The Olympic wrestling trials will be held on April 19th and 20th in State College, Pennsylvania. Winners in all weight classes earn the right to represent the United States at the Olympics in Paris next August. Check out the article below for a full preview of the 57 kg field and our predictions on how this deep weight will play out.
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The U.S. team needs to qualify for the Olympics in the 57kg weight class.
Before we get into the preview of the Olympic Trials, it is important to note that the United States does not qualify for the Olympics in the 57 kg weight class. This means that whoever wins the 57kg trials will have to travel to Istanbul, Turkiye and place in the top three at the World Olympic Qualification (May 9-12) to qualify for the Olympics. . Unlike the World Championships, where any country can participate, only her 16 countries can qualify for the Olympics in each weight class. Team USA missed out on Zane Richards' first two chances to qualify in the 57kg weight class, as she did not finish in the top five at the 2023 World Championships and did not make the finals at the Pan Am Qualifiers. The World Qualifiers in May will be Team USA's last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics in the 57kg weight class.
favorite
- Vito Arjau
- Zane Richards
- thomas gillman
- dayton fix
- spencer lee
The 57kg weight class is one of the few Olympic qualifying weight classes where there is no clear favorite. In fact, all five wrestlers listed above have good reason to be considered “beatable guys” at this weight. First up is the defense of 61kg world champion Vito Arjau, who is fighting for his second consecutive NCAA title. Arjau's world title win last year was one of the most impressive in recent memory, and if he can repeat it at the trials, Arjau will be incredibly difficult to beat. He also has the advantage of winning a world medal at a non-Olympic weight last season, which prevented him from making the semifinals.
The main questions surrounding Arjau going into the trials are whether he is healthy and how he will cope with the weight cut. He missed much of this collegiate season with an undisclosed injury, and his wrestling performance looked less than 100%, dropping two matches against Lehigh's Ryan Crookham. Arjau will also be competing at 8 pounds lighter than he was last year, during his collegiate season and in pursuit of a world title. But if he can carry on the speed and power he's shown the past two years, he'll be the guy to beat at his college state.
Vito Arjau’s victory over Avasgazi Magomedov in the 2023 World Finals:
After Aljau, Zane Richards, who represented Team USA in the world last year, will likely be the No. 1 seed. Richards was one of the most surprising players to be named to the world team after an upset win over Nick Suriano and Thomas Gilman. Richards' performance on the World Team last season was notable, but given the way he competed at the World Championships and Pan Am Qualifiers, few would expect him to repeat that performance again this year. right. In both tournaments, Richards did not place high enough in the 57 kg weight class to qualify for Team USA's Olympic berth, losing to opponents defeated by other wrestlers in the weight class. Richards remains a dangerous contender here, and we shouldn't be surprised if he makes another deep run in this bracket.
Zane Richards wins over Thomas Gilman and named to 2023 World Team:
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Spencer Lee may carry the most hype heading into the Olympic Trials. Lee had impressive performances at the 2023 Bill Farrell Tournament and the 2023 Senior Nationals, outscoring his five-technologists a combined 7-0 and his opponents 67-7 in both events. He won the gold medal. In addition to his recent accomplishments, Lee won the Cadet World Title in 2014, Junior World Titles in 2015 and 2016, and is a three-time age-group champion.
Lee's accolades at his age group have been incredible and his wrestling prowess looks as good as ever, but we have yet to see Lee wrestle against the top guys in the division at the senior level. . Lee's highest number of wins in the past year is ahead of Nico Megaldis and Luke Lilledal. How does Lee stack up against Gilman, Aljau, Fix, and Richards? Most people consider Lee to be the best in the field, but we'll find out in the trials.
Spencer Lee defeats Nico Megaldis at 2023 Senior Nationals:
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And Thomas Gilman has represented the United States in the 57kg World/Olympic division five of the past seven years. Within this period, Gilman won a total of four medals: World Gold (2021), World Silver (2017 and 2022), and Olympic Bronze (2020). Despite Gilman's surprising loss to Zane Richards last year, Gilman is Team USA's “guy” in the 57kg weight class and has beaten both Dayton Fix and Vitor Aljau to the World/Olympic team multiple times. I prevented it. Gilman has proven that when he's wrestling at his best, he's one of the best in the world, and if we see the best of Gilman at the trials, he'll be on the Olympic team for the second year in a row.
Thomas Gilman defeats Iran's Alireza Sarlaq in 2021 World Finals:
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Dayton Fix is the last wrestler who should be considered a “favorite” in this field. Fix won a world silver medal in the 61kg weight class in 2021 and represented the world team in the 57kg weight class in 2019. Like Aljau, Fix wrestled at 133 pounds in college and has not wrestled in freestyle at 57 kg since 2021. There will definitely be weight loss. That's important for Fix, but if he can make weight effectively, he'll be a dangerous contender in this field. In fact, Fix has previously defeated Thomas Gilman, Vitor Aljau, Spencer Lee, and Zane Richards in freestyle.
Dayton Fix’s victory over Vito Aljau at the 2019 US Open:
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Contenders
- Nick Suriano
- Nico Megaroudis
I booked a group of competitive wrestlers in my bracket who can beat anyone but are unlikely to win a tournament. For me, the only two wrestlers that fit into this category are Nick Suriano and Nico Megaldis. Suriano doesn't have an outrageous record at the senior level, but he has notable wins over Zane Richards, Darian Cruz and Nashon Garrett. In addition, Suriano won the gold medal at the 2021 Henri Desgrands by defeating Islam Bazarganov of Azerbaijan, who defeated Gilman to reach the final, and Thomas Gilman. Suriano has a world-class defense and will likely have a close fight with all the “championship favorites” in this division.
Suriano’s victory over Islam Bazarganov at Henri Deglane in 2021:
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Nico Megaldis has lost two close fights to Spencer Lee in recent months, proving he is just a step away from the top fighters in the division. Overcoming a close loss, Megaldis will advance to the 2023 Farrell Nationals and 2023 Senior Nationals with Daniel DeShazer (3-0), Brandon Courtney (9-3) and Luke Lilledal (10-0). ) and proved that he was a step above other wrestlers. 57kg. Megaldis will be a tricky wrestler for anyone in this division and could shake up the division with an upset or two.
Sleepers and mines
- Luke Lilledal
- jacks forest
- Marcus Blades
The three wrestlers mentioned above are high school phenoms who are well qualified to compete in the Olympic Trials. Luke Lilledal, a Penn State graduate, won the silver medal at the last U20 World Championship and qualified for the trials with a fifth place finish at the Senior Nationals. Lilledal was also the 2022 U17 World Champion and the 2021 U17 World Silver Medalist. In addition to the accolades, Lilledal has notable wins over Brandon Courtney (6-2), Daniel DeShazer (2-1) and Josh Rodriguez (4-2). ). While these are impressive, losses to Spencer Lee (11-0) and Nico Megaldis (10-0) indicate that Lilledal probably won't make it to the finals, but he's still the best in this weight class. He will definitely be a threat to the veteran players.
Luke Lilledahl wins over Brandon Courtney:
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Marcus Blades is only a senior in high school and won the U17 world title last summer, qualifying him for the Olympic Trials. Still unmotivated, Blaze defeated Cornell University freshman Anthony in two consecutive games last year to earn a spot on the U17 World Team, and also defeated Matt Ramos at the Clarion Open. Blaydes has yet to compete at the senior level, but like Lilledal, no one should be surprised if he beats out one or two of the more established wrestlers in this slot. I don't think Blaze can beat Lee, Fix, Gilman, or Vito, but at 57kg I think he'll be in a close fight with the others.
Marcus Blades’ victory in the 2023 U17 World Championship Final:
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High school sophomore Jax Forrest drew attention to the 57kg weight class by defeating NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello (10-0) in just 1 minute 18 seconds in the Last Chance Preliminary Final. Before the match with Tomasello, Forrest also had Penn State's Gary Steen (12-2), All-American Devan Turner (10-0) and NLWC wrestler Josh Rodriguez (13-4) fell down. Forrest won silver at the U17 World Championships in 2022, but the Last Chance Tournament was his first competition at senior level. Forest were great in their last chance to build crazy hype heading into the Olympic Trials. Forrest looks ready to compete with the best players in the bracket and he will be one of the most exciting players to chase at the Trials.
Jax Forrest defeats Nathan Tomasello in 2024 Last Chance Olympic Qualifying Qualifier:
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Expected participation in the 57kg Olympics
The weight equivalency of 57 kg is amazing and may be the highest of all Olympic trial weights. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the top players wins, but I'm going to pick Spencer Lee based on what I've seen of Bill Farrell in 2023 and him at the 2023 Senior Nationals. When wrestling at his best, Lee is one of the most effective wrestlers in the world, going from neutral offense to over the top. Spencer Lee is also the healthiest he has been in years and believes that will lead to the best performance of his career.
57kg class top 4 predictions:
- spencer lee
- Vito Arjau
- thomas gillman
- dayton fix
