After much speculation, David Taylor has entered the World Team Trials at 92 kg and will compete on September 14-15 to earn the right to represent Team USA at the 2024 World Championships. Taylor is already an Olympic and 3-time world champion and will be the favorite to make the team. However, Taylor’s path to making the world team won’t be an easy one and he’ll likely have to win 5 matches this weekend to make the team at 92 kg. Check out the below article to see a full breakdown of David Taylor’s path to the 2024 World Team.

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Schedule | Men's Freestyle Pre-Seeds | 61 kg Preview | 70 kg Preview | 79 kg Preview | 92 kg Preview

Where Will David Taylor Be Seeded At The World Team Trials?

According to USA Wrestling’s team selection criteria, as the 2023 World Champion at 86 kg, David Taylor will be the #1 seed in the 92 kg bracket at the World Team Trials. As a 2023 world medalist at 92 kg, Zahid Valencia will sit out to the best of 3 finals. That means David Taylor will have to win at least 3 matches to get to Valencia in Sunday’s finals. 

92 kg Pre-Seeds

Sit-out to Championship Series:  Zahid Valencia (Atreus WC)

Pre-Seeds:

1. David Taylor (Cowboy RTC/ TMWC)
2. Trent Hidlay (Wolfpack WC/TMWC)
3. Jonathan Aiello (Pennsylvania RTC/TMWC)
4. Michael Macchiavello (LVWC/TMWC)
5. Eric Schultz (Nebraska WTC)
6. Aeoden Sinclair (Tiger Style WC)
7. Patrick Downey (NYAC)
8. Marcus Coleman (Cyclone RTC)
9. Cameron Caffey (Michigan WC)
10. Maximus Hale (Pennsylvania RTC)
11. Nick Stemmet (Illinois)
12. Zane Mulder (Burg Training Center)
13. Luke Duthie (Pennsylvania)
14. Eze Chukwuezi (Spartan Combat RTC)
15. Aidan Brenot (Bison WC)

Match 1 - Quarterfinals: Winner of #8 Marcus Coleman vs #9 Cam Caffey

David Taylor has never wrestled Marcus Coleman or Cam Caffey in his senior-level career but there’s not much that suggests either Coleman or Caffey will give Taylor much trouble in his opening round match. As a two-time All-American for Iowa State, Coleman is the slight favorite in this matchup and does have a win on his ledger over Aaron Brooks. However, I don’t think the transitive property is going to work in this matchup against Taylor. 

Caffey never earned All-American honors while at Michigan State but he’s absolutely capable of defeating Marcus Coleman. In fact, Caffey won the US Open back in 2022 when he defeated a tough Isaac Trouble in the finals, 11-7. Regardless of who Taylor sees in the quarters, I expect Taylor to move on without much trouble. 

Match 2 - Semifinals: Winner of #4 Mike Macchiavello vs #5 Eric Schultz

Taylor’s second-round opponent will definitely be a step up in competition as he’ll wrestle NCAA champ Mike Macchiavello or Nebraska All-American Eric Schultz. These two last wrestled at the Olympic trials in April where Schultz came out on top in a close, 3-2 match. Despite that head-to-head result, Macchiavello has had more success on the senior level and even made Final X last year at 92 kg when he won the US Open with victories over Kollin Moore, Nate Jackson, and Jay Aiello. Again, Taylor will be the big favorite against either Mike Macch or Eric Schultz and this match will be a great litmus test for how close Taylor is to 100%.

Macchiavello's win over Kollin Moore at the 2023 US Open:

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Match 3 Mini-Tournament Finals: Winner of #2 Trent Hidlay/#7 Pat Downey vs #3 Jay Aiello/#6 Aeodin Sinclair

Taylor’s opponent to get to Zahid Valencia will likely be either Trent Hidlay or Jay Aiello. It’s worth noting that Hidlay will likely have to get by Pat Downey first and Aiello will have to defeat Aeoden Sinclair, but both are favorites in those matches. Simply put, I’d be surprised if Taylor doesn’t wrestle either Hidlay or Aiello in the mini-tournament finals. With that in mind, it's still fun to imagine a matchup between Downey and Taylor!

As a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up, Hidlay is the more credentialed wrestler and many will favor him in the matchup against Aiello. Beyond the collegiate results, Hidlay won a U23 world silver medal in 2022 and was U20 world bronze in 2019. Hidlay placed third at the Olympic Trials at 86 kg where he lost only to Chance Marsteller but defeated Carter Starocci, Mark Hall, and Alex Dieringer. Most recently, Hidlay made the finals of the Ranking Series tournament in Hungary where he lost to Taylor’s longtime rival, Hassan Yazdani (12-2).

Trent Hidlay's win over Alex Dieringer in the 2023 Bill Farrell Finals:

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Though he’ll be the underdog against Hidlay, Aiello’s freestyle game shouldn’t be underestimated. He was a U23 World bronze medalist in 2021 and has notable freestyle wins over Isaac Trumble, Mike Macchiavello, Jacob Warner, Eric Schultz, Jacob Cardenas, and Illia Archaia (who beat J’den Cox). Beyond the wins, Aiello recently competed at 97 kg and will likely have a size advantage over Trent Hidlay.

Similar to his semifinal bout, Taylor will be the big favorite in this potential matchup against either Trent Hidlay or Jay Aiello. If he’s not at his best, he’ll be tested and Hidlay or Schultz might be able to make things interesting. As good as both competitors may be, if Taylor is wrestling at his peak, Taylor should be able to win dominantly. 

Finals - Best Of 3 vs Zahid Valencia

Zahid Valencia will be waiting for David Taylor in the best of 3 world team trials finals and Taylor will have to defeat Valencia twice to make the 92 kg world team. Valencia earned his bye to the finals when he won a bronze medal at last year’s world championships at 92 kg where his most notable win came over Iran’s Amirali Azarpira - Zahid won a wild 12-9 match to defeat the Iranian. Azarpira notably won a bronze medal at the Olympics this year at 97 kg where he defeated Kyle Snyder.

Valencia is one of the best in the world at 92 kg but David Taylor is 2-0 his career against Valencia making Taylor the favorite in this matchup. The two have only wrestled back in 2022 at Final X where Taylor won two straight matches, 4-2 and 10-0, to make the world team. Though Taylor won two straight against Valencia, the first match was highly competitive with Valencia holding a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. 

Valencia is one of the few wrestlers in the world to wrestle a competitive match with Taylor over the past 6 years. Beyond that, Valencia’s offense is up there with the best in the world and if Taylor has lost a step at all, it will show against Valencia. I’m still predicting that David Taylor defeats Valencia in two straight matches but this best of three series has the potential to be highly competitive and should be incredible to watch.

David Taylor's 4-2 win over Zahid Valencia at Final X 2022:

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David Taylor's 10-0 win over Zahid Valencia at Final X 2022:

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