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    Andrew Hipps •

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    Hipps: Five things to watch at U.S. World Team Trials

    The 2013 U.S. World Team Trials are set to take place Friday and Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. The two-day event will determine the U.S. World teams in men's freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women's freestyle that will compete in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 16-23.

    It's not uncommon to see a lot of turnover on World teams from an Olympic year to the year immediately following the Olympic Games. This year appears to be no exception. Three of the seven U.S. Olympians in men's freestyle will not be competing for spots on this year's U.S. World Team, including 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner and 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert. Elena Pirozhkova is the lone member from the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's freestyle team expected to compete this week in Stillwater.

    This week's U.S. World Team Trials will be the first major U.S. wrestling event contested using the latest international wrestling rule changes implemented by FILA. The initial new international rule proposals, which were presented and passed at the FILA Extraordinary Congress on May 17, were used in the Beat the Streets event in Los Angeles on May 19. However, on June 7, FILA published a complete set of rules, which differed slightly from the rules released on May 17. Key differences in the two sets of rules include technical falls decreasing from 10 points to 7 points and five-point throws ending matches.

    Below are five things to watch at this week's U.S. World Team Trials.

    Friday

    Ellis Coleman vs. Kendrick Sanders

    Kendrick Sanders throws Ellis Coleman for three points in the first period of their finals match at the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
    The precocious Coleman earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team last summer at the age of 20. This year he moved up a weight class from 60 kilos to 66 kilos and captured the U.S. Open title. His finals victory at the Open came over 22-year-old Kendrick Sanders, an explosive athlete with an arsenal of big moves. The match was contested under the old rules and went all three periods. Sanders used a reverse body lock throw for three points to break a scoreless tie in the first period. Coleman battled back to win the second period 4-0 on the strength of two gut wrenches. Coleman then took the third and deciding period 2-1, scoring with another gut wrench in the final 30 seconds. Assuming the two meet again this week, expect to see some fireworks, especially with the change to longer periods and cumulative scoring.

    Dremiel Byers

    U.S. Greco-Roman heavyweight Dremiel Byers has been on every U.S. World or Olympic team since 2005. He is the lone U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler ever to claim gold, silver, and bronze medals at the World Championships. Byers, a 10-time U.S. Open champion, has his sights set on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he is hoping to earn his first Olympic medal after falling short in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. For the past ten years the question every year has been, will Byers win another World or Olympic medal? Now, as we begin a new Olympic cycle, the question has shifted to, will Byers make the U.S. team? He was defeated at this year's U.S. Open by Erik Nye in the semifinals. Byers is closing in on 40 years old (currently 38), and many are wondering if this is the year where there will be a changing of the guard in the Greco-Roman heavyweight division.

    Logan Stieber

    Logan Stieber defeated world No. 1 Opan Sat at the Beat the Streets event in New York (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)
    The 22-year-old Stieber is one of wrestling's young, rising stars. A past Junior World silver medalist, Stieber is on track to become the next four-time NCAA champion after winning NCAA titles in his first two seasons as an Ohio State Buckeye. He was expected to contend for a U.S. Open title in April at 60 kilos, but finished a disappointing fourth, losing to Ohio RTC teammate Reece Humphrey and fellow collegian Tyler Graff. Stieber bounced back in a big way less than a month later by defeating world No. 1 Opan Sat of Russia at the Beat the Streets event held in Grand Central Terminal in New York. Will this be the year that Stieber breaks through and makes his first U.S. World Team on the senior level? To do so he will have to navigate through a deep and talented Challenge Tournament field that includes Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott, Graff, and Jimmy Kennedy ... and if he gets through that, then must oust U.S. Open champion Humphrey in the best-of-three finals.

    74 kilos in men's freestyle

    Kyle Dake is one of the top contenders to win the Challenge Tournament at 74 kilos (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)
    The 74-kilo weight class men's freestyle is widely considered to be the most intriguing weight class at this year's Trials because of its abundance of talent. USA Wrestling's Craig Sesker recently wrote that "It's the weight class that nobody wants to miss at the U.S. World Team Trials." World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs, who is unbeaten on the senior level (54-0), receives an automatic berth in the best-of-three finals after winning the U.S. Open. He has been dominant both domestically and internationally the past two years. The new rules also seem to favor Burroughs, and many believe the rules could help him widen the gap over his competition even more. Burroughs' finals opponent will be the lone survivor in a loaded Challenge Tournament field that includes four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake, U.S. Open runner-up David Taylor, Olympic Team Trials runner-up Andrew Howe, 2009 World Team member Trent Paulson, and U.S. Open third-place finisher Nick Marable, among others.

    Saturday

    66 kilos in men's freestyle

    Every year since 2009 there has been a new Trials champion at 66 kilos. The last two Trials champions in this weight class, Teyon Ware (2011) and Jared Frayer (2012), have stepped away from competition, and 66 kilos is wide open heading into this Olympic cycle. Kellen Russell rode a hot hand at the U.S. Open, coming through unseeded to win the title over Jordan Oliver. Brent Metcalf, a World Team member in 2010, finished third at the Open, losing in the semifinals to Oliver. Another talented wrestler to keep an eye on in this weight class is James Green, a collegiate wrestler at Nebraska who was impressive in winning a University Nationals title. Adam Hall, Chase Pami, and Jason Chamberlain add depth to the weight class. The new rules, which award two points for a takedown and use cumulative scoring, appear to suit Oliver, Metcalf, and Green particularly well because of their strengths in the neutral position and attacking styles.

    InterMat will be providing session recaps from the 2013 U.S. World Team Trials.
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