Former Iowa wrestlers did not fare well in Session One of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials.
Brent Metcalf (65 kg) and Bobby Telford (125 kg) both lost in their opening round matches, knocking them out of the winners bracket. With Tony Ramos and Dan Dennis not wrestling until tomorrow, this evenings finals session will be devoid of any former Hawkeyes.
One of the most incredible stories of the tournament is the mess at the 65 kg freestyle weight class. Metcalf, the No. 1 seed wasn’t the only upset in the bracket. The other three top-4 seeds (Jordan Oliver, James Green, and Jimmy Kennedy) were all bounced from the tournament.
The weight, however, has found a new hero in Aaron Pico. The 19-year-old phenom was down 9-0 in his first match of the day (a 10 point lead equates to a technical fall in freestyle competition), but came back to win the match 20-9. He then narrowly beat former two-time NCAA Champion Jordan Oliver in the quarterfinals and dominated Reece Humphrey in the finals.
Iowa is now done on Saturday, as they have no wrestlers headed to the championship finals.
Tony Ramos and Daniel Dennis will both compete in the 57 kg bracket tomorrow in what should be an extremely entertaining day of wrestling.
Match-by-match results
(65 kg freestyle)
Second-round match: Frank Molinaro decision Brent Metcalf, 3-3 (win by criteria)
Several things went wrong for Metcalf during this match. Up 3-2 late in the second period, the former Iowa wrestler stepped out and Molinaro was awarded a point. Molinaro had two shot-clock violations, which helped give Metcalf the lead in the first place. However, Molinaro had scored two exposure points earlier in the match, which took precedence over Metcalf’s three one-point moves.
Metcalf got himself into a bad position in the first place and probably shouldn’t have given up the exposure points to Molinaro.
Metcalf on the Molinaro match. pic.twitter.com/VLfpWRVg3Y
— Jordan Hansen (@jordyhansen) April 9, 2016
Consolations: Jayson Ness decision Metcalf, 9-7
Metcalf didn’t even talk about this match afterwards and there really is not a lot to say. The spot was already lost in his earlier match with Molinaro.
What’s next — Metcalf is done for the tournament and at 29, this was probably his last chance to make an Olympic squad.
…
(125 kg freestyle)
First round: Justin Grant decision Bobby Telford, 6-3
Grant went up early on Telford, who couldn’t get to his offense until the very end of the match. A late takedown would draw the score closer, but Telford’s first foray into Olympic competition did not end particularly well.
Consolations: Telford over (medical forfeit) Tyrell Fortune
Consolations: Telford technical superiority Connor Medbery, 10-0
Iowa’s first win of the day came in the second-round of consolations, but it was a win nevertheless. If anything, extra matches should help Telford in the future.
Consolation semifinals: Nick Gwiazdowski decision Telford, 5-0
Telford just seemed done by this point. Not to say he didn’t but in effort — he absolutely did — but Gwiazdowski wasn’t having a whole lot of issues getting to his offense, which showed.
What’s next— Telford is done for the tournament.