There will be 57 athletes populating the brackets at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials April 19-20 in State College, Pennsylvania. Of that number, 27 have participated in at least one previous iteration of the tournament.
It is a number indicative of balance. Just under half of the field is comprised of well-known Seniors while the rest are fighting to establish their own careers on the top level. The conclusion of each quadrennium is a demonstration of how this eco-system operates — and as well delivers a glimpse at the progression of many of the country’s young premier athletes. It is also an opportunity to observe and appreciate those who have been elite competitors for a prolonged period of time.
Previous Olympic Trials Experience
Olympic Trials Appearances
Four athletes will next week embark on their fourth Olympic Trials: Ellis Coleman (67 kg, Army/WCAP), Patrick Smith (67 kg, Minnesota Storm), RaVaughn Perkins (77 kg, NYAC), and Ben Provisor (87 kg, NYAC/Dubuque RTC). All four made their Trials debut for the ’12 selection process.
Coleman was only 20 heading into that Trials in Iowa City and managed to navigate a very competitive 60 kg bracket to come out on top against Joe Betterman. Provisor was two months shy of turning 22 when he did the same, defeating Aaron Sieracki in the best-of-three. Perkins was just 19 in that tournament, and Smith was 21.
Four years later, and once again in Iowa City, Perkins won the 66 kg title over Smith in a thrilling three-round series, whereas Coleman placed fourth in the same bracket. Provisor, who had come back from injury, downed then-reigning three-time World representative Jordan Holm before getting past Jake Clark in the 85 kg best-of-three final.
At the postponed ’20 Trials (held in April of ’21 in Fort Worth), Coleman started in the challenge bracket, made the best-of-three, and was edged by teammate Alex Sancho. The unique wrinkle that year was at 77 kg — where Perkins, Provisor, and Smith operated. Provisor, who had trimmed down from 87, fell in the quarterfinal to eventual finalist Peyton Walsh; meanwhile, Perkins and Smith engaged in one more showdown with one another, this time with 3rd place/National Team concerns on the line. Perkins took the 4-0 decision.
Three
Ellis Coleman (67 kg, Army/WCAP)
RaVaughn Perkins (77 kg, NYAC)
Ben Provisor (87 kg, NYAC/Dubuque RTC)
Patrick Smith (67 kg, Minnesota Storm)
Two
Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen WC) — ’16 (2nd); ’20 (1st)
Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) — ’16 (2nd); ’20 (1st)
Jamel Johnson (Marines) — ’12; ’20
Sammy Jones (Sunkist/CTT) — ’16; ’20 (4th)
Donny Longedyke (Minnesota Storm) — ’16; ’20 (4th)
Jacob Mitchell (Unattached) — ’16 (4th); ’20 (3rd)
Joe Rau (TMWC) — ’16 (1st); ’20 (2nd)
Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) — ’16 (3rd); ’20 (1st)
Jesse Thielke (Army/WCAP) — ’12 (4th); ’16 (1st)
The full list of athletes with previous Olympic Trials experience can be viewed below.
60 kg
Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) — ’16 (2nd); ’20 (1st)
Sammy Jones (Sunkist/CTT) — ’16; ’20 (4th)
Taylor LaMont (Minnesota Storm) — ’20
Randon Miranda (NYAC) — ’20
Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) — ’20
67 kg
Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) — ’12 (1st); ’16 (4th); ’20 (2nd)
Jamel Johnson (Marines) — ’12; ’20
Xavier Johnson (Army/WCAP) — ’20
Peyton Omania (OCRTC) — ’20
Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) — ’16 (3rd); ’20 (1st)
Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) — ’12, ’16, ’20 (4th)
Jesse Thielke (Army/WCAP) — ’12 (4th); ’16 (1st)
77 kg
Benji Peak (Sunkist/NTS) — ’20 (3rd)
RaVaughn Perkins (NYAC) — ’12, ’16 (1st), ’20 (3rd)
Jesse Porter (NYAC) — ’20 (1st)
87 kg
Ben Provisor (NYAC/Dubuque RTC) — ’12 (1st), ’16 (1st), ’20
John Stefanowicz (Navy WC) — ’20 (1st)
Spencer Woods (Army/WCAP) — ’20 (4th)
Terrence Zaleski (Marines) — ’20
97 kg
Braxton Amos (Sunkist/Wisconsin RTC) — ’20 (2nd)
Nick Boykin (Sunkist) — ’20 (3rd)
Diante Cooper (Air Force) — ’20
Joe Rau (TMWC) — ’16 (1st); ’20 (2nd)
Alan Vera (NYAC) — ’20 (1st)
130 kg
Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen WC) — ’16 (2nd); ’20 (1st)
Donny Longedyke (Minnesota Storm) — ’16; ’20 (4th)
Jacob Mitchell (Unattached) — ’16 (4th); ’20 (3rd)
Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist) — ’20 (2nd)
Two Olympic Trials previews will be released next week. One will be made available on FLOWrestling featuring an extensive look at each weight category.
WBU Remembered
Three athletes with ties to the now-defunct Williams Baptist University Greco-Roman program made impacts in the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday. Duncan Nelson (OTC) won the 67 kg bracket by defeating Joel Adams (TBW); Timothy Eubanks (97 kg, NMU/NTS) advanced to the final, his best performance on the Senior level, before falling to Brandon Marshall (Big Game WC); and Ryan Whittle (87 kg, PA) went 3-2 and made it to the 3rd place match.
Whittle was part of the Greco squad upon its inception but the team did not begin competing until the ’17-’18 campaign. Nelson, who enrolled at Williams that season, holds the distinction of having earned the program’s first international medal, which was a bronze from the ’18 Bill Farrell Memorial.
P-Mart & BTS
Three-time World Team member Patrick Martinez (who is listed on the recently-published “projected seeds” piece but will not be competing in the Olympic Trials) has been serving as the Wrestling Coordinator for Beat the Streets-Chicago since June of last year. It is a role that provides him with a deep sense of fulfillment thus far. “I’m just trying to give back to the sport that gave me so much,” Martinez said on Monday. The effectiveness of BTS-Chicago’s mission under the leadership of Executive Director Mike Powell has, on a yearly basis, been able to increase its reach and resources in order to offer youths the opportunity to not only experience the sport of wrestling, but, and more importantly, to derive from it the type of values and commitment that can be difficult to find anywhere else.
One such recent example (out of the scores of many other examples since Powell took the helm in ’18) is a young man named Calvin Savage, whose trajectory drastically changed under the organization’s guidance. This past season, Savage finished with a 33-2 record for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep High School prior to the Illinois state championships where he eventually placed sixth. He will head to Morgan State University in the fall and join the wrestling team.
Each month, Martinez pens articles for the BTS-Chicago site in a series titled Champion Story. His excellent work with regards to Savage can be found at this link.
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