2017 U.S. Open Wrestling ChampionshipsApr 17, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
2017 US Open Preview 57kg: Who Gets The Bye?
2017 US Open Preview 57kg: Who Gets The Bye?
The complete 57kg preview for the 2017 U.S. Open; can Nico get the bye?
It's freestyle season! The US Open is LIVE on Flo next weekend, and the team is pumped to bring you all the insanity from Las Vegas. The action starts on Friday, April 28th at 9am Pacific.
We'll be rolling out one preview a day to get you guys up to speed on who the contenders are at each weight, starting with 57kg. The lightest weight has been a bit of a sore spot for Team USA, with no medals since Henry Cejudo won the 55kg Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008.
U.S. Open Previews: 61kg | 65kg | 70kg | 74kg
Tony Ramos has provided some stability since the weight changed from 55 to 57, winning the spot in 2014 and 2015 before losing in the finals last year to Dan Dennis. But Ramos has struggled a bit lately, with a 3-8 record since beating London bronze medalist Coleman Scott in the Olympic Trials semis.
If Ramos runs the table again in a few months in Lincoln, it wouldn't shock me. But I'm not sure I see him coming out of Vegas with the bye to the finals in June. Full entries can be found on FloArena. On to the full preview.
The Contenders
Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC
Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury/Nittany Lion WC
Tyler Graff, Titan Mercury
Nahshon Garrett, Titan Mercury
Nathan Tomasello, Titan Mercury/Ohio RTC
Dark Horses
Frank Perrelli, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC
Joe Colon, Titan Mercury/Viking WC
Alan Waters, Titan Mercury/Missouri Wrestling Foundation
At some point with this weight, the contenders and dark horses start to meld together and become one. Also, Titan Mercury has a very realistic shot of having over half the podium spots. We've already went over Ramos, who had a close match in the 2014 World Team Trials with another of the contenders, Nico Megaludis. An "almost takedown" won that 1-0 for Ramos.
Nico has since had quite a run for himself and is ranked 19th in the world. He won both the Bill Farrell (full break stick!) and Paris Grand Prix, and his only loss at the World Clubs Cup was to former world champ Hassan Rahimi of Iran.
A bruising folkstyler, Nico has transitioned from a grinder to a more efficient style of hand fighting that gives him low single opportunities. He typically tries to put his opponent's knee on the back of his head, come out the back, and work a shallow leg lace.
Tyler Graff is also ranked after taking gold at the Dave Schultz and Cerro Pelado. He was third at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials and second at the 61kg WTT in November. He does have two junior world teams and a University Games appearance to his name.
Graff has always had the skills to make a senior world team but has never quite pushed through. He's likely the toughest domestic 57kg on top, especially if Dennis is done competing. The key for Graff has always been getting the first takedown, which he can transition into either a lace or a gut. Interestingly, the last three people Graff has lost to at WTT are either up a weight (Logan Stieber) or done competing (Dennis and Angel Escobedo).
If the USA Wrestling rankings give us any indication of seeds, Ramos is the top seed, Graff is No. 2, and Nico is slotted third. Behind them is Joe Colon, who was third at the Schultz. Colon has traded techs with Nahshon Garrett, losing 14-1 to him on the backside of OTT and then beating Garrett 14-4 in the Schultz consi semis.
Both of Garrett's losses at the Schultz showed he is susceptible to head pinches. The other loss came in the quarters to another former Cornell wrestler in Frankie Perelli. One of the more fun dark horses this season, Perrelli took silver in Ukraine and bronze at the Henri Deglane. What hurts Perrelli's seed is a 4-2 loss to two-time NCAA champ Jesse Delgado in Cuba, but I expect Perrelli to knock off a big name in Vegas with his head pinch.
One rematch from late 2015 that I would love to see is Nathan Tomasello versus Joe Colon, which you can see below. Can Tomasello do the same thing Frank Molinaro did last year? His lefty high crotch is always a threat to turn a takedown into a four-pointer. We didn't see the same dominance from Tomasello this year up at 133, but he still only lost one match. He also has never lost a match to Megaludis, which could throw a serious monkey wrench into my picks. Tomasello was knocked out of OTT by Alan Waters, who was injured pretty badly at the Schultz and may still not be 100 percent for next weekend.
There will also be salty veterans such as Zach Sanders there, as well as a couple high schoolers in Paul Konrath and Roman Bravo-Young. With all that being said, let's pick the top seven, since that's who qualifies for the World Team Trials in June.
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We'll be rolling out one preview a day to get you guys up to speed on who the contenders are at each weight, starting with 57kg. The lightest weight has been a bit of a sore spot for Team USA, with no medals since Henry Cejudo won the 55kg Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008.
U.S. Open Previews: 61kg | 65kg | 70kg | 74kg
Tony Ramos has provided some stability since the weight changed from 55 to 57, winning the spot in 2014 and 2015 before losing in the finals last year to Dan Dennis. But Ramos has struggled a bit lately, with a 3-8 record since beating London bronze medalist Coleman Scott in the Olympic Trials semis.
If Ramos runs the table again in a few months in Lincoln, it wouldn't shock me. But I'm not sure I see him coming out of Vegas with the bye to the finals in June. Full entries can be found on FloArena. On to the full preview.
The Contenders
Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC
Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury/Nittany Lion WC
Tyler Graff, Titan Mercury
Nahshon Garrett, Titan Mercury
Nathan Tomasello, Titan Mercury/Ohio RTC
Dark Horses
Frank Perrelli, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC
Joe Colon, Titan Mercury/Viking WC
Alan Waters, Titan Mercury/Missouri Wrestling Foundation
At some point with this weight, the contenders and dark horses start to meld together and become one. Also, Titan Mercury has a very realistic shot of having over half the podium spots. We've already went over Ramos, who had a close match in the 2014 World Team Trials with another of the contenders, Nico Megaludis. An "almost takedown" won that 1-0 for Ramos.
Nico has since had quite a run for himself and is ranked 19th in the world. He won both the Bill Farrell (full break stick!) and Paris Grand Prix, and his only loss at the World Clubs Cup was to former world champ Hassan Rahimi of Iran.
A bruising folkstyler, Nico has transitioned from a grinder to a more efficient style of hand fighting that gives him low single opportunities. He typically tries to put his opponent's knee on the back of his head, come out the back, and work a shallow leg lace.
Tyler Graff is also ranked after taking gold at the Dave Schultz and Cerro Pelado. He was third at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials and second at the 61kg WTT in November. He does have two junior world teams and a University Games appearance to his name.
Graff has always had the skills to make a senior world team but has never quite pushed through. He's likely the toughest domestic 57kg on top, especially if Dennis is done competing. The key for Graff has always been getting the first takedown, which he can transition into either a lace or a gut. Interestingly, the last three people Graff has lost to at WTT are either up a weight (Logan Stieber) or done competing (Dennis and Angel Escobedo).
If the USA Wrestling rankings give us any indication of seeds, Ramos is the top seed, Graff is No. 2, and Nico is slotted third. Behind them is Joe Colon, who was third at the Schultz. Colon has traded techs with Nahshon Garrett, losing 14-1 to him on the backside of OTT and then beating Garrett 14-4 in the Schultz consi semis.
Both of Garrett's losses at the Schultz showed he is susceptible to head pinches. The other loss came in the quarters to another former Cornell wrestler in Frankie Perelli. One of the more fun dark horses this season, Perrelli took silver in Ukraine and bronze at the Henri Deglane. What hurts Perrelli's seed is a 4-2 loss to two-time NCAA champ Jesse Delgado in Cuba, but I expect Perrelli to knock off a big name in Vegas with his head pinch.
One rematch from late 2015 that I would love to see is Nathan Tomasello versus Joe Colon, which you can see below. Can Tomasello do the same thing Frank Molinaro did last year? His lefty high crotch is always a threat to turn a takedown into a four-pointer. We didn't see the same dominance from Tomasello this year up at 133, but he still only lost one match. He also has never lost a match to Megaludis, which could throw a serious monkey wrench into my picks. Tomasello was knocked out of OTT by Alan Waters, who was injured pretty badly at the Schultz and may still not be 100 percent for next weekend.
There will also be salty veterans such as Zach Sanders there, as well as a couple high schoolers in Paul Konrath and Roman Bravo-Young. With all that being said, let's pick the top seven, since that's who qualifies for the World Team Trials in June.
Nomad's Picks
- Nico Megaludis
- Tyler Graff
- Tony Ramos
- Nathan Tomasello
- Frank Perrelli
- Joe Colon
- Nahshon Garrett
How To Watch The U.S. Open
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