The collegiate wrestling season may have wrapped up in March, but Nathan Tomasello isn't taking any days off. The Buckeye standout will be wrestling in Las Vegas at the US Open on Friday and Saturday for a shot at an automatic berth in the finals at the upcoming World Team Trials.
Tomasello (57 kg) will not be alone in representing the Buckeyes as Luke Pletcher (63 kg) will be competing in the UWW Junior freestyle tournament, while Tomasello is in the Senior tournament against a stacked field. Joining Pletcher in the field in the Junior tournament are Buckeye commit Malik Heinselman (46-50 kg) and coveted recruit David Carr (70 kg).
Buckeye fans will also see a number of familiar names in the field as Ohio State graduates Johnni DiJulius (61 kg), Hunter Stieber (70 kg), and Nick Heflin (86 kg) are all listed as entrants in the US Open.
Tomasello will be one of the front-runners at 57 kg, but he'll have his work cut out for him. Nathan will face a field that will include fellow NCAA champions Tony Ramos, Nico Megaludis, Nahshon Garrett, and Jesse Delgado. Other familiar faces include Zach Sanders, Alan Waters, and Obe Blanc at 57 kg. Tomasello opens his tournament against Sean Donnelly of All-Navy and could possibly meet Megaludis in the quarterfinals.
DiJulius will compete at 61 kg, but he's unlikely to be on the podium when the dust settles. Buckeye Logan Stieber is not in the field at 61 kg as he has earned an automatic trip to the World Team Trials thanks to his World Title in 2016. Jayson Ness and Kendric Maple should be finalists, but don't sleep on Cody Brewer. DiJulius will meet Darrius Little in the opening round, with the winner advancing to meet No. 1 seed Jayson Ness.
Penn State's Zain Retherford leads the pack at 65 kilos, but he may have to upend fellow Nittany Lion and recent Olympian Frank Molinaro in order to win the title. Nobody was able to slow Retherford down in the NCAA season, but he'll have his hands full with guys like Jordan Oliver, Jimmy Kennedy, and Kellen Russell.
Yet another Nittany Lion is at the front of the pack at 70 kg, with Jason Nolf hoping to upend Olympian James Green. Green leads the field, but Nolf and Jason Chamberlain will be hot on his heels. Hunter Stieber will throw his hat in the ring at 70 kg, but he is largely an unknown on this level. Stieber is relatively new to competing on the national senior level, but he has the skill set to open some eyes this weekend. Hunter will face Edgar Gonzalez of Valdez in the opening round.
If you're planning on putting some money down on the 74 kg weight class and you have the opportunity to pick Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake or the field, don't take the field. Burroughs or Dake will win at 74 kg, and you can't convince me otherwise. Despite winning Olympic gold in 2012, Burroughs fell short of the podium in Rio and will need to earn his trip to the World Team Trials this time around. Dake is closing the gap on JB, so expect a shootout when these guys meet in the finals.
In a field featuring Gabe Dean and Bo Nickal, how often can you say that neither have much of a shot to take home the title at 86 kg? David Taylor's run at the World Cup in Iran was a thing of beauty, and if he wrestles like that, nobody will be able to touch him. Heflin is an outstanding folkstyle wrestler, but I'm not sure how his measured offensive approach will translate in freestyle. Heflin will represent the Princeton Wrestling Club, where he is currently on the staff. He will face Bruce Moe of Bison Wrestling Club in the opening round and could face Gabe Dean in the quarterfinals should both advance that far.
Until proven otherwise, Kyle Snyder remains the king of the world at 97 kg, so the field will be working toward an opportunity to upend Snyder. Ohio native and Kent State alum Dustin Kilgore is probably the favorite, but Kyven Gadson won't make it easy on him. If that name sounds familiar, Gadson was the last man to defeat Snyder in a college match, pinning Snyder in the NCAA finals during Kyle's freshman season.
Current Buckeye assistant coach Tervel Dlagnev long held the 125 kg spot for the US, but Tervel's retirement has opened up the competition for a new generation of American heavyweight. Zach Rey and Nick Gwiazdowski are probably the lead dogs to take the title. Minnesota grad Tony Nelson could make some noise, as well as Dom Bradley, but it's going to come down to Rey and Gwiz in my mind.
In the Junior competition, Malik Heinselman will open in the 46-50 kg class as the top seed and he will face Brandon Kaylor of Team Aggression in the quarterfinals.
Pletcher earned the No. 2 seed at 63 kg and will face Jacob Wasser of Nebraska Golden Eagles Wrestling Club in the open round. Pletcher is bracketed to face Oklahoma State commit Kaden Gfeller in the semifinals before a possible match with Penn State's Nick Lee in the finals.
David Carr is a guy that is on the Buckeye radar (along with all of the other teams in the country), and he earned the No. 2 seed at 70 kg. Carr will face Luke Weber of Nebraska Wrestling Training Center in the round of 32.
The US Open will begin freestyle wrestling on Friday with both Juniors and Seniors kicking off at noon Eastern. The Junior quarterfinals resume at 5:30 on Friday evening, while the Seniors will have the semifinals on Friday night at 10 PM.
Each tournament will conclude on Saturday with the Juniors beginning the semifinals through finals at 3:00 PM. The Seniors will begin the medal matches at noon on Saturday and the finals will take place at 9:00 PM.
All of the action is available on FloWrestling, and check back with Eleven Warriors for resulst from the Buckeyes at this weekend's US Open.
***Update***
Current Buckeye Fritz Schierl competed in the Junior Greco Roman tournament at 79 kg on Thursday. The Wisconsin native lost his first match of the tournament, but battled back in the consolation bracket to finish in 4th place. Apologies to Fritz for the oversight.
