Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (in cooperation with Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling) - The Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University in University Park, Pa. has been selected to host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling on Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20. Penn State University is serving as the local organizing committee.
The champions from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling will become eligible to represent the United States at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, August 5-11, 2024.
The competition will be held in the 18 Olympic weight classes in wrestling, which includes six weight classes in men's freestyle (57 kg, 65 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg, 125 kg), women's wrestling (50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg) and Greco-Roman (60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg).
Ticket information for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling will be announced on May 9, 2023.
In the two-day format, Friday, April 19, will include start of the Challenge Tournament in all 18 weight classes. Included in Friday's action will be the Challenge Tournament finals, which will determine one athlete in each weight class who advances to the Final Championship Series on Saturday.
On Saturday, April 20, all 18 best-of-three Final Championship Series will be held, which determines the U.S. Olympic Team Trials champions in each weight class. This series will feature the top seed and the Challenge Tournament champion, as determined by the 2024 Olympic Games Team Selection Procedures. In addition, the completion of the consolation rounds of the Challenge Tournament will be held on Saturday.
At this point, the 2024 Olympic Games Team Selection Procedures have not yet been finalized and approved.
The Bryce Jordan Center has already established itself as a historic wrestling venue. It served as the site of the 1999 NCAA Championships, which ironically featured current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson's first of four NCAA titles and Penn State assistant coach Casey Cunningham's 157 pound crown. The Bryce Jordan Center was also the site of the 1998 and 2009 Big Ten Championships and will serve as the host site in March of 2021.
The top eight (and nine of the top 10) all-time NCAA wrestling indoor dual meet attendance records have taken place at the Bryce Jordan Center, including the all-time indoor record of 15,998 (set twice including this past year's recording tying crowd on Jan. 27, 2023). That record crowd is the largest crowd to ever witness a Penn State Athletics event not held in Beaver Stadium, Penn State's 100,000-plus capacity football stadium.
University Park becomes only the 11th U.S. city to host a U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling since USA Wrestling became national governing body for wrestling in the United States in 1983. The only previous time it was held in Pennsylvania was in 1992, when the U.S. Freestyle Olympic Team Trials were hosted in Pittsburgh.
This will be the sixth straight U.S. Olympic Team Trials in which all three Olympic wrestling teams were determined at the same time, with men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman all featured in the event. The previous U.S. Olympic Team Trials with all three teams determined were in Indianapolis (2004), Las Vegas (2008), Iowa City (2012, 2016) and Fort Worth Texas (2020).
Host Penn State is one of college wrestling's most successful teams in history, boasting 11 NCAA Div. I national team titles. Included are ten of the last 11 contested NCAA Div. I national team titles, under head coach Cael Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, and one of only three coaches to lead his squad to 10 or more NCAA team championships.
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS - Freestyle
1984 - Allendale, Mich.
1988 - Pensacola, Fla.
1992 - Pittsburgh, Pa.
1996 - Spokane, Wash.
2000 - Dallas, Texas
2004 - Indianapolis, Ind.
2008 - Las Vegas, Nev.
2012 - Iowa City, Iowa
2016 - Iowa City, Iowa
2020 - Fort Worth, Texas
2024 - University Park, Pa.
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS - Greco-Roman
1984 - Allendale, Mich.
1988 - Pensacola, Fla.
1992 - Concord, Calif.
1996 - Concord, Calif.
2000 - Dallas, Texas
2004 - Indianapolis, Ind.
2008 - Las Vegas, Nev.
2012 - Iowa City, Iowa
2016 - Iowa City, Iowa
2020 - Fort Worth, Texas
2024 - University Park, Pa.
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS - Women's Freestyle
2004 - Indianapolis, Ind.
2008 - Las Vegas, Nev.
2012 - Iowa City, Iowa
2016 - Iowa City, Iowa
2020 - Fort Worth, Texas
2024 - University Park, Pa.
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