57kg Field:

Alan Waters
Ali Naser
Andrew Hochstrasser
Angel Escobedo
Bobby Raines
Bradley Pataky
Britain Longmire
Coleman Scott
Cruse Aarhus
Daniel Mitcheff
Daniel Dennis
Erkin Tadzhimetov
Frank Perrelli
George Torres
Joe Colon
Kenneth Anderson
Kyle Hutter
Luis Nunez
Mark McKnight
Nathan Tomasello
Nicholas Vega
Obenson Blanc
Rene Ruiz
Sam Hazewinkel
Stephen Abas
Stevan Micic
Zack Sanders

Commentary:

The two monster stories at 57kg are the entries of two former Olympic medalists. Stephen Abas brought home the silver at 55kg from Athens in 2004 and Coleman Scott hauled a bronze home from London in 2012 at 60kg. Sam Hazewinkel makes it a trio of Olympians in the field. Angel Escobedo and Obe Blanc have also been World Team members. That is just a crazy field of credentials. So many questions will be answered in Las Vegas.

Why He Will Win:

Stephen Abas: He is the best wrestler in the field. He has a wide variety of scoring techniques. After time away from the sport you would assume he is healthy.

Joe Colon: He pushed Tony Ramos in the best-of-three championship series last June in Madison. He matches the size and strength of anyone in the field and is a proven commodity making the weight.

Coleman Scott: He will be long for the weight class and can double leg anyone from across the mat. He has put so much into this Olympic run that he wonÂ’t be denied.

Daniel Dennis: He beat Coleman Scott on the way to the best-of-three series against Reece Humphrey last year at 61kg. He made plus 2kg at the Bill Farrell and wrestled well outside of the leg lace he got caught in by Tyler Graff.

Pick:

Joe Colon over Stephen Abas
It might be reaching by having Abas in the finals, but Cary Kolat pulled it off around AbasÂ’ age. My heart is pulling for the old guy. I just think five matches in a day against an incredible field is too much to ask. Colon can score with the best of them and I like his chances to come out on top.

65kg Field:

Aaron Pico
BJ Futrell
Brandon Wright
Christopher Dardanes
DÂ’Andre Graham
Frank Molinaro
Jason Chamberlain
Jayson Ness
Jimmy Kennedy
Jordan Oliver
Joseph Hulen
Joshua Kindig
Justin Feldman
Kellen Russell
Logan Stieber
Marcus Cobbs
Michael Mitchell
Nazar Kulchytskyy
Reece Humphrey
Chase Pami

Commentary:

The number of elite competitors at 65kg is silly. Frank Molinaro took Pico out at the Bill Farrell so we havenÂ’t seen Pico against most of the big guns, except Humphrey and Molinaro. That storyline in itself is worth the price of admission. Jimmy Kennedy, Logan Stieber, and Nazar Kulchytskyy have had international success recently as they competed overseas. Right from the opening round you are going to see great matchups.

Why He Will Win:

Aaron Pico: Pico has the most international freestyle experience in the weight class from his travels with Coach Valentine Kalika. He has recently added a variety of leg attacks to his already dangerous repertoire. His newly found high single is especially dangerous. His growth trajectory makes him the man to beat.

Jimmy Kennedy: Kennedy is one of the most credentialed US wrestlers in international competition. He has won title at the Intercontinental Cup, Yasar Dogu, and Bill Farrell. Throw in medal finishes at Medved Prizes and Golden Grand Prix and you have one of the best resumes in any freestyle weight class. He is healthy and a full 65kg unlike last year. He will use his freestyle experience to take the title home.

Logan Stieber: Back in 2010 Stieber lost to an Azeri in the junior world finals when he kept getting hit with an odd looking slide by. That turned out to be a pretty good loss as Togrul Asgarov went on to make the senior finals that year and win an Olympic title in 2012. Since then Stieber has found an overwhelming amount of success in freestyle. He seemed to be a tweener and still is a little undersized. With the newfound size from not making the cut to 141lbs on a one hour weigh-in and focusing on full time freestyle training Stieber has become the man to beat. He recently knocked off 2014 world champion Soslan Ramonov at the Golden Grand Prix. He has found his groove and will win the title in Las Vegas.

Jordan Oliver: Outside of Brent Metcalf, Jordan Oliver has had a leg up on the field at 65kg in the United States. Oliver looked great on the way to the title at Bill Farrell. Word out of Sunkist is his training has been great and the weight is being managed properly. He will continue to rule this field and walk away with the title.

Pick:

Logan Stieber over Jordan Oliver
Stieber has really impressed me with his improvement since focusing on freestyle full time. His mat management at Farrell was incredible. He understands how to use the boundary line to help him score takedowns. He gave up a late four pointer to Oliver when he should have given up the takedown and trailed by criteria. He wonÂ’t make that mistake again.

74kg Field:

Adam Hall
Andrew Howe
Andrew Sorenson
Anthony Valencia
Chris Perry
Glenn Rhees
Kevin LeValley
Cyler Sanderson
Michael Moreno
Nathaniel Carr
Nestor Taffur
Nick Marable
Quinton Godley
Santiago Martinez
Thomas Klaus
Vladyslav Dombrovskiy

Commentary:

Dake and Taylor had overtaken Andrew Howe as the main threats to King Burroughs in the past few years. Andrew Howe looks to be that guy again as Taylor and Dake departed for 86kg. Chris Perry went against the grain by making the drop into the weight class and seems to be one of the main threats to Howe. Nick Marable has a great resume between 70kg and 74kg, but took a weird loss to Dan Vallimont at the Bill Farrell. LetÂ’s see who will establish themselves as the number one guy headed into the mini-tournament in Iowa City.

Why They Will Win:

Andrew Howe: Prior to injuries taking some time away from Howe he was a solid number two at the weight and the gap between him and Burroughs wasnÂ’t very big. He should be the guy to earn the top seed going into the mini-tournament in Iowa City.

Anthony Valencia: He can double leg anyone in the world. He doubled Howe multiple times in their two matches last year. Howe was able to figure things out later in the match. Another year of maturity and time in a college room has prepared Valencia to be the guy to try to take down Burroughs.

Chris Perry: Dropping into the weight Perry instantly becomes a threat to win the 74kg weight class. He took two out of three from Howe their senior campaigns at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The weight change will move the tweener into a more appropriate weight class and the results will show it.

Nick Marable: The weight cut will not sap the energy from Marable. He has a win over Jordan Burroughs and this weekend he will establish himself as the main contender to Burroughs reign. He slipped up at the Farrell, but he will be ready to go here in Vegas.

Pick:

Andrew Howe over Chris Perry
Not much more than a feeling here. I think freestyle is the better style for Howe in a match against Chris Perry. He will win the positioning game that is emphasized with the step out rule.

86kg Field:

Anthony Jones
Austin Trotman
Austin Morehead
Clayton Foster
David Taylor
Deron Winn
Edward Ruth
Ethan Lofthouse
Frank Richmond
Jon Reader
Joshua Asper
Keith Gavin
Kyle Dake
Nicholas Borta
Richard Perry
Robert Hamlin
Timmy McCall
Tyler Caldwell
Tyrel Todd
Victor Terrell
Zahid Valencia

Commentary:

Just like 65kg this field is absolutely loaded and there are a lot of dream matchups that we havenÂ’t seen yet. Seeding will play an important role. I believe the seeding will have Ruth 1, Gavin 2, Dake 3, and a combination of Foster/Taylor at 4/5. This could set up a dream matchup semifinal between Ed Ruth and David Taylor. There isnÂ’t a wrestling fan in the country that doesnÂ’t want to see that much. That being said, there are plenty of guys in the field capable of beating either one of those two. There are so many question coming into this weekend I really canÂ’t wait to watch the bracket unfold.

Why They Will Win:

Ed Ruth: Ruth looked dominant at the Bill Farrell in November. He has the size and skills to be the guy at 86kg. If he is firing on all cylinders who is going to pick against him?

David Taylor: Not having to cut some weight wonÂ’t take away one of TaylorÂ’s best assets, his motor. Nemesis Kyle Dake should be on the other side of the bracket. Even if he does meet Dake along the way he will finally get him as he is more of a true 86kger.

Kyle Dake: He just wins.

Keith Gavin: Gavin is very hard to wrestle the first time because he has a lot of tricks. He also has the fundamentals to beat anyone in the field. Gavin has won the Open before and will stand on top of the stand once again.

Pick:

Ed Ruth over Kyle Dake
Ruth showed at Farrell that he has started to work his leg attack finishes into turns. If this progression has continued he will take it to the field here.

97kg Field:

Braden Atwood
Cayle Byers
Donald McNeil
Dustin Kilgore
Enock Francois
JT Felix
Joe Nord
Kallen Kleinschmid
Kyven Gadson
Lance Benick
Micah Burak
Scott Schiller
Steve Santos
Wynn Michalak

Commentary:

The field is missing all three national team members from last year as they are already qualified for the trials. Kyle Snyder awaits in the best-of-three championship series in Iowa City. That doesnÂ’t mean we donÂ’t have any storylines though. Kyven Gadson got his feet wet at the Bill Farrell in November. His debut didnÂ’t go the way he had hoped. LetÂ’s see what adjustments he made in the month and a half since then. Cayle Byers was third at the Farrell and Kilgore dropped the final to JD Bergman. These guys will be jockeying for position in Iowa City. ThatÂ’s especially important at 97kg where styles weigh heavily in the matchups.

Why He Will Win:

Dustin Kilgore: He has been in the best-of-three championship series at the world team trials. He has a lot of freestyle experience and dominated the guys that are in this field at the Bill Farrell.

Kyven Gadson: He has the wrestling pedigree. He pinned Kyle Snyder in the NCAA finals. He had time to make adjustments after the Bill Farrell and will start to put things together.

Pick:

Kilgore over Byers
Kilgore made quick work of Byers at the Bill Farrell. He works takedowns to turns and I feel this will propel him to the title.

125kg Field:

Anthony Nelson
Connor Medbery
Dom Bradley
Eric Thompson
Justin Grant
Matthew Meuleners
Tyrell Fortune

Commentary:

A small field makes it a dense field. Bradley just missed out on a national team spot last year when he was defeated for true third by Nick Gwiazdowski. He defeated Fortune in that semifinal. I think those are the two frontrunners for the title.

Why He Will Win:

Dom Bradley: Bradley is very difficult to score on. He forces guys to make mistakes and he capitalizes on them. Bradley will win by executing his game plan that makes him successful.

Tyrell Fortune: Fortune is big and moves really well. By taking guys feet to back he will take home the title.

Pick:

Bradley over Fortune
Bradley is so good at holding position and making his opponents make mistakes. No reason to believe he will be pulled out of his game plan here. I believe it will come down to one scoring sequence, but Bradley is great in those kind of matches.