One half of the Final X field is set, the other half will be completed by next Sunday. Starting Friday the 17th, the World Team Trials will take place in Raleigh, NC.

Watch World Team Trials Live On Flo

May 17-19 | 10:00 AM Eastern

There will be four separate tournaments going on in Reynolds Coliseum next weekend, and each of the senior level brackets will determine who goes to Final X next month. So, who's going to make it out of North Carolina?

This preview will focus on the three lightest weights of men's freestyle at the senior level. Daton Fix and Joe Colon await the winners of 57kg and 61kg, respectively, at Final X: Lincoln. Up at 65kg, Yianni Diakomihalis won the U.S. Open to earn his spot in Final X: Rutgers.

Please note, the fields are not set until weigh-ins on Saturday morning, so all seeds are subject to change. Brackets will be on FloArena once they are complete.

57kg

Projected Seeds

1. Thomas Gilman, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
2. Zane Richards, Titan Mercury/Illinois RTC
3. Vito Arujau, Titan Mercury/Finger Lakes WC
4. Darian Cruz, NYAC/Lehigh Valley WC
5. Frank Perrelli, Titan Mercury/Lehigh Valley WC
6. Zach Sanders, Minnesota Storm
7. Jack Mueller, Cavalier WC
8. Josh Rodriguez, Nittany Lion WC

There is Thomas Gilman, and then there is everyone else. Nathan Tomasello won't be wrestling in Raleigh, a worrying sign that he's still recovering from injuries that kept him out all of last summer and resurfaced at Midlands. Zane Richards was clearly the next best guy at the Open, but he got teched by Gilman in the quarters. 

Richards looked very impressive in his run to third place, scoring 16 takedowns in Vegas. Also scoring five times off gut wrenches and twice off leglaces, it means about half of the time he’s finishing a shot he’s increasing his lead with a turn. That ability to increase the score differential on top was extremely valuable in his final three bouts on the backside, where he gave up one takedown in each match.

Sanders and Perrelli are both wrestling in their third straight World Team Trials, but neither has shown himself to be a serious contender to make the finals. Darian Cruz could make a run, but may not be able to put up enough points, as he has only picked up one turn between the Schultz and the Open. Jack Mueller teched Nick Piccininni at Beat the Streets and Josh Rodriguez won Pan Ams.

What seems cyrstal clear is that it will be Thomas Gilman making it to Final X opposite Daton Fix once again. I do think it will be Richards to come out of the bottom side and make the national team. He has yet to defeat a foreign opponent in the past year, going 0-3 against international foes, but his attack rate, ability to get to legs and finish, plus his par terre game make him our nation’s third best 57kg right now. I also hope Vito Arujau enters Akron to try to make the U23 team and gain more international experience.

61kg

Sitting in Finals: Cody Brewer, Titan Mercury

Projected Seeds

1. Nahshon Garrett, Sunkist Kids
2. Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury/Pittsburgh WC
3. Joey Palmer, Unattached
4. Tyler Graff, Titan Mercury
5. Cory Clark, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
6. Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC
7. Earl Hall, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC
8. Shelton Mack, Titan Mercury

The biggest addition to this weight class from the Open to here could be Nahshon Garrett. After finally breaking through and winning a world team spot at Final X: Lehigh, Garrett suffered an injury that has kept him off the mats for almost a year now. A healthy Nahshon is bad news for Open runner-up Nico Megaludis, who has lost at least five straight now in that rivalry. To put it simply, Megaludis seems to allow the greatest assets of Garrett’s game to shine through. Oh, and with Cody Brewer sitting in the finals, he only needs to win once this time.

I used the words “could be” because we still don’t know if Nahshon will be wrestling. That would shift the top half seeds back to looking similar to what they were in Vegas, with Cory Clark and Tony Ramos meeting in the semis and the winner getting Megaludis. Clark’s 3-0 against Ramos and beating him in ways that don’t suggest it’s the type of matchup Ramos can win. Megaludis put it on Clark, as did Tyler Graff, so whether Nahshon’s there or not, Clark’s going to have to make up some ground to come out of the top side.

No one's really sure what to make of Joey Palmer finishing third. His first win over Tyler Graff was more flukeish in nature, as Graff had a two waved off on a trap arm, gave up a caution at the end of the first, got head pinched to his back and then gave up a late stepout. Palmer did a much better job controlling the pace in the third place match, and also beat Tony Ramos in Vegas, plus had a win over Cory Clark in November of 2017.

If Nahshon wrestles, we'll get three matches of classic Brewer/Garrett insanity. If he doesn't, I think Brewer beats Nico again to get to Final X against Joe Colon.

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65kg

Projected Seeds

1. Zain Retherford, Nittany Lion WC
2. Jordan Oliver, Sunkist Kids
3. Jayson Ness, Minnesota Storm
4. Frank Molinaro, Titan Mercury/Oklahoma RTC
5. Jaydin Eierman, Titan Mercury
6. BJ Futrell, Titan Mercury/Penn RTC
7. Dom Demas, Oklahoma RTC
8. Kanen Storr, Titan Mercury/Michigan RTC
9. Dean Heil, Titan Mercury/Oklahoma RTC
10. Mitch McKee, Minnesota Storm
11. Colton McCrystal, NWTC

One of the great problems with this weight class is that all of the matches involving the favorites are from two years ago. That also is what it makes it so interesting, because we have no idea how matches between Zain Retherford, Jordan Oliver, and Frank Molinaro will go. Throw in that Jayson Ness beat Molinaro for third at the Open and it becomes even more intriguing.

I'm curious to see if they seed Oliver first or second, which affects who will face Molinaro in the semis. There will be some good quarters, as Molinaro beat Eierman 8-5 on the backside in Vegas. As I mentioned in my pre-seeds article, I have no idea how they will seed 6-8, but Futrell took down Ness in their Round of 16 match only to be gator bacon'd and pinned. Demas will always be a threat though probably not to any one of those top four seeds.

It would be good to see another match between Molinaro and Retherford, which was a series that went the distance in Lincoln in 2017. Oliver has never lost to Molinaro or Retherford, but he's never had to face either in a best-of-three format. We're keeping open the possibility Oliver moves up to 70kg, though it seems unlikely.

I think no matter what they do with Oliver, Retherford ends up in the finals. However, I'm not sure I see him getting by JO. As the 2017 world team member, there's no doubt Zain can win the spot. But his match against Rashidov and Batirov continue to stick out in my mind as examples that there's a still another level internationally that the two-time Hodge winner has yet to reach in freestyle.

Predictions

57kg: Gilman over Richards in two matches

61kg: Brewer over Megaludis in two matches

65kg: Oliver over Retherford in two matches