Edited version - First email was missing some of the team roster. Please use this version.
USA Wrestling is expecting to send a 33-athlete delegation to the Henri Deglane Grand Prix, which is set for Jan. 15-17 in Nice, France. The squad includes nine women’s freestylers, 10 men’s freestylers and 12 Greco-Roman athletes.
The tournament will start Jan. 15 with women’s freestyle, followed by men’s freestyle on Jan. 16 and wrapping up with Greco-Roman on Jan. 17.
Among the USA’s entrants, there are two Olympic champions, four World champions and five World medalists.
2016 Olympic champions Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder will be competing in Nice. Both are also two-time World champions.
Maroulis, who was the first woman in USA Wrestling history to win an Olympic title, last competed at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier in March, where she earned gold and qualified the U.S. at her weight, 57 kg, for the 2021 Olympics.
Snyder, the youngest Olympic wrestling champ for the USA, won gold at the Pan American Championships in Ottawa, which were also held in March.
The four World champs taking to the mat are Jacarra Winchester (53 kg WFS), Tamyra Mensah-Stock (68 kg WFS), Kyle Dake (74 kg MFS) and David Taylor (86 kg MFS).
Dake is a two-time World champion at 79 kg, winning gold in 2018 and 2019. Next weekend will mark Dake’s first international competition in exactly one year as he last competed at the Matteo Pellicone Tournament in January 2020.
Taylor also won his World title in 2018 but was unable to compete in 2019, due to injury. His first international competition back was in March at the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier, where he won a gold medal to qualify the U.S. for the Tokyo Olympics.
Winchester and Mensah-Stock both claimed World titles in 2019 in Kazakhstan at 55 kg and 68 kg, respectively.
As 55 kg is not an Olympic weight, Winchester dropped down to 53 kg for the Olympic year and won the spot to represent the United States at the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier, where she qualified the U.S. with a silver medal.
Having already qualified her weight, Mensah-Stock competed at the Pan American Championships, dominating her way to a gold.
The Senior World medalists in the mix include men’s freestylers James Green at 65 kg, who won bronze in 2015 and silver in 2017, two-time bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski at 125 kg and 2017 silver medalist Thomas Gilman at 57 kg as well as women’s freestyle star and 2018 silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kg.
The Greco team will feature primarily Marine athletes, including 2019 World Team members Raymond Bunker and John Stefanowicz. Also heading to France is 2019 Pan Am Games champion and two-time World Team member Pat Smith.
USA Wrestling will update how to watch the event as the information becomes available.
Schedule (6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time)
Friday, Jan. 15
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds and finals (all women’s freestyle weights)
8:30 p.m. – Awards ceremony
Saturday, Jan. 16
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds and finals (all men’s freestyle weights)
8:30 p.m. – Awards ceremony
Sunday, Jan. 17
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds and finals (all Greco-Roman weights)
8:30 p.m. – Awards ceremony
U.S. men’s freestyle roster
57 kg: Vitali Arujau (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan RTC)
57 kg: Thomas Gilman (Nittany Lion WC)
57 kg: Nick Suriano (Sunkist Kids)
61 kg: Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg: James Green (Sunkist Kids/SERTC)
65 kg: Yianni Diakomihalis (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan RTC)
74 kg: Kyle Dake (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan RTC)
86 kg: David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC)
86 kg: Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids)
97 kg: Kyle Snyder (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)
125 kg: Nick Gwiazdowski (Titan Mercury WC)
U.S. Men’s Freestyle National Coach – Bill Zadick, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach – Jake Varner, State College, Pa.
Coach – Mike Grey, Ithaca, N.Y.
Coach – Mark McKnight, State College, Pa.
U.S. women’s freestyle roster
50 kg: Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC/USOPTC)
50 kg: Amy Fearnside (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC)
53 kg: Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC)
57 kg: Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids)
57 kg: Lauren Louive (New York AC/USOPTC)
62 kg: Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids)
62 kg: Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC)
68 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC)
68 kg: Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids)
68 kg: Victoria Francis (Titan Mercury WC)
U.S. Women’s Freestyle National Coach – Terry Steiner, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach – Mark Perry, Tempe, Ariz.
Coach – Jon Morrison, College Park, Md.
U.S. Greco-Roman roster
60 kg: Thomas Hicks (Marines)
63 kg: Colton Rasche (Marines)
63 kg: Devin Hester (Marines)
67 kg: Jamel Johnson (Marines)
67 kg: Raymond Bunker (Marines)
77 kg: Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm)
77 kg: Peyton Walsh (Marines)
82 kg: John Stefanowicz (Marines)
87 kg: Terrence Zaleski (Marines)
87 kg: Vaughn Monreal-Berner (Marines)
87 kg: Joel Nivar (Marines)
97 kg: Daniel Miller (Marines)
Coach – Jason Loukides, Camp LeJeune, N.C.
Medical – Terry Grindstaff
Medical – Jeremy Frank
Official – Drew Hayes
Team leader – Cody Bickley
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