Those wrestlers were Daniel Cormier in freestyle, and Lindsey Durlacher, TC Dantzler, Brad Vering, and Dremiel Byers in Greco-Roman.
In the much-anticipated finals match at 96 kg/211.5 lbs, Cormier won in consecutive matches over Mo Lawal. Cormier, a five-time U.S. Nationals champion, defeated his former Oklahoma State teammate and friend for the second time in two months. The first time occurred in the finals of the U.S. Nationals in April. Cormier was fifth in the 2003 World Championships and fourth in the 2004 Olympic Games.
Durlacher, a 2006 World bronze medalist, cruised to an easy two-match victory over 20-year-old rising star Spenser Mango, who upset U.S. Nationals champion Sam Hazewinkel in the Challenge Tournament.
Dantzler, who was fifth at the 2006 World Championships, won two straight matches over longtime rival Keith Sieracki at 74 kg/163 lbs to make his fifth U.S. World Team.
In a battle of past U.S. World Team members at 84 kg/185 lbs, Vering defeated 2007 World Cup silver medalist Jake Clark in consecutive matches to make his fourth U.S. World Team.
Byers, a 2002 World champion, rebounded from a disappointing third-place finish at the U.S. Nationals, to earn a spot once again on the U.S. World Team with two straight victories over U.S. Nationals champion Russ Davie.
Joe Heskett was the only first-time U.S. World Team Trials winner crowned on Saturday night in the men's competition. In a rematch of the U.S. Nationals finals, Heskett needed three matches to defeat veteran Casey Cunningham and earn a spot on the U.S. World Team.
The lone weight class contested on Saturday in which a 2007 U.S. World Team member has yet to be determined was at 60 kg/132 lbs in freestyle. U.S. Nationals champion Nate Gallick was held out of competition due to injury and will face Challenge Tournament champion Mike Zadick at a later date. Zadick, a 2006 World silver medalist, defeated Zach Roberson in a close and exciting best-of-three series.
In the women's competition, Patricia Miranda (51 kg/112.5 lbs), Leigh Jaynes (59 kg/130 lbs), Katie Downing (67 kg/147.5 lbs), and Kristie Marano (72 kg/158.5 lbs) were crowned champions.
The U.S. World Team Trials champions crowned this weekend qualify for the World Championships on Sept. 17-23 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Audio Interviews
Lindsey Durlacher
Brad Vering
Daniel Cormier
Mike Duroe
Dremiel Byers
Joe Heskett
TC Dantzler
Brackets
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now