Facts, Trends, and Numbers from the 2024 Olympic Team Trials

The Olympic Trials are in the books and what a spectacle they were! There were upsets, all-time greats that suffered losses, new stars that came to the forefront on the Senior level, happy tears, sad tears, and much more. As is the case with big tournaments or events, we’ve picked out some of the interesting facts and trends that emerged from the 2024 Olympic Team Trials. Have fun! Mason Parris is the first Michigan graduate to represent the United States since Andy Hrovat did so in 2008. There has been at least one grad from Iowa and Penn State on each of the last three Olympic men’s freestyle teams. An Iowa grad has held down the 57 kg on the Olympic Team in each of the last three teams (Lee, Gilman, Dan Dennis/2016). Provided Lee qualifies the weight at the Last Chance Qualifier. Kyle Snyder has now made his 10th consecutive World/Olympic Team. It was also his third Olympic team. All before he turns 29. With Aaron Brooks making the squad, you have two wrestlers from Maryland on the men’s freestyle team - three counting the other styles, and Helen Maroulis. Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder are the only holdovers from the 2020(1) men’s freestyle team. Maroulis made history by becoming the first American woman to make three Olympic teams. She also is a part of her 14th World/Olympic team. Half of the women’s freestyle team is returning from 2020(1). Sarah Hildebrandt, Maroulis, and Kayla Miracle. Despite California being one of the early adopters of women’s wrestling and typically a hotbed for women’s freestylers, this is the first time that there have been multiple California natives on the women’s freestyle Olympic team (Dom Parrish and Amit Elor). Indiana has two natives on the women’s freestyle team (Hildebrandt/Miracle), plus Mason Parris from the men’s freestyle squad. Kennedy Blades will become only the second Illinois native to wrestle at the Olympics in women’s freestyle. Haley Augello (2016) was the first. Five of the six women on the Olympic team have already won a world or Olympic medal. Blades, who has never previously made a Senior team, is the exception. The 2020(1) Trials featured two high school girls in the finals (Kylie Welker and Kennedy Blades). This year there was just one with Audrey Jimenez (50 kg). The Greco-Roman winners featured two sets of wrestlers from the same high school. Dalton Roberts (60 kg) and Adam Coon (130 kg) - Fowlerville, Michigan and Ellis Coleman (67 kg) and Kamal Bey (77 kg) - Oak Park River Forest, Illinois. The Olympic Trials finals produced seven rematches from Final X 2023. Kyle Dake/Jason Nolf (MFS; 74 kg), Aaron Brooks/David Taylor (MFS 86 kg), Sarah Hildebrandt/Audrey Jimenez (WFS 50 kg), Kennedy Blades/Adeline Gray (WFS 76 kg), Dalton Roberts/Ildar Hafizov (MGR 60 kg), Kamal Bey/Aliaksandr Kikiniou (MGR 77 kg), and Adam Coon/Cohlton Schultz (MGR 130 kg). Only Dake, Hildebrandt, and Bey won those rematches. The Trials finals at 65 kg (MFS), 57 kg (WFS), and 62 kg (WFS) featured matchups between 2023 World Team teammates. The only Trials finals matches between past World medalists took place on the women’s freestyle side with 57 kg (Maroulis/Winchester), 62 kg (Miracle/Kilty), and 68 kg (Elor/Molinari). Of course, Maroulis/Winchester are two past world champions. The only two falls of the Trials finals included a pair of past world champions. Thomas Gilman was pinned in the closing seconds of the deciding bout in his series with Spencer Lee. Jacarra Winchester got pinned by Maroulis in match one. At the last Trials, Gilman was involved in the only pin of the entire finals. He scored a fall over Vito Arujau in the first match of their series. The 2024 Olympic Trials featured three rematches from the 2020(1) Trials across all three styles. The only series’ (5 of them) that needed to go the full three matches occurred on the Greco-Roman side. Payton Jacobson is the only wrestler on the Greco team without any Senior World (or Olympic) experience. Adam Coon is the only Greco champion from 2020(1) to repeat in 2024. Since the 130 kg weight class has already been qualified for the 2024 Games, Coon will be making his Olympic debut. In 2020(1), the weight class had not been qualified and Coon wasn’t able to do so at the Last Chance Qualifier. Across the three styles, Ellis Coleman is the only winner of the Trials who competed at the 2012 Olympic Games. He also needs to qualify the weight to compete in the 2024 Games. Scoring in the Olympic Trials was hard to do. Kennedy Blades was the only wrestler to score more than 10 points in any bout. Nobody in men’s freestyle scored more than eight points in any finals matchup. The Trials finals featured five matchups between current teammates. 65 kg, 74 kg, and 86 kg in men’s freestyle all saw Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members tangle. 60 kg and 67 kg in Greco-Roman had Army WCAP teammates clashing. David Taylor’s series with Aaron Brooks marked the second consecutive Trials that Taylor faced an NLWC teammate. In 2020(1), he defeated Bo Nickal for a slot on the Olympic Team. Wrestlers with a bye to the best-of-three finals went a combined 8-5 - including 0-3 in Greco (Spencer Woods, Alan Vera, Cohlton Schultz). The combined age for the last two women in the Olympic lineup Elor (20) and Blades (21) is 41. That’s less than Greco-Roman finalist Aliaksandr Kikiniou (44).

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