Mark Hall Qualifies For World Team Trials, Zahid Awaits In Raleigh
Mark Hall Qualifies For World Team Trials, Zahid Awaits In Raleigh
Mark Hall and Zahid Valencia will have to wrestle each other at World Team Trials for the right to face Alex Dieringer in the best-of-three finals.
Picture this: Mark Hall vs Zahid Valencia for the right to face Alex Dieringer in the World Team Trials finals. Winner gets Kyle Dake at Final X.
It's almost too good to be true.
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May 18-19 | 10:00 AM Eastern
When we thought Dake would be moving down to 74kg this year, no one seemed freaked out about how it would affect America's shot at a team title. Why? Because of the three guys mentioned above.
Last year we got three out of the four of them competing for the world team spot, with Dake beating Dieringer in the U.S. Open finals, and then Zahid showing up for the Trials in Minnesota and beating Ringer in two straight. Dake would go on to beat Zahid in two close matches at Final X: State College before claiming his first world title.
But now, all four are at 79kg this year, and three of them will be in Raleigh for WTT. Mark Hall ran through the Last Chance Qualifier on Friday, outscoring his opponents 40-0 and spending just 5 minutes and 26 seconds on the mat. It was his first senior level tournament since the 2016 Olympic Trials, and first time he's wrestled freestyle since winning his second world title in August of 2017.
Zahid has just three losses in college, and two of them are to Mark Hall: in the 2017 NCAA semis and in a December dual at Rec Hall this past season. He's also beaten Hall in the past two national finals, which qualified him for the Trials and is part of why he hasn't been at either of the last two Opens. He showed up for Rochester last year like a man possessed, running through the challenge bracket and then only giving up one point in two matches against Dieringer. He'll be the top seed at this year's Trials, and they should definitely put Hall on the opposite side.
Ringer sits in the best-of-three finals, awaiting the winner of Hall/Valencia (a match we've never seen in freestyle, by the way). He went 5-0 in Vegas, outscoring opponents 53-0 and getting off the mat in just 4:13 total. Against international foes at 79kg, he's 15-1 overall and his only loss is to Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov of Russia at the Yarygin, a world bronze medalist who has a win over Kyle Dake.
Zahid made three straight Junior world teams, making the finals in 2017. Mark won Junior titles in both 2016 and 2017, in addition to his 2014 Cadet world gold. Dieringer made two Junior world teams, earning silver in 2013. They've got six NCAA titles between them. They'll all be at World Team Trials.
It's going to be glorious.