USOEC wrestlers win silver at U.S. Open

Courtesy of the USOEC

MARQUETTE, Mich. – United States Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman wrestlers traveled to Las Vegas this week (April 18-20) to compete at the U.S. Open, coming away with three silver medals and five others finishing in the top seven to advance to the U.S. World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla., June 20-23.

Earning a silver medal in the 55-kilogram weight class was Max Nowry of Wheeling, Ill. Nowry faced two-time Olympian and former USOEC athlete Spencer Mango in the gold-medal match, falling 0-3, 0-1. On his way to the championship match, Nowry beat Justin Nolen of the Navy 6-0, 7-0 in the quarterfinals and former USOEC wrestler Nate Engle of the Army 0-1, 1-0, 2-0 in the semifinals.

Kendrick Sanders of Homestead, Fla., earned his silver at 66 kg. Sanders faced 2012 Olympian and former USOEC athlete Ellis Coleman of the NYAC in the final match, winning the first period 3-0 before falling 0-4, 1-2 in the next two periods. To advance to the championship match, Sanders defeated Brian Graham of the Minnesota Storm 2-0, 4-1 in the quarterfinals and overtook Santonio Thompson of YES wrestling 6-0, 2-0 in the semifinals.
In the 84-kg weight class, Zac Nielsen of Zimmerman, Minn., met Jordan Holm of the Minnesota Storm in the first-place match. Nielsen dropped the match 0-3, 0-1, ending the event with a silver medal. On his way to the championship match, Nielsen won by technical fall over Shaun Scott of the Modern Day Gladiators 7-0, 7-0 in the quarterfinals. He then met Peter Hicks of the Army, pinning him 44 seconds into the first period of the semifinals.

Other Top Seven USOEC Results
55 kg, Dmitry Ryabchinsky, fifth place
66 kg, Nick Alvarez, seventh place
74 kg, Tanner Andrews, fourth place
84 kg, Mark Stenberg, sixth place
120 kg, Toby Erickson, fifth place