Final X World Team Trials ends at Lehigh this weekend

Two-thirds of the United States World Championships men’s and women’s teams, which will compete in, Budapest, Hungary Oct. 22-28, has been determined and the Final X series will make its final stop this Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa.

Among those competing at Lehigh University’s Grace Hall will be three men’s freestyle weight classes and four women’s freestyle bouts. The matches begin at 7 p.m. EDT, and preceded by true third-place bouts, which will begin at 5 p.m. and determined the final reserves on this year’s World Championships Team.

Helen Maroulis

There is one late change to the Lehigh Final X. World/Olympic champ Helen Maroulis has requested and received a delay of her 57 kg best-of-three Championships Series against Alex Hedrick because of an injury.

The following is a list of the final matchups between former World medal winners, U.S. Open champions or World Team Trial Challenge Tournament winners:

Men’s Freestyle

61 kg/132 pounds

2018 U.S. Open champion – Joe Colon (Fresno, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Nahshon Garrett (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids WC)

92 kg/204 pounds

2018 U.S. Open champion – J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo./Titan Mercury WC)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Hayden Zillmer (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm)

125 kg/275 pounds

2017 World bronze medalist – Nick Gwiazdowski (Raleigh, N.C./Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Adam Coon (Ann Arbor, Mich./NYAC/Wolverine WC)

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg/110 pounds

2018 U.S. Open champion – Whitney Conder (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Victoria Anthony (Huntington Beach, Calif./Sunkist Kids WC)

53 kg/116.5 pounds

2018 U.S. Open champion – Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Haley Augello (Lockport, Ill./US Army WCAP)

65 kg/143.5 pounds

2018 U.S. Open champion – Julia Salata (Bristol, Tenn./New York AC)

2018 WTT Challenge Tournament champion – Forrest Molinari (Bernicia, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

FINAL X

The second stop of the Final X series was a Rec Hall in State College, Pa. (Justin Hoch photo)

At State College, Pa., June 16

Men’s Freestyle

65 kg/143.5 pounds — Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) def. Joey McKenna, Towaco, N.J. (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC), two matches to none

Match 1 – Stieber dec. McKenna, 8-8 — The former World champ scored the final criteria point when he scored a two-point exposure with 40 seconds left. Stieber led 6-3 with 34 seconds left in the first before McKenna scored a four-point takedown off a double with 1:54 left to lead 7-6.

Match 2 – Stieber dec. McKenna, 8-0 — Stieber got out of the gates in match two with a big four-point throw on the edge at the 2:04 mark. He added a throw-by midway through the second period and later an ankle lace.

Kyle Dake (left) reached his first World Championship after losing in four previous World/Olympic Trial finals by beating NCAA champion Zahid Valencia of Arizona State. (Justin Hoch photo)

79 kg/174 pounds — Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC) def. Zahid Valencia, Bellflower, Calif. (Sunkist Kids), two matches to none

Match 1 – Dake dec. Valencia, 4-0 — Dake scored a takedown near the edge with 1:14 left in the first period, then clinched the victory by scoring two exposure points while defending a Valencia takedown at the 1:21 mark in the second.

Match 2 – Dake dec. Valencia, 4-3 — Valencia used an ankle pick to lead 2-0 before Dake rallied with two defensive exposure points with 1:13 left and then a gut-wrench a few seconds later.

David Taylor (top), a former NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner from Penn State, used his alma mater in State College to earn his first World Team berth after beating NC State sophomore Nick Reenan at 86 kilos. (Justin Hoch photo)

86 kg/189 pounds — David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC) def. Nick Reenan, Dallas, Texas (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC), two matches to none

Match 1 – Taylor won by TF over Reenan, 13-2 — Reenan actually took a 2-0 left on slide-by 15 seconds into the bout before Taylor stormed back with five takedowns, the third also earning exposure points, in a bout that ended with 28 seconds left.

Match 2 – Taylor won by TF over Reenan, 10-0 — Taylor scored two takedowns in the final 1:10 and used the second takedown to tally three ankle lace moves to end the bout.

Women’s freestyle

62 kg/136.5 pounds — Mallory Velte, Sacramento, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC) def. Kayla Miracle, Campbellsville, Ky. (Sunkist Kids), two matches to one

Match 1 – Miracle dec. Velte, 4-2 — Miracle scored a pair of double leg takedowns to take a 4-0 lead with 1:55 left.

Match 2 – Velte dec. Miracle, 4-2 — Velte forced a third bout when she scored two takedowns, the second coming with 10 seconds left countering a Miracle takedown attempt to rally from a 2-0 deficit.

Match 3 – Velte dec. Miracle 7-1 — Velte scored three takedowns to earn her first World team berth.

72 kg/158 pounds — Erin Clodgo, Richmond, Vermont (Sunkist Kids) def. Rachel Watters, Ankeny, Iowa (New York AC/Aires WC), two matches to one

Match 1 – Clodgo dec. Watters, 4-2 — Clodgo turned a Watters shot into a pair of defensive exposure points to take a 3-0 lead. Watters scored a double with four seconds left and then lost a video challenge hoping for exposure points.

Match 2 – Watters dec. Clodgo, 8-0 — Watters forced a third bout when her third takedown, a low single with two minutes left, also led to leglace exposure points.

Match 3 – Clodgo dec. Watters, 4-4, criteria — The final point, which earned Clodgo a second World Team berth, came on a pushout with 24 seconds left. An effective crotch lift gave Clodgo a 3-1 lead before Watters battled back to lead 4-3 off an inside single with 1:04 left.

76 kg/167 pounds— Adeline Gray, Kingston, Pa. (New York AC) def. Korinahe Bullock, Cahokia, Ill. (McKendree Bearcat WC), two matches to none

Match 1 – Gray won by TF over Bullock, 10-0 — Grey needed just one takedown at the 2:12 mark in the first before ending the bout 37 seconds later thanks to four straight ankle laces.

Match 2 – Gray pinned Bullock, 1:04 — The three-time World champ was leading 4-0 before scoring the fall.

FINAL X

Former Nebraska wrestlers Jordan Burroughs and James Green both won World Team berths at their alma mater in Lincoln, Neb..

June 9, 2018 • Lincoln, Neb.

Men’s Freestyle

Thomas Gilman, a 2017 World silver medalist, defeated 2017 Junior World champ Daton Fix at 57 kilos. (Tim Tushla photo)

57 kg/125.5 pounds — Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) defeated Daton Fix, Sand Springs, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Gilman dec. Fix, 4-3 — Fix, the redshirt freshman from Oklahoma State, took a 3-2 lead on a reversal before the 2017 World silver medalist regained the lead on a passivity point and a stepout before icing the victory when he countered a Fix takedown attempt with seven seconds left.

Match 2 — Gilman dec. Fix, 2-1 — The former Hawkeye scored both of his points off a pair of stepouts then held one after Fix earned a passivity point.

70 kg/154 pounds — James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) defeated Jason Chamberlain, Fresno, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC/Valley RTC), two matches to none

Match 1 — Green dec. Chamberlain, 2-0 — Green scored both of his points when Chamberlain failed to score while on a passivity shot clock

Match 2 — Green dec. Chambelain, 2-1 — The former Cornhusker qualified for his third World Championship via a stepout point early in the match and later a passivity point. Chamberlain’s only point also came on a stepout with 30 seconds left.

Jordan Burroughs won both of his bouts with Isaiah Martinez, the former two-time NCAA champ from Illinois. (Tim Tushla photo).

74 kg/163 pounds — Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids) defeated Isaiah Martinez, Champaign, Ill. (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Burroughs dec. Martinez, 4-1 – The World/Olympic champion scored all his points off four stepouts. Martinez, the two-time NCAA champ and four-time finalist from Illinois earned his only point off a stepout at the 1:44 mark.

Match 2 — Burroughs won by TF over Martinez, 11-1. — After surrendering a stepout eight seconds into the match, Burroughs stormed back with an ankle pick and two leglaces at the 1:35 mark, then added two more takedowns to qualify for his eighth-straight World/Olympic team.

97 kg/213 pounds — Kyle Snyder, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) defeated Kyven Gadson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids/Cyclone RTC), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Snyder dec. Gadson, 9-0. Snyder scored four takedowns, including the first two off a pair of high crotch moves in the first period. After ending the first period with a stepout, Snyder chased down the former NCAA champ from Iowa State on a low double 30 seconds in the second frame.

Match 2 — Snyder dec. Gadson, 10-2 — Gadson provided some excitement five seconds into the bout when he drove Snyder off the platform mat for a takedown and 2-0 lead before Snyder stormed back with five takedowns, including one off a low single two minutes left and a final takedown with five seconds left.

Women’s Freestyle

55 kg/121 pounds — Jacarra Winchester, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) defeated Becka Leathers, Choctaw, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Winchester dec. Leathers, 10-6 — Leathers, the 2017 World bronze medalist opened the bout with a takedown 24 seconds in the bout before Winchester caught Leathers off balance on a four-point throw with two minutes left. Leathers later cut the margin to 6-4 with 30 seconds left in the first period before Winchester scored another takedown with eight seconds left in the first period.

Match 2 — Winchester dec. Leathers, 5-1 — An effective ankle pick with 27 seconds left in the first gave her a 2-1 before she added an stepout and another takedown with 48 seconds left in the bout.

Alli Ragan, a two-time World silver medalist, defeated Jenna Burkert for the 59-kilo weight class. (Tim Tushla photo)

59 kg/130 pounds —  Alli Ragan, Colorado Springs, Colo./Iowa City, Iowa (Sunkist Kids/Hawkeye WC/OTC) defeated Jenna Burkert, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Ragan dec. Burkert, 4-0 — The two-time World silver medalist countered a strong takedown attempt a minute in the bout for her first takedown, then added another one minute later.

Match 2 — Ragan dec. Burkert, 5-0 — Ragan scored two takedowns, the second coming off a high crotch with 25 seconds left.

68 kg/149.5 pounds — Tamyra Mensah-Stock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) defeated Randyll Beltz, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), two matches to none.

Match 1 — Mensah-Stock won by TF over Beltz, 10-0. The match ended with bout with a takedown 14 seconds left in the first period after the 2017 World team member jumped out to a 6-0 lead off a takedown five seconds into the match and added a pair of leglaces.

Match 2 — Mensah-Stock won by TF over Beltz, 10-0 — The match only lasted a minute when Mensah-Stock scored a takedown, a pair of leglaces and two more takedowns.