U.S. World Team Trials Preview: Greco-Roman

InterMat will be providing coverage throughout the 2011 U.S. World Team Trials, which take place Friday and Saturday at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Previews will be released leading up to the event. The women's freestyle preview was released on Monday, followed by this Greco-Roman preview. A men's freestyle preview will be released on Wednesday.

The U.S. Greco-Roman Team won a World team championship just four years ago, but has not been able to break into the top 10 at the past two World Championships. The U.S. failed to bring home an individual medal at last year's World Championships.

This year's field at the U.S. World Team Trials includes a mix of World medalists, seasoned veterans, and young rising stars looking to break through.

Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the Greco-Roman competition.

Spenser Mango (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

55 kg: Spenser Mango, a three-time U.S. World Team member, is the class of the field. Mango, who joined the Army's WCAP program last year, has dominated his U.S. competition in recent years, but is still looking for his first World-level medal. Mango is a heavy favorite to come out on top this weekend, but the rest of the weight class is relatively wide open. The next group of wrestlers in this weight class includes Jermaine Hodge, Nate Engel, and Paul Tellgren. Hodge and Engel, like Mango, wrestle for the Army. Hodge is a past U.S. Open champion who has won medals in some prestigious overseas events. He competed at 60 kg for this year's U.S. Open, but is expected to drop to 55 kg for the Trials. Engel, like Mango, wrestled in the USOEC program at Northern Michigan before joining Army's WCAP program. He placed third at the U.S. Open. Tellgren, a 21-year-old rising star, was runner-up to Mango at the U.S. Open. He was also a Sunkist Open champion this past October and has won medals overseas. Tyler Erdman, Nikko Triggas, Dmitry Ryabchinskiy, and Max Nowry add depth to the weight class.

Prediction: Mango over Hodge

60 kg: This weight class appears to be a three-way battle between Joe Betterman, Jeremiah Davis, and Joe Warren. No wrestler outside of those three has won the Trials at this weight class since 2004. Betterman, who won the Trials in 2007 and 2008, has had the most productive season of the three, winning the Sunkist Kids International, New York AC International, Dave Schultz Memorial, and the U.S. Open. He defeated Davis in a very tight match in the U.S. Open finals. Betterman was coming off a torn ACL at last year's Trials and was beaten by Davis in the Challenge Tournament. Davis will be looking to make his third straight U.S. World Team. Warren is a 2006 World champion and easily the most experienced and accomplished of the three, but has not been as active as Betterman and Davis over the past few years. Warren was out of wrestling for almost three years while pursuing an MMA career. He has not yet been able to get back to the level that made him one of the best in the world, but should get stronger as he gets more mat time. Others to keep your eye on in this weight class include Marco Lara, Chad Vandiver, Matt Holt, and Jesse Thielke.

Prediction: Betterman over Davis

Justin Lester (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

66 kg: Justin Lester, a two-time World medalist, is the prohibitive favorite in this weight class. Lester cruised to his third U.S. Open title in April, beating Army teammate Glenn Garrison in the finals. Lester is an explosive athlete with a lot of tools. Garrison is a tough, savvy veteran who has shown that he can push Lester. C.P. Schlatter is a well-known name in the wrestling world for what he accomplished as a high school and college wrestler, but has now begun to make his mark as a Greco-Roman wrestler on the senior level. Schlatter won the New York AC International Open and placed third at the U.S. Open. Faruk Sahin has won the Trials the past two years, but his inactivity this year makes him a bit of a wildcard. Another wrestler who will be in the mix to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team in this weight class is University of Minnesota wrestler Pat Smith. The 20-year-old Smith placed fourth at the U.S. Open and is a past University Nationals champion. Others to watch in this weight class include Ben Sanchez, John Cox, and RaVaughn Perkins.

Prediction: Lester over Garrison

74 kg: This is arguably the most wide-open weight class with three to four wrestlers who could challenge for the title. Ben Provisor, a three-time Junior World Team member, broke through to win his first U.S. Open title in April. The 20-year-old Provisor dropped down from 84 kg this season and has continued to progress under the tutelage of U.S. Greco-Roman great Dennis Hall. Jake Fisher, the returning U.S. World Team member at this weight class, has put together a strong season, winning the Dave Schultz Memorial and New York AC International. He dropped a close match to Provisor in the U.S. Open finals. Andy Bisek has been one of the top contenders in this weight class over the past few years, but is still looking to make his first U.S. World Team. Bisek won the Sunkist Kids International and earned a bronze medal at the Hungarian Grand Prix this past winter. He placed third at this year's U.S. Open, losing to Provisor in the semifinals. Steven Forrest is a solid veteran who has shown that he can battle with the best in this weight class. He was a runner-up to Fisher at last year's Trials and won a bronze medal at the Grand Prix of Slovenia. Kendrick Sanders is young and explosive wrestler who could do some damage. Aaron Sieracki and James Johnson are solid veterans who add depth to this weight class.

Prediction: Fisher over Provisor

Jake Clark (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)

84 kg: This is one of the deeper weight classes. It includes three past U.S. World Team members, Jake Clark, Chas Betts, and Keith Sieracki, plus this year's U.S. Open champion, Jordan Holm. Clark has been on two U.S. World Teams, including the last one. Clark missed the U.S. Open due to injury, but is now healthy and poised to make his third U.S. World Team. Betts, a 2009 U.S. World Team member, has put together a nice season, winning medals in some prestigious overseas events, including a bronze medal at the Ivan Podubbny Grand Prix in Russia. He did not compete at this year's U.S. Open. Holm has been coming strong of late. After winning the U.S. Open in April, Holm earned a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships, and then defeated reigning world champion Hristo Marinov of Bulgaria at the Curby Cup. Sieracki, who will turn 40 years old later this summer, is a very tough veteran who could be in the mix. Another one of the top contenders in this weight class is Cheney Haight, who has been in the U.S. Open finals in each of the past two years. He won the Sunkist International and New York AC International this season. Peter Hicks, Mark Stenberg, and Travis Rutt will be in the hunt to place.

Prediction: Clark over Holm

96 kg: Justin Ruiz is the man to beat at this weight class. Ruiz captured his seventh straight U.S. Open title in April. He was a World bronze medalist in 2005 and placed fifth at last year's World Championships. By winning the U.S. Open, coupled with a top-five finish at the World Championships, Ruiz earned an automatic berth in the best-of-three finals. Robbie Smith and R.C. Johnson are the top contenders to win the Challenge Tournament and earn a shot at Ruiz. Smith, a New York AC International champion, battled Ruiz tough in the U.S. Open finals, losing in three periods. Johnson, a 2009 U.S. World Team member, won the Sunkist Kids International this past October. John Lorenz, a third-place finisher at this year's U.S. Open, has been wrestling well and should be in the hunt. Others who figure into the mix include Pete Gounaridis, Justin Millard, and Zac Nielsen.

Prediction: Ruiz over Smith

120 kg: Dremiel Byers has owned this weight class since 2005. The 36-year-old Byers has won three World-level medals, one in each of the three colors. His most recent World-level medal came in 2009 when he captured the silver. That achievement, along with his recent U.S. Open title, puts Byers in the best-of-three finals. Byers' Army teammate Timothy Taylor is one of the top contenders in this weight class. He was second to Byers at the U.S. Open and has been among the top heavyweights for several years. Brandon Rupp is a past U.S. Open champion who should be in the hunt. Rupp lost to Taylor at the U.S. Open before defaulting to sixth. Steve Andrus, Jake Kettler, and Pete Kowalczuk will be battling for spots on the U.S. National Team.

Prediction: Byers over Taylor

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