University of Minnesota Athletics
Five Gopher Alums Set for Olympic Team Trials
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
As former Gopher Scott Schiller recently observed, kids who grow up playing football or baseball may dream of playing their sport professionally but, for young wrestlers, competing in the Olympics is the ultimate dream. Schiller will be one of five Minnesota alums hoping to make that dream a reality this weekend when they take on the nation's best at the Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa.
Beginning on Saturday and running through Sunday, the Olympic Team Trials will determine who will represent the United States in men's and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
A trio of highly decorated Gophers will compete in freestyle, where Jayson Ness (65 kg), Scott Schiller (97 kg) and Tony Nelson (125 kg) all look for their spots in Rio. The threesome combined to win 11 All-America medals and three national titles during their Minnesota careers.
While there are no easy weights at this level of competition, Ness may face the most daunting bracket of any Gopher alum. He is one of eight wrestlers in the field to have won NCAA titles during their collegiate careers, and four of his competitors have previously represented the U.S. at the World Championships. Ness earned his spot in the field by winning the Dave Schultz Memorial tournament earlier this year.
Last December, Schiller upset top-seeded Dustin Kilgore in the first round of the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas and marched to the championship bout before falling to Wynn Michalak. That finish clinched Schiller's spot in this weekend's field, where he is ranked eighth. Since qualifying, Schiller competed in his first international tournaments, winning the bronze medal at the Pan American Championships and finishing 2-2 at the Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul.
Like Schiller, Nelson punched his ticket to Iowa City with his performance in Las Vegas earlier this winter, placing fourth at U.S Nationals. Among Minnesota's freestyle competitors, Nelson is the highest-ranked at his weight, entering the tournament as the seventh seed. Competing alongside Schiller in February, Nelson won the silver medal at the Yasar Dogu International, not allowing a single point until his final match.
On the Greco side, Pat Smith (66 kg) and Alec Ortiz (75 kg) will look to join their former head coach, J Robinson, and 10 former Gophers who have represented the U.S. in Greco-Roman at previous Olympic games.
Smith earned his spot in the trials by finishing as the runner up at the U.S. Nationals, piling up four wins on his way to the finals, including two victories against wrestlers who will be in this weekend's tournament. Just six weeks ago, Smith won gold at the Pan American Championships wrestling at 71 kg (a non-Olympic weight). He is ranked No. 4 at 66 kg heading into his Saturday matches.
Ortiz was the last of this quintet of Minnesota alums to claim his spot in the field, earning his chance to wrestle in the trials by winning last weekend's Last Chance Qualifier in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After gutting out a 5-3 decision in his opening match, Ortiz defeated his next two opponents by a combined 16 points to put an exclamation point on his qualifying effort.
The Trials will feature all three Olympic styles on both days of the event. Saturday's schedule includes men's freestyle at 65 and 125 kg, women's freestyle at 58, 63 and 69 kg, and Greco at 59, 66, 85 and 98 kg. Sunday will fill in the four remaining weights in men's freestyle (57, 74, 86 and 97 kg), three in women's freestyle (48, 53 and 75 kg) and two in Greco (75 and 130 kg).
The qualifier format involves a traditional, American-style tournament bracket, but the finals at each weight are a best-of-three series. Both days will begin with preliminary competition starting at 9 a.m. Central, followed by the best-of-three championship series to crown victors at each weight starting at 6 p.m.
All of this weekend's action will be streamed live on NBCSports.com. Saturday night's finals will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network as well. Sunday's will be broadcast on tape delay, beginning at 9:30 p.m. Central.
For updates on results involving Gopher alums, follow Gopher Wrestling on Twitter.
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