Agon V & World Cup ignites historic freestyle season for USA Wrestling

Over the first two weekends in April, two major wrestling events happened that could play a big impact on the 2015 World Freestyle Championships that will be held in Las Vegas next September.

Brent Metcalf, the 2014 World Team member, scored a takedown against 18-year-old Aaron Pico to claim a 4-1 win at the Agon V: Iowa vs. the World event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (John Johnson photo)

On April 4, four Senior-level matches were held in U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, especially a head-to-head matchup between veteran Brent Metcalf and newcomer Aaron Pico. Billed a Agov V: Iowa vs. The World, Metcalf, the former two-time NCAA champion from Iowa and current two-time World Team member, edged the 18-year-old California native3 Pico, 4-1, in the main event of the event.

Jordan Burroughs (left) helped lead the United States to the finals of the World Cup, which was held April 11-12 in Los Angeles. (John Sachs photo)

Another big match that night saw former Hawkeye Tony Ramos, who also represented the U.S. in last year’s World Championships, rally to beat 2008 Olympic champion Henry Cejudo.

Meanwhile, one week later, the United States played host to the 2015 United World Wrestling World Cup, April 11-12 in Los Angeles, where Iran prevailed as team champions but both Metcalf and World/Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs won all their matches.

These two events were a great start to the 2015 Senior freestyle season that will include the U.S. Open (May 8-9 in Las Vegas), the World Team Trials (June 12-14 in Madison, Wisc.) and the UWW World Championships (Sept. 7-12 in Las Vegas).

WIN columnists Mike Chapman and Craig Sesker were present at both of these recent events and will provide a unique look at each event in the upcoming issue of WIN magazine, which will be printed April 24.