Young Greco talent flexes it muscles in Vegas; next is Challenge Tourney/Final X

Photos: From left, Dalton Roberts, Kamal Bey and Cohlton Schultz all beat older wrestlers and advanced to USA Wrestling’s Final X event in June, which will determine this year’s USA World Team in Greco-Roman. Roberts avenged a 2022 Final X loss to three-time World Team member Ildar Hafizov at 60 kilos; Bey had no trouble at 77 kilos with Aliaksandr Kikiniou, a 43-year-old World bronze medalist, originally from Belarus; and Cohlton Schultz defeated Adam Coon, a 2018 World silver medalist in the 130k final. All of these wrestlers could meet again at Final X if the U.S. Open finals runner-ups win a special World Team Trials Challenge Tournament this month. (Sam Janicki photos)

The following is a breakdown of the Greco-Roman tournament from the 2023 U.S. Open, which was held April 27-30 in Las Vegas, Nev., where the 10 winners earned a place in USA Wrestling’s Final X, June 10, in Newark, N.J.

There will also be a special World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, May 20-21 in Colorado Springs, to finalize the field at Final X, where the winners of the best-of-3 matches will determine the three U.S. teams that will compete in the 2023 UWW World Championships, Sept. 16-24, in Belgrade, Serbia.

Click here to view a recap of the men’s freestyle tournament.

Click here to view a recap of the women’s freestyle tournament.

WIN Magazine will provide even more features and notes and a comprehensive preview of Final X in the next issue, printed May 23. Click here or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe.

Greco-Roman

55 kilograms/121 pounds

Championship — Brady Koontz (TMWC) won by TF over Dalton Duffield (Army WCAP), 9-0 — The top seed won all of his bouts by technical fall, including his championship tilt with the No. 2 seed by scoring his final seven points during a 13-second stretch before the match ended with 50 seconds left in the first period.

Other Notes: Camden Russell (NYAC) came back to claim third place with an 11-0 technical fall over Jacob Cochran (WCAP) after losing to Cochran 14-4 in the quarterfinals.

Final X Preview: Koontz will face the winner of the WTT Challenge tournament,  a field which could include Duffield, Russell, Cochran and 2022 World Team member Max Nowry, who did not enter the Open but is eligible for the WTT.

60 kilograms/132 pounds

Championship — Dalton Roberts (WCAP) dec. Ildar Hafizov (WCAP), 7-6 — In a rematch of last year’s Final X meeting, Roberts avenged that setback to the three-time World Team member (who also represented Uzbekistan in the 2008 Olympics) by scoring six points in the first period and added a passivity point before Hafizov nearly rallied with six points in the final 29 seconds.

Other Notes: Max Black (Northern Michigan RTC), who lost to Roberts in the quarterfinals as a No. 7 seed, came back to claim third with an 8-0 technical fall over No. 6 Dylan Koontz.

Final X Preview: Roberts will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field that could include Hafizov, Black and Koontz and Randon Miranda, who was defeated by Koontz in the quarterfinals.

63 kilograms/139 pounds

Championship — Hayden Tuma (Suples WC) dec. Sammy Jones (Sunkist Kids WC), 3-1 — Tuma, the No. 3 seed, scored with 59 seconds left to beat the No. 1 seed and 2022 World Team member.

Other Notes: Dylan Gregerson (Brunson UVRTC), the No. 6 seed, finished third with a 9-0 technical fall over No. 2 seed Leslie Fuenffinger (Army WCAP), who first lost 1-1 criteria to Tuma in the semifinals.

Final X Preview: Tuma will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Jones, Greggerson and Fuenffinger.

67 kilograms/147.5 pounds

Championship — Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids WC) won by TF over Jesse Thielke (Army WCAP), 8-0 — Seeded No. 4, Perez scored a takedown with 1:51 left in the first before adding three straight guts to end the bout three seconds later over the No. 3 seed and 2022 World Team member.

Other Notes: Joel Adams, last fall’s U17 World champion and future Michigan Wolverine, provided the biggest upset as the Nebraska prep pinned top seed and 2016 Olympian Alejandro Sanchez in the quarterfinals. Adams lost 6-3 to Perez in the semifinals and settled for fifth place. Chase La Joie (Michigan) finished third as a No. 9 seed with a 9-3 win over No. 6-seed David Stepanian (NYAC).

Final X Preview: Perez will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could ncludes former World Team members Thielke and Sancho.

72 kilograms/158.5 pounds

Championship — Justus Scott (WCAP) dec. Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm), 6-4 — Scott, who was seeded No. 6, upset the three-time World Team member (most recently in 2021) and No. 1 seed by first scoring a four-pointer a minute into the bout, then added another takedown to lead 6-2 at the break.

Other Notes: To reach the finals, Scott first had to beat No. 3-seed Noah Wachsmuth (NYAC), 6-5, in the quarters before also beating second-seeded Britton Holmes (Army WCAP), 4-1 in the semis.

Final X Preview: Scott will face the winner of the WTT Challenge tournament, a field which could include Smith and 2022 World Team member Benji Peak, who did not wrestle in the Open but qualified for the WTT.

77 kilograms/169.5 pounds

Championship — Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) won by TF over Aliaksandr Kikiniou (Poway), 9-0 — Bey, the No. 1 seed and 2022 World Team member, scored technical falls in all four bouts, including his final over the No. 6 seed in 33 seconds.

Other Notes: Kikiniou, the 43-year-old immigrant from Belarus (where he won a World bronze medal in 2009) stunned former World Team member and No. 3-seed ReVaughn Perkin (NYAC), 7-5 in the quarters before scoring an 8-0 technical fall over second-seeded Payton Jacobson (Sunkist Kids WC) in the semifinals. Jesse Porter, who won the 2020 Olympic Trials, was seeded No. 4 at the Open, but was upset by No. 5 Burke Paddock in the quarterfinals.

Final X Preview: Bey will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Kikiniou, Perkins and Porter.

82 kilograms/180.5 pounds

Championship — Spencer Woods (Army WCAP) dec. Ben Provisor (NYAC), 4-3 — Woods, the No. 2 seed, avenged a 2022 Final X loss to the two-time Olympian and 2022 World Team member, who was seeded No. 1 in Las Vegas, by scoring a takedown with 1:40 left.

Other Notes: Andrew Berreyesa (NYAC), who lost to Provisor, 4-3, as a No. 5 seed, came back to claim third place with a 3-2 victory over unseeded Johanner Correa (North Carolina), who upset No. 4-seed Tyler Cunningham before losing to Berreyesa, 8-0, in the quarters.

Final X Preview: Woods will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Provisor, Berreyesa, Correa and Cunningham.

87 kilograms/191.5 pounds

Championship — Alan Vera (NYAC) won by TF over John Stefanowicz, 9-0 — Vera, an immigrant from Cuba, 2022 World Team member and No. 1 seed, won by technical fall in all four of his bouts, including against the No. 3-seed Stefanowicz, who won the 2020 Olympic Trials.

Other Notes: Zach Braunagel, a junior on the Illinois wrestling team, claimed third place as a No. 5 seed, beating 2022 Final X runner-up Timothy Young, 9-0, in the consolation final.

Final X Preview: Vera will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Stefanowicz, Braunagel and Young.

97 kilograms/213 pounds

Championship — Joe Rau (TMWC) won by TF over Nick Boykin (Sunkist Kids WC), 10-1 — Rau, a former NCAA Division III champion from Elmhurst University, who made the World Teams in 2014 and 2019, scored a pin and three technical falls in Vegas. That included the final, where Rau trailed 1-0 before scoring 10 straight points against the No. 2 seed and junior from Ohio State.

Other Notes: Daniel Miller (Marines), who lost 8-6 to Boykin in the first round as an unseeded wrestler, came back to win five consolation matches, including 9-0 over Brandon Marshall (Big Game) in the third-place match.

Final X Preview: Rau will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Boykin and Miller.

130 kilograms/286 pounds

Championship — Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids WC) won by TF over Adam Coon (NYAC), 11-0 — Schultz, the 2022 World Team member, three-time All-American from Arizona State and No. 1 seed, had no trouble against Coon, the former Michigan All-American, who returned to the mat for the first time after winning a World silver medal in 2018.

Other Notes: Tanner Farmer, the former Nebraska football player, finished third as a No. 3 seed; suffering his only loss, 5-1, to Coon in the semifinals. Rulon Gardner the 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2004 bronze medalist, entered the U.S. Open at age 51 but later announced he would be unable to make weight.

Final X Preview: Schultz will face the winner of the WTT Challenge Tournament, a field which could include Coon and Farmer.