UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fifteen elite-level wrestlers with Penn State and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club ties will be competing at the 2021 United State Olympic Wrestling Team Trials this weekend. Four current Nittany Lions, two gold medal winners from the 2016 Olympic Games, and nine wrestlers who have won NCAA individual titles at Penn State are among the outstanding group set to wrestle.
The two-day event takes place on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, in Fort Worth, Texas. The winners of each bracket in all three classifications (men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman) will represent the United States in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Beginning with the freestyle brackets, Thomas Gillman (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club/Titan Mercury Wrestling Club) will be the No. 1 seed in the 57 kg bracket, getting things started for the NLWC. Former Penn State national champion Zain Retherford (NLWC/TMWC) will be the No. 1 seed at 65 kg. Current Nittany Lion and 2021 NCAA champion Nick Lee (NLWC/TMWC) is the No. 6 seed at 65 kg and former Lion All-American Frank Molinaro (Sunkist Kids/TMWC) is the No. 7 seed at 65 kg.
With two athletes awaiting the winner of the 74 kg challenge bracket (one in the finals and one in the semifinals), former Penn State national champion Jason Nolf (NLWC/TMWC) will be the No. 1 seed in the 74 kg challenge bracket to reach those competitors. Another former Nittany Lion NCAA champ, Vincenzo Joseph (NLWC/TMWC), is the No. 7 seed. Four Penn State NCAA Champions are in the 86 kg bracket. David Taylor (NLWC/TMWC) is the No. 1 seed at 86 kg and Bo Nickal (NLWC/TMWC) is the No. 6 seed. Current Nittany Lion Aaron Brooks (NLWC/TMWC), a current NCAA Champion, is the No. 10 seed and teammate Carter Starocci (NLWC/TMWC), also a current national champion, is the No. 11 seed.
Defending Olympic Gold Medalist Kyle Snyder (NLWC/TMWC) will await the winner of the challenge bracket in the best-of-three finals at 97 kg. Current Penn State All-American Greg Kerkvliet will be the No. 6 seed at 125 kg. Current Penn Stater Mason Manville will be the No. 6 seed at 77 kg in the Greco-Roman classification.
Defending Olympic Gold Medalist Helen Maroulis of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club and a current resident training at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, will – like Snyder – await the winner of the 57 kg challenge bracket in the best-of-three finals at that weight in women's freestyle wrestling. Jennifer Page (NLWC/TMWC) will be the No. 6 seed at 62 kg to round out the 15 competitors connected to Happy Valley.
The line-up by weight/classification:
Men's Freestyle
57 kg: Thomas Gilman (NLWC/TMWC)
65 kg: Zain Retherford (NLWC/TMWC)
65 kg: Nick Lee (NLWC/TMWC)
65 kg: Frank Molinaro (SKWC/TMWC)
74 kg: Jason Nolf (NLWC/TMWC)
74 kg: Vincenzo Joseph (NLWC/TMWC)
86 kg: David Taylor (NLWC/TMWC)
86 kg: Bo Nickal (NLWC/TMWC)
86 kg: Aaron Brooks (NLWC/TMWC)
86 kg: Carter Starocci (NLWC/TMWC)
97 kg: Kyle Snyder (NLWC/TMWC)
125 kg: Greg Kerkvliet (NLWC/TMWC)
Women's Freestyle
57 kg: Helen Maroulis (SKWC/NLWC)
62 kg: Jennifer Page (NLWC/TMWC)
Greco-Roman
77 kg: Mason Manville (US Army WCAP/NLWC)
Every match of the trials will air live on NBC Sports and Peacock from Fort Worth. Challenge tournaments on Friday will lead to Saturday's 18 finalists in all divisions across three style classifications.
The full schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):
Friday, April 2:
Challenge tournaments; 11 a.m.; Peacock and live streaming (see link below)
Challenge tournament finals Mat 2; 7:30 p.m.; NBCSN and live streaming
Challenge tournament finals Mats 1,3,4; 7:30 p.m., Peacock and live streaming
Saturday, April 3:
Challenge tournament consolations; 1 p.m.; Peacock and live streaming
Championship Series Mat 2; 7:30 p.m.; NBCSN and live streaming
Championship Series Mats 1,3,4; 7:30 p.m.; Peacock and live streaming
All live streaming links can be found at nbcsports.com here:
https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/03/31/wrestling-olymipc-trials-tv-live-stream-schedule-usa/
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
