Seven first-timers earn place on U.S. World Freestyle team

June 1, 9:48 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

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Jake Herbert (Photo/
Northwestern wrestling
website)

This past weekend, seven men earned a trip to Denmark this fall.

No, they’re not going for the scenery… but to wrestle for the U.S. in freestyle competition at the 2009 World Championships in Herning, Denmark, September 21-27.

These seven wrestlers earned the trip by winning their respective weight classes at the 2009 U.S. World Team Trials at Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Interestingly, six of the seven are 26 years old (one, Danny Felix, is 35).  Incredibly, all of them are first-time winners.

Here’s a quick look at the finals results in men’s freestyle competition:

55 kg/121 lbs: The “old man” of the group -- Danny Felix -- defeated Nick Simmons, a former Michigan State wrestler and 2009 U.S. Nationals freestyle champ, in two matches in the best-of-three format. In the first, Felix defeated Simmons, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0.  In the second, Simmons got back into the game, beating Felix, 1-1, 2-0.  However, Felix took the third and deciding match, 2-1, 1-0.

60 kg/132 lbs: Another 2009 U.S. Nationals champ, Mike Zadick, fell to Shawn Bunch in two straight matches to earn a place on the U.S. World Team. In the first match, Bunch defeated Zadick, 3-0, 1-3, 2-1; in the second and final, Bunch beat Zadick, 3-0, 0-2, 1-0.

66 kg/145.5 lbs: To the delight of the hometown crowd, Trent Paulson, a 2007 NCAA champ for Iowa State, defeated Jared Frayer in two straight matches. In the first, Paulson got a 1-0, 0-3, 2-2 victory over Frayer… while, in the follow-up, the Council Bluffs native beat Frayer, 2-0, 1-0. It was a somewhat bittersweet win for Trent Paulson…

74 kg/163 lbs:  Trent’s twin brother Travis Paulson failed to make the U.S. World Team, losing in the finals in two matches to Dustin Schlatter, 2006 NCAA champ for the University of Minnesota who is taking a redshirt year to focus on his freestyle career. The first match saw Schlatter shut out Travis Paulson, 1-0, 1-0… with exactly the same results in the second: 1-0, 1-0.  

84 kg/185 lbs: What a year it’s been for Jake Herbert. Among the highlights: 2009 Big Ten title… quickly followed by his second NCAA crown… then, being awarded the Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in any weight class. Now the recent Northwestern grad can add “U.S. World Team member” to his wrestling resume, after defeating Bryce Hasseman two matches out of three. In the first match, Herbert beat Hasseman 0-1, 3-2, 1-0. However, in the second, Hasseman got the 0-1, 1-0, 3-1 decision over the Wildcat mat alum, 0-1,1-0, 3-1. In the deciding match, Herbert defeated Hasseman, 1-0, 1-1.

96 kg/211.5 lbs: Things seem to be turning around for Jake Varner. After losing in the NCAA finals two years in a row, the Iowa State Cyclone won the 197 pound crown at the 2009 NCAAs. Then, this past weekend, Varner knocked off 2008 U.S. Olympic Team member Andy Hrovat in two straight matches. In the first, Varner defeated Hrovat, 0-1, 3-0, 1-0; in the second, Varner beat the University of Michigan alum, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0.

120 kg/264.5 lbs: In a freestyle battle between two two-time NCAA heavyweight champs, Tervel Dlagnev upset 2008 U.S. Olympic team member Steve Mocco, winning two of the three matches in the series. Dlagnev, who won his two NCAA Division II titles wrestling for the University of Nebraska at Kearney, defeated Mocco, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0.  Mocco, who won one D1 championship at Iowa, then a second at Oklahoma State, came back with a vengeance, beating the native of Bulgaria, 0-3, 3-0, 2-2. However, in the third and deciding match, Dlagnev defeated Mocco, 3-0, 1-1.

Resources

TheMat.com webpage for 2009 World Team Trials

InterMat audio interviews with 2009 US World Team members

InterMat Day 1 and Day 2 recap