling Club): All-America for Augsburg in 2022-23. Qualified for the trials by winning at the U23 USMC Women’s National Championships finals. Seeded sixth at 68 kg.
Katerina Lange (Martin County West, Augsburg, Minnesota Storm): Won at the 2023 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. Seeded third at 62 kg.
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Theo Franz
Star Tribune
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