6 Still In Chase For Trinity Award At Flo Reno Worlds
6 Still In Chase For Trinity Award At Flo Reno Worlds
It’s been a long road for these youngsters chasing the Trinity Award, that started all the back in November with the Flo Kickoff Classic.
Written by Oliver Astone
Five of the top youth wrestlers in the country are heading to Flo Reno Worlds in Reno, Nevada, this weekend with a chance to make history as the latest winners of the prestigious Trinity Award.
Flo Reno Worlds is the third and final leg of the Trinity Award Series, which started all the back in November with the Flo Kickoff Classic and continued in January at Flo Tulsa Nationals. The three-day tournament gets underway this Friday at the Reno Livestock Events Center and is streaming LIVE on FloWrestling.
Here's a look at the wrestlers still in the hunt to sweep all three events: Jore Volk at 75lb, Marc-Anthony McGowan at 82lb, Jordan Williams at 95lb, Zach Blankenship at 101lb, and Jack Darrah at 157lb.
Jore Volk
At 75 pounds, Volk competes in the lightest weight class of the 15-and-under age division. A member of powerhouse Minnesota club Pinnacle Wrestling School, Volk is relentless from short offense and has a killer throw-by from the position. Volk is also a hammer on top, with the ability to turn opponents in a variety of ways. Watch for his Kurt McHenry-like throw-by in the Flo Tulsa National finals below.
75lb Final: Jore Volk, Pinnacle vs. Kyison Garcia, Team Prestige
Marc-Anthony McGowan
The next Trinity Award hopeful is one of the most dominant. McGowan, a Team Greco wrestler, has bonus points in nine of his 10 victories in pursuit of the Trinity Award and six of those bonus-point victories were pins. McGowan has a slick swing-single leg and is a finisher on top. Once he gets in pinning position he rarely doesn’t finish the match.
Jordan Williams
Williams hails from the Oklahoma-based Threestyle wrestling club and has the most flash out of this year’s Trinity group. Williams wrestles at a high pace and can get into some shoot-outs and has the variety of attacks to outscore his opponents.
One of his best attacks is a lightning-quick duck-under from elbow control, and he’s also been known to shoot a leg attack off a pretty sick 360-degree spin setup. Watch Jordan Williams hit his 360 leg attack and his "mini-Mark Hall duck-under" in this wild 21-17 first-round match at the Flo Kickoff Classic.
95lb Round of 32: Jordan Williams, Threestyle Wrestling vs. Alex Hanley, Dark Knights
Zach Blankenship
The 101-pound Trinity contender was on a tear at Flo Tulsa Nationals. Blankenship, a Roller Academy of Wrestling (RAW) athlete out of Oklahoma, pinned his way to the finals where he had a dominant 10-2 major decision over Jacob Mann of Purler Wrestling Elite. Blankenship lives in the Cross-Body Ride and has a vicious guillotine which he uses to get most of his pins. Blankenship is looking to continue his hot streak and take another eagle trophy and a Trinity award back home to Oklahoma.
Max Callahan
The Team Donahue member dominated his way to a Flo Kickoff Classic title back in November and a Flo Tulsa National title in January picking up a fall in the finals both times. This weekend he will look to continue to dominate the 145-pound field in Reno.
Jack Darrah
Last but certainly not least is the biggest of all the Trinity contenders, Jack Darrah at 157 pounds.
Darrah wrestles for coach Marcus Hoehn at the Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy in Missouri. Darrah may not be as flashy or dominant as some of the other Trinity chasers, but he is solid with his position, doesn’t make mistakes, and capitalizes when his opponent commits an error.
Flo Reno Worlds gets underway Friday, April 6, and continues to Sunday, April 8. Watch it LIVE on FloWrestling!