Written By: Gavin Shoush
Is 70 KG the hardest weight at the open?!
70kg at the U.S. open is looking to be a stacked field with multiple All-Americans and National Champions. This will be an exciting weekend for wrestling fans as the U.S. Open kicks off on April 27th in Las Vegas.
Will Lewan
Lewan is wrestling under the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club for Michigan. Lewan is a two-time national qualifier. He achieved All-American status this past year, placing 5th at the national tournament.
Tyler Berger
Tyler Berger is wrestling under the California RTC. Berger was a 4x National qualifier and a 3x All-American in his tenure with the Huskers. He finished 5th, 3rd, and 2nd. Berger is coming off a first-place finish at the Bill Farrell Tournament in Cedar Falls. He beat Anthony Ashnault on criteria in the finals. Watch out for Tyler Berger next weekend, as I believe he is a dark horse to win this weight.
Alec Pantaleo
Alec Pantaleo is wrestling under Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. He was a 4x National qualifier and a 3x All-American for Michigan. Alec is one of the most decorated freestyle wrestlers in this weight class. He was a Junior World Team member in 2016 for the U.S. In 2019 he won the U23 National Championship for the U.S. He has also won the 2021 Pan American Wrestling Championships. He has freestyle wins against Anthony Ashnault and Jordan Oliver, who are registered for next weekend.
Jordan Oliver
Jordan Oliver is one of the most hot/cold wrestlers in this weight class. In college, Jordan Oliver was a 4x All-American and won the NCAA tournament twice. He has won the Bill Farrell Memorial Tournament multiple times and has various impressive wins against Brent Metcalf and, more recently, Nick Lee. His last competition was the Yasar Dogu, where he did not place. Depending on what Jordan Oliver we see next weekend could shake this weight class up and make things exciting!
Brock Mauller
I firmly believe Brock Mauller could make noise at the U.S. open despite being an “underdog.” Mauller is a 3x National Qualifier and a 3x All-American (coaches vote in 2020 due to covid). Mauller wrestled for the US U23 team at the world championships. Although his freestyle experience may be limited, he was redshirted this year, where he focused mainly on freestyle training. Expect this Missouri kid to make noise this weekend!
Austin Gomez
After unretiring from the sport of wrestling, Austin Gomez had a surprising 2021-2022 season for the Badgers. Austin Gomez is a 2x national qualifier and was previously an All-American last year. Most of Austin Gomez’s freestyle experience comes from before college but is not short of being super impressive. He was on the 2016 and 2017 Junior National teams. He was a 2x Pan American Champion and a 2x Junior freestyle and Greco national champion. Austin Gomez is always an exciting wrestler to watch, and I am anxious to see how he stacks up to this competition after not wrestling freestyle for a while.
Anthony Ashnault
Anthony Ashnault was a 4x All-American and a 1x NCAA champion. He won the Pan American Championships in 2019 and 2020. He made the World Team Trials finals, where he lost to James Green, where he had to medically forfeit due to a leg injury. It appears he bounces around between 65kg and 70kg, so we will see how less of a weight cut will affect Ashnault. His performance in the senior circuit has been hindered due to injury, but we could very well see him have a massive bounce-back tournament this weekend.
Sammy Sasso
Sammy Sasso is registered under the Titan Mercury wrestling club. He is a 3x NCAA qualifier and 3x All-American (coaches vote in 2020 due to covid). In high school, Sammy Sasso was a Freestyle Nationals champion at Fargo and a Cadet World Team finalist. He was a UWW Freestyle National Champion while redshirting in 2019. I expect Sasso to shock many people next weekend and have a couple of big wins.
Other Notable Names: Bryce Andonian, Jake Keating, Evan Yant, Ed Scott
Wrapping it up
These are just a few of the fantastic athletes registered for next weekend. If you are a wrestling fan, I highly recommend watching this weekend as much excellent wrestling will be happening. —
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