2018 UWW Junior World Team Trials Bracket Reactions
2018 UWW Junior World Team Trials Bracket Reactions
Breaking down the 2018 UWW Junior freestyle brackets.
We've got the brackets. All that's left to do is weigh in. The 2018 UWW Junior World Team Trials brackets are live in FloArena, and as expected, the fields for this weekend's challenge tournament in Rochester, MN, are much smaller than the ones at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas last month.
Please also note that the 10 Open champs have byes to the best of three finals and will not wrestle until Saturday's best-of-three finals.
WATCH 2018 JR WORLD TEAM TRIALS LIVE ON FLO
WHEN: May 18-19 | WHERE: Rochester, MN
The brackets are subject to change, including for sure at 57kg, where Jordan Decatur will be moving back up to 61kg. Friday morning's action begins at 10 AM Central time and will go through the quarterfinals, with the semifinals slated to start at 4 PM.
All placing bouts, except for the finals, will be wrestled Friday. Those sitting in the finals still have to weigh in on Friday. The winners of the finals will be America's junior world team being sent to Trnava, Slovakia, this September. On to some bracket reactions.
57kg
Sitting in finals: Brandon Courtney
Commentary: With Jordan Decatur moving back up to 61kg, that makes this an even eight-man bracket. Malik Heinselman is your top seed; he's made three age-level world teams. In the first round, he'll get Joey Melendez. That's a match we've never seen before, though the two were in the same bracket at Ironman back in December. The winner there gets the winner of Ty Smith and Rayvon Foley. Smith won Fargo last summer and Foley was an AA up a weight. Smith and Foley did not meet at the Open.
On the bottom side, Paul Bianchi should be your two seed. He'll get Patrick McKee in the first round, someone he teched in 1:07 at last year's Open. Waiting will be the winner of Gage Curry and Sidney Flores, a match we did not see at the Open. Flores had a better performance in Vegas and was much more prodigious offensively.
Junior Preview + Predictions
61kg
Sitting in finals: Austin Gomez
Commentary: By virtue of making the Open finals, high school junior Jordan Decatur will be the one seed and has a bye into the semis. On the opposite side, high school sophomore (and still Cadet eligible) Joshua Saunders is your two seed.
Saunders draws Nick Farro first round, who went fifth at last year's Open. Should Saunders win, he'll get Vito Arujau in the semis, a rematch of the third-place match at the Open. Saunders stormed out to an 8-0 lead at the break and held on to win 10-8. Arujau starts off with Drew Mattin, who was a Fargo champ last year and ranked as high as 10th in the country as a 125-pounder during the NCAA season.
Decatur should roll into the challenge tournament finals, as McGwire Midkiff or Jack Skudlarczyk is the quarter winner he'll need to face.
65kg
Sitting in finals: Dom Demas
Commentary: It's not often you see nine and 10 seeds come into the fray with the opportunity to totally turn a bracket on its head. Jarod Verkleeren is dropping down from his 70kg spot at the Open, and Sammy Sasso did not wrestle in Vegas. Verkleeren just needs to take out high school senior Michael Blockhus to get a crack at Open finalist Max Murin, a fellow Pennsylvania native.
Down on the bottom side, Sasso gets Northwestern freshman Yahya Thomas first round and then a crack at high school junior Andrew Alirez in the quarters. A win there puts Sasso against Kaden Gfeller, which could have been a Fargo final last year before Sasso lost in the semis.
70kg
Sitting in finals: Austin O'Connor
Commentary: This weight bears a striking resemblance to last year's 66kg bracket because a lot of those same guys are back. Minnesota natives Peyton Robb and Brady Berge should meet up top in the quarterfinals, right alongside Brayton Lee and Will Lewan. Lee won the last time they wrestled (an Akron placing match), but Lewan has since gone on to win a Cadet world title.
Down below, Jacori Teemer has to beat Brock Mauller and David Carr has to beat Jaden Van Maanen for a rematch of their Open third-place match to happen. Teemer teched Carr there 12-2.
74kg
Sitting in finals: Jeremiah Moody
Commentary: Similar to 65kg, it is the new faces that make this weight interesting. Travis Wittlake is dropping down from 79kg at the Open and last year's runner-up at this weight, Alex Marinelli, was not at the Open. It's easy to see why Marinelli would enter in his final year of Junior eligibility. His teammate Jeremiah Moody is sitting in the finals, and Moody was behind Marinelli on the depth chart at Iowa. Marinelli would have to get by either Hayden Hastings or Jarrett Jacques to make the challenge tournament finals.
Topside, Wittlake, a 2016 Cadet world medalist, gets the winner of Mekhi Lewis and Kaleb Romero. The Ohio State redshirt Romero beat the Virginia Tech redshirt Lewis 11-6 in their first go-round, a consi semi in Vegas.
79kg
Sitting in finals: Aaron Brooks
Commentary: There's not a whole lot preventing Mikey Labriola from wrestling his teammate Beau Breske for the right to face Aaron Brooks in the finals. Breske, the two seed, teched Matthew Finesilver, the three seed, in the third-place match, and Labriola teched Trent Hidlay. There is a clear tiering at this weight.
86kg
Sitting in finals: Louie Deprez
Commentary: There was a clear top four at the Open which could remain intact, particularly if Kordell Norfleet is healed up from his concussion. Nino Bonaccorsi continued his unbeaten streak against Jelani Embree, and DePrez snaked his way to a title. Max Lyon, the four seed, should fill in amiably if Norfleet is not 100 percent. Otherwise though, this weight is pretty predictable.
92kg
Sitting in finals: Jacob Warner
Commentary: Not a whole lot to report other than that Jake Woodley isn't signed up. John Borst, who reportedly may be moving to heavyweight for Virginia Tech next year, is bumping up to 97kg. Along with incoming freshman Jacob Raschka, this weight loses a punch or two from Vegas.
97kg
Sitting in finals: Daniel Kerkvliet
Commentary: The emergence of Daniel Gregory Kerkvliet has sent just about every 97kg junior scurrying, with the exception of Zach Elam. The Missouri commit and Fargo champ is back for another crack at the still Cadet-eligible Kerkvliet and only has to win two matches to get there.
125kg
Sitting in finals: Gannon Gremmel
Commentary: Enter Gable Steveson. He'll start off with Max Darrah, then get the winner of Robert Winters and Trent Hillger.
On the bottom side, enter Anthony Cassioppi. A win over Bobby Heald would get him a rematch with Brandon Metz, whom Cassioppi narrowly beat in the Fargo finals. Many fans of high school wrestling, as well as the group of Iowa Hawkeyes faithful paying attention to Juniors, will be intrigued by the first matchup of Steveson and Cassioppi since last year's Open semis.