Vito Arujau is the top seed at 57 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The 2020 Senior Nationals freestyle competition is set to take place Saturday and Sunday at Xtream Arena & Green State Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa. While some of America's most accomplished freestyle wrestlers will not be competing, the 205-wrestler field spread across the six Olympic weight classes includes a strong mix of proven veterans and rising stars. Let's examine what to watch in each of the six weight classes.
57 kilograms: Is Vito Arujau a threat to challenge for the Olympic team spot?
Arujau, a multiple-time age group medalist, looked fantastic in his most recent match against Rutgers wrestler Sammy Alvarez at 140 pounds in FloWrestling's July show. After trailing 5-3 at the break, Arujau came out strong against Alvarez in the final period and cruised to a 16-5 technical superiority. He placed third at December's Senior Nationals, with his lone loss coming to Spencer Lee in the semifinals. Lee, Thomas Gilman, Daton Fix, Joe Colon and Seth Gross are viewed by many as the top five contenders to earn the Olympic spot at 57 kilograms. Does Arujau belong in that top tier? The Cornell All-American has won at every level and is getting better with every match. An injury forced him to miss last month's Beat the Streets event, where he was scheduled to face Jack Mueller. That match could materialize this weekend with Mueller in the field. It remains to be seen if Arujau is completely healthy. A dominant performance this weekend could help land him a top five seed at the Olympic Team Trials. Other top challengers at 57 kilograms include Darian Cruz, Zane Richards and Frank Perrelli.
Luke Pletcher, pictured wrestling Dom Demas, is seeded No. 11 at 65 kilograms (Photo/Sam Janicki,SJanickiPhoto.com)65 kilograms: Will a lower seed make a deep run?
The 65-kilogram weight class is arguably the deepest and most balanced Senior Nationals freestyle weight class. With Zain Retherford, Jordan Oliver and Yianni Diakomihalis not competiting this weekend, Joey McKenna, a world medalist at the junior and U23 levels, enters as the top seed. McKenna defeated Yianni in December at Senior Nationals before falling to Oliver in the finals. Jaydin Eierman enters as the No. 2 seed despite failing to place in December's Senior Nationals. He was a U.S. Open runner-up to McKenna in 2018 and a U23 world team member. There are several lower-seeded wrestlers in this weight class capable of making deep runs. Mitch McKee, a past junior world silver medalist, is seeded No. 8. Luke Pletcher, Yahya Thomas, Nick Dardanes, Chad Red, Ethan Lizak and Austin Gomez are all seeded outside the top 10.
74 kilograms: Can Logan Massa stay hot?
Logan Massa, who has one season of eligibility remaining at the University of Michigan, will enter this weekend's Senior Nationals as the No. 1 seed at 74 kilograms, and for good reason. Massa claimed a Senior Nationals title in December after compiling a 5-0 record, earning technical superiority wins in each of his first three matches before defeating the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Massa's finals victory came over junior world champion and NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis, 6-4. He also recently notched a win over world medalist Bekzod Abdurakhmonov at the NLWC event on Rokfin. While many of the weight class' heavy hitters like Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, James Green and Isaiah Martinez will not be competing this weekend, there is still plenty of talent in the 74-kilogram field. Massa's competition will come from the likes of Evan Wick, Anthony Valencia, Ryan Deakin, David Carr and Hayden Hidlay, among others.
86 kilograms: Where does Gabe Dean fit into the mix?
Gabe Dean is a household name in the wrestling community, but has not competed since 2017 when he wrestled at the U23 World Team Trials. The Cornell assistant coach and two-time NCAA champion is entered in this weekend's tournament and earned a No. 2 seed despite the long layoff. He is also entered in FloWrestling's 8-man 195-pound bracket slated for Oct. 31.
"I wasn't originally planning to wrestle at Senior Nationals, but I thought, it's been such a long time since I competed, I should probably get out there before going to the eight man bracket filled with national champs and All-Americans," Dean told Betsy Veysman, former editor of the Cornell Daily Sun. "It's coming up quick, so I don't expect to be at my very best for [Senior Nationals], but I know the competition will prepare me."
The top seed in the 86-kilogram bracket is Nate Jackson, who had a breakthrough 2019 season, winning medals at the Medved International (gold), Dave Schultz Memorial (silver) and Bill Farrell international (bronze). Also in the bracket is Gabe's younger brother Max Dean, a 2019 NCAA runner-up (Gabe already stated that he will forfeit to his brother if they meet up in the bracket), as well as several other accomplished wrestlers like Trent Hidlay, Brett Pfarr, Drew Foster, David McFadden and Taylor Lujan. Is Dean looking to make a run at the Olympic team spot at 86 kilograms? Or is he simply competing for fun and as a tune-up for Oct. 31? This weekend should give a clearer picture of where Dean stands.
This dude is so much better than he was in college it's not even funny https://t.co/NCEXy68zho
�" Yianni Diakomihalis (@yiannidiako_LGR) September 22, 2020
97 kilograms: What will Kyle Snyder show this weekend?
On paper, it seems unlikely that anyone will challenge the 24-year-old Olympic champion and two-time world champion this weekend. While there are several formidable opponents entered in the 97-kilogram field, including Kyven Gadson, Hayden Zillmer, Kollin Moore, Ben Honis and Ty Walz, Snyder has not been seriously tested domestically since his arrival on the senior level in 2015. His biggest challenge domestically will likely come in 2021 at the Olympic Team Trials against two-time world champion and Olympic medalist J'den Cox. A year ago, Snyder announced that he was joining the NLWC to train under Cael Sanderson. He was impressive in winning the Bill Farrell International in November, earning a 10-0 technical superiority over Michael Macchiavello in the finals. Last month, Snyder competed in the NLWC event on Rokfin and looked dominant again, claiming another technical superiority over Macchiavello. Since joining the NLWC last fall, Snyder appears to have improved in par terre and added to his offensive arsenal. While Snyder might not show all his cards this weekend, it will be interesting to see what else the American wrestling great has added to his wrestling.
Mason Parris after winning gold at the Junior World Championships (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling)125 kilograms: Is Mason Parris ready to contend on the senior level?
The Michigan big man was dominant at last year's Junior World Championships, outscoring the opposition 33-2 en route to capturing the gold medal at 125 kilograms. Parris' most impressive win came over Iran's Amir Zare, a multiple-time age group world champion. He won his first 28 matches during the NCAA season, with his only loss coming in the Big Ten finals to Minnesota's Gable Steveson, 8-6. Steveson, a multiple-time age group world champion, is No. 2 on the U.S. freestyle heavyweight ladder behind two-time world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski. Parris had limited freestyle experience in high school but has made drastic improvements while in Ann Arbor training with the Wolverines and Cliff Keen Wrestling Club. With Gwiz and Steveson not competing this weekend, Parris enters the tournament as one of the favorites. He earned the No. 2 seed behind veteran Dom Bradley, also a past junior world champion. If Parris can run through this weekend's field, he will set himself up well to make a run at the Olympic team next year.
Freestylin this weekend. @Parris58
�" Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling) October 8, 2020
🎥: @wrestling pic.twitter.com/DCwlCmEWti
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