What Happened At 70kg Last Weekend At The Open?
What Happened At 70kg Last Weekend At The Open?
James Green beat Jason Nolf in the Open semis, and now one of them won't be wrestling against Ryan Deakin at Final X: Lincoln.
There was one weight that left us all scratching our heads after the Open had been completed, and that was 70kg. Once the dust settled, it was 10 seed Ryan Deakin coming out on top and winning the spot to Final X: Lincoln.
So how did that happen? And what does it mean for the upcoming World Team Trials?
Let's start in the quarterfinals, where Deakin smashed last year's Open champ and Final X runner-up in Jason Chamberlain. That put him against Alec Pantaleo in the semis, who Deakin split with this college season and lost to at last year's Trials. Of note, Pantaleo beat Brandon Sorensen in the quarters, someone who Pantaleo was 0-3 against in the 2015 NCAA season.
Meanwhile on the top half was the juice: James Green against Jason Nolf. Going in, everyone felt this would be the true finals, the guy who's made four straight world teams and won two medals against one of the greatest college wrestlers of all-time.
For the second time in three years, Green wrestled Nolf in the Open semis. Their 2017 battle ended 9-8 in favor of Green, and this one was a criteria win in which Green scored a takedown on the edge with about 10 seconds to go. That puts Green at 3-0 all-time against Nolf, which includes a 7-4 win in the 2015 Southern Scuffle finals.
The same way Green beat Nolf was exactly how he lost to Deakin in the finals, giving up a late edge takedown. That ensured the 2017 Junior world silver medalist will make his first national team, as he is guaranteed to place top two in this weight. Perhaps more interestingly, it means that one or both of Nolf and Green will not be in Final X this year.
Before we get into the Nolf/Green dynamic though, it must be noted that Alec Pantaleo was up 6-0 on Jason Nolf in the third place match with under 90 seconds to go. Pantaleo also gave Nolf one of the toughest matches of his college career in a 2018 dual (that was before the knee injury, btw). So that is one Nolf's going to have to get through to face Green in the best-of-three finals in Raleigh.
Oh yeah, speaking of Raleigh, the Trials are going to be at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of NC State. That gives home field advantage to Hayden Hidlay, who didn't wrestle at the Open but is qualified for WTT by being the U23 world team member last year. Hidlay beat Deakin in three matches to win that spot and is 3-1 against Pantaleo. He's also faced Nolf two years in a row at NCAAs, including his controversial semis loss this past season.
Watch World Team Trials Live On Flo
May 18-19 | 10:00 AM Eastern
If there were odds available on who will win the Trials and make it to Final X, Pantaleo and Hidlay are the dark horses, while Nolf and Green are the "public" guys that fans will place more money on. Three of those guys have winning records against Deakin, and Green is 0-1 but is the most credentialed of anyone in the field.
When looking over the three matches between Nolf and Green, it is a 6-5 takedown edge for Green, with three of them coming in the Scuffle; three of Nolf's came in their most recent match. The former Husker also has a four-pointer in each of their freestyle matches, and stepouts are 2-1 in favor of Nolf, with all three coming in the 2017 Open semi.
Both Pantaleo and Hidlay have the capability to knock off Green and Nolf, but if presumptive seeds hold, we'll get a best-of-three on Sunday, May 19 to decide who faces Deakin at Final X: Lincoln.