Kendric Maple finished runner-up at the World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)USA Wrestling has named Kendric Maple (Lincoln, Neb./Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 61 kg/134 lbs.
Maple will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world.
Maple, a 2017 U.S. Open champion, will be competing in his first Freestyle World Cup.
Maple became a member of the men's freestyle National Team after placing second at the 2017 U.S. World Team Trials. He won a gold medal at the 2017 U.S. Open, and was a 2015 U.S. Open runner-up. Maple added a gold medal at the 2017 Alexander Medved International in Belarus. He was also a 2011 UWW Junior Nationals champion in freestyle.
In college, Maple competed for Oklahoma, where he was a 2013 NCAA champion and three-time All-American, also placing fourth in the 2012 NCAA Championships and eighth in the 2014 NCAA Championships.
He is currently an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska, and has previous coaching experience at Purdue and Oklahoma.
Maple was a two-time Kansas state champion for Wichita Heights High School.
USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class.
The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions.
This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history.
Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website.
Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event.
FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8
U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 6)
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC)
65 kg/143 lbs. -
70 kg/154 lbs. -
74 kg/163 lbs. -
79 kg/174 lbs.
86 kg/189 lbs.
92 kg/202.5 lbs. -
97 kg/213 lbs.
125 kg/275 lbs. -
National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa)
Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named.
KENDRIC MAPLE
Residence: Lincoln, Neb.
Club: Titan Mercury WC
College: Oklahoma
High School: Wichita Heights (Kan.)
Born: Aug. 19, 1991
Weight Class: 61 kg/134 lbs.
• Second in 2017 U.S. World Team Trials
• 2017 U.S. Open champion
• 2017 Alexander Medved International champion (Belarus)
• 2015 U.S. Open runner-up
• Fourth in 2015 U.S. World Team Trials
• 2011 UWW Junior Nationals champion
• 2013 NCAA champion and three-time All-American for Oklahoma
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