Arkansas Wrestle (All images via lrtrojans.com)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Several Little Rock wrestlers are headed to Geneva, Ohio for the U20 and U23 World Team Trials this weekend. Those competing in the U20 World Team Trials will face off against the nation’s best high school upperclassmen and college underclassmen for a chance to make the World Team and represent the United States at the U20 World Championships in Warsaw, Poland this August.
Those U20 Trojans set and ready to scrap include Brendon Abdon, Matty Bianchi, Kyle Dutton, KJ Miley, Stephen Little, Brennan Van Hoecke, and incoming freshman Nasir Bailey.
The Little Rock wrestlers competing in the U23 division include Bilal Bailey, Joseph Bianchi, Jayden Carson, Josiah Hill, Austin Keal, Tanner Mendoza, Brooks Sacharczyk, Matthew Weinert, and KJ Miley.
“This is the largest group we have taken to this event,” said head coach Neil Erisman. “Qualifying seven for the U20 Trials is a huge feat and we are excited to watch these guys compete and pave the way for the future. Our guys look good, trained hard, and have gained a lot of experience, so we really believe they are going to do well.”
The three-day event features competition in men’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman. The Greco-Roman tournament in both age groups will be held in its entirety on Friday with finals scheduled for 4 p.m. (ET). The freestyle competition will span Saturday and Sunday. U20 will complete its tournament in one day, with finals set for 4 p.m. (ET) on Saturday. U23 finals are slated for Sunday afternoon.
U20 champions in both styles earn a spot on the U.S. U20 World Team. Fans can watch the event live on FloWrestling.com. Brackets and complete results will be available on FloArena.
Like in NCAA’s Folkstyle competition, there will be 10 weight classes contested across four divisions. The weight classes for Freestyle are 57 kg, 61 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 79 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 97 kg and 125 kg. The Greco-Roman weight classes are 55 kg, 60 kg, 63 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg,77 kg, 82 kg, 87 kg, 97 kg and 130 kg.
U20 Greco-Roman Competition (June 2)
Brendon Abdon – 72 kg
KJ Miley – 130 kg
U20 Freestyle Competition (June 3)
Nasir Bailey – 61 kg
Matty Bianchi – 74 kg
Kyle Dutton – 74 kg
Stephen Little – 92 kg
Brennan Van Hoecke – 65 kg
U23 Freestyle Competition (June 3-4)
Bilal Bailey – 79 kg
Joseph Bianchi – 74 kg
Jayden Carson – 61kg
Austin Keal – 74 kg
Josiah Hill – 125 kg
Tanner Mendoza – 86 kg
KJ Miley – 125 kg
Brooks Sacharczyk – 86 kg
Matthew Weinert – 125 kg
For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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