3 wrestlers with ties to Penn State claim titles at the US Open in Las Vegas
The first step to making the Senior U.S. Freestyle wrestling world team took place in Las Vegas this past week, with 13 wrestlers with ties to Penn State taking part in the U.S. Open.
The winner of each weight class advanced to Final X, which takes place June 19 in Newark, NJ. When a wrestler wins Final X, they earn a spot on the national team, which will compete in the World Championships in Bahrain from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1.
Luke Lilledahl (57 kilograms), Marcus Blaze (61 kg) and Kyle Dake (86 kg, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) all came away with titles on Saturday night to move onto Final X. Others that competed with ties to the Nittany Lions were Nate Desmond (65 kg), Kyison Garcia (65 kg), Tyler Kasak (70 kg, 6th), Connor Pierce (70 kg), Joe Sealey (74 kg, 3rd), William Henckel (79 kg), Rocco Welsh (86 kg, 6th), Josh Barr (92 kg, 6th), Connor Mirasola (97 kg, 5th) and Cole Mirasola (125 kg).
Lilledahl, whose Final X opponent is unknown as he’ll face the winner of the world team trials (May 14-15), made the finals with relative ease as he had a pair of technical superiority wins. He needed a tight 3-1 win over Antonio Mills to make the semifinals.
In the finals, the reigning 125-pound NCAA champion took on former Iowa wrestler and Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee, who beat Lilledahl for a spot on the world team last year.
Lee got out to an early four-point lead after one period of wrestling — the lone points he scored. In the second period, it was all Lilledahl. He got a step out point with just under two minutes left, and then he got a takedown to get within one point. With three seconds left in the match, the Penn State wrestler threw a headlock on Lee for a takedown, and a 5-4 victory to the roar of the crowd.
Blaze, fresh off a fourth-place finish at the NCAA championships, cruised to the semifinals, where he topped Seth Gross, 6-1. In the finals, the Nittany Lions wrestler took on a familiar foe in Ohio State’s Ben Davino, who upset Oklahoma State’s Jax Forrest in the other semifinal.
Davino scored the lone point in the first period thanks to a passivity point from Blaze. It was all Blaze in the second period, as he got two passivity points and a takedown with 30 seconds left for a 4-1 win. His Final X opponent is unknown as he awaits the winner of the world team trials.
Dake made the quarterfinals with ease, but needed a 3-0 win over Cade DeVos to make the semifinals. In the semifinals, the NLWC member topped Missouri’s Aeoden Sinclair, 6-1.
Dake squared off with former Northern Iowa wrestler Parker Keckeisen in the finals and jumped out to an early lead thanks to a takedown and gut wrench. The second period saw Dake get an early takedown and exposure points late in an 8-2 victory.
Dake will take on former Arizona State wrestler Zahid Valencia in Final X.
Former State College wrestler Pierson Manville, who now wrestles for Arizona State, came away with a fifth-place finish at 65 kilograms. He edged former Penn State wrestler Nick Suriano, 6-5, in a heated match to make the quarterfinals, where he suffered a loss to the runner-up in former Ohio State wrestler Joey McKenna.
U20 Championships
Penn State had a trio of wrestlers compete in the U20 portion of the U.S. Open.
State College grad Asher Cunningham (79 kg) was the lone wrestler to place as he came away in second on Sunday.
In the finals, the Nittany Lions wrestler took on Virginia Tech’s Ryan Burton. The pair were tied after one period of wrestling as Burton had a pair of takedowns, but Cunningham had a feet-to-back throw.
Burton got an early feet-to-back throw and tacked on a push out point to top Cunningham, 9-4.
The former Little Lions wrestler cruised to the finals by racking up five technical superiority victories in six victories — he wrestled seven matches, while giving up only seven points along the way.
Brock Weiss (70 kg) and Mason Ellis (92 kg) were the other Nittany Lions that competed. Penn State had several recruits compete during this portion too in Grey Burnett (57 kg, 2nd), Braiden Weaver (61 kg), Sam Herring (65 kg, 6th) and Jayden James (74 kg, 1st)
Former Bald Eagle Area wrestler Caleb Close, who competes for American University, took part in the 92-kilogram weight class, but went 1-2.
U17 Championships
State College sent eight wrestlers to Vegas with six that competed for the varsity team — the other two were on the junior high team.
Evan Restivo (51 kg, 2nd), who competed for the junior high, and Jayden O’Farrill (80 kg, 1st) were the lone Little Lions wrestler to place on Sunday.
Luke Young (55 kg), Jack Silfies (65 kg), James Whitbred (71 kg), Teag Sanderson (80 kg) and Noah Williams (80 kg) and James Yonushonis (52 kg, U15), who competed for the junior high, also hit the mats for the Little Lions.
O’Farrill, who transferred to State College, swept the best-of-three finals over Ryder Schulte.
In the first match, O’Farrill had no problems racking up a 14-4 technical superiority in 3:28. The second match saw the Little Lions wrestler rally for a 3-3 criteria win.
O’Farrill needed a 6-6 criteria victory to reach the semifinals. He used an 8-1 win in the semifinals to set up his matches with Schulte.
