U.S. World Team Determined At Grappling World Team Trials
U.S. World Team Determined At Grappling World Team Trials
The U.S. World Team go and no-gi teams have been determined following the U.S. Grappling World Team Trials at the US Olympic Training Center.
Press release via USA Wrestling
Members of the 2019 U.S. Senior World Team were determined at the 2019 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials at the Bill Farrell Wrestling Center at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (USOPTC) on Saturday. Competition was held in the two styles of the sport, Gi Grappling and No-Gi Grappling.
Three members of the 2018 U.S. Grappling World Team were able to qualify again: Carlos Soto of Atos/Impact Zone at 92 kg/100 kg, Luis Quinones of Atos/Impact Zone at 66 kg and Breanna Stikkelman of California at 58 kg.
Soto won titles in both No-Gi and Gi, and will return to the World Championships. Soto was a 2018 World silver medalist in Gi Grappling.
In No-Gi, Soto won a three-athlete roundrobin, with a submission over Shaun Scott and a 7-0 victory over 2015 World bronze medalist Jonathan Eckmann. In Gi, Soto moved up to 100 kg and won the spot uncontested. It is Soto’s plan to compete at the 2019 Worlds in No-Gi at 92 kg and in Gi at 100 kg.
Quinones won both styles uncontested, while Stikkelman won the No-Gi tournament uncontested. Stikkelman was a 2017 World champion in Gi Grappling and a World silver medalist in No-Gi Grappling.
The champion in each weight class qualifies to represent the United States at the 2019 Grappling World Championships. United World Wrestling has not yet announced the date and site of the 2019 Grappling Worlds, but it is expected to be held in the fall of 2019.
Three other past U.S. Grappling World Team members qualified for the 2019 U.S. team in No-Gi: 2016 World bronze medalist Danny Rodriguez of Illinois at 71 kg, 2012 World Team member Nicholas Marr of Team Edge at 77 kg and 2016 World Team membere Kofi Adzitso of Team Edge at 100 kg.
Rodriguez won his four-athlete round robin with a 3-0 record, including two submissions by guillotine, stopping William Kroegher in 2:32 and Ricardo Lewis in 0:17.
Adzitso won a best-of- three series with two straight wins over Jeff Anderson of Michigan, with a submission in 4:38 in the first match and a 6-4 decision in the second match. Marr won his weight class uncontested.
Among the other athletes who qualified for the U.S. Grappling World Team in both No-Gi and Gi were Juan Carlos Cholula of Atos/Impact Zone at 62 kg, Jonathan Beccera of HyperModern at 84 kg and John Hansen of Iowa at Over 100 kg/unlimited.
Hansen, a two-time World champion in Jiujitsu as a black belt, won both the No-Gi and Gi competition to make his first U.S. Senior World Team for the UWW World Championships. In No-Gi, Hansen won his two bouts with a leg triangle submission and also by technical fall. In Gi, he swept his best-of-three series over past World Team member Gabe Beauperthuy by collar choke submissions.
Cholula won his No-Gi title over Benjamin Rhoton of Colorado, needing overtime to win his first bout, 3-2, and finishing off the series with an arm bar submission in the second bout.
Beccera needed all three matches to defeat Eric Dietz of Michigan in No-Gi. In bout one, Dietz defeated Becerra, 8-0. Beccera came back with a pair of submissions, winning bout two by knee bar and bout three by toe hold. Becerra won his Gi World Team berth uncontested.
Earning spots on the Gi World Team were 2017 World Team member Jeff Anderson of Michigan at 92 kg and William Kroegher of Atos/Impact Zone at 71 kg.
Anderson won his best-of-three series over Shaun Scott of Team Palay with a pair of submissions, securing a Kimora in bout one in 3:20 and a collar choke in bout two in 2:57. Kroegher won his World Team spot uncontested.
For the second straight year, Atos-Impact Zone won the team title with 31 points, led by seven individual champions and a runner-up. Placing second, with one champion and four placewinners in No-Gi was Team Edge, with 11 points.