2014 U.S. WORLD TEAM TRIALS - FREESTYLE 2 nights, 12 champs
By Craig Sesker MADISON, Wis. - Two nights of highly entertaining wrestling produced the first 12 members of the 2014 U.S. World Team. The 12 Olympic weight classes in freestyle - six men and six
women - were contested during the U.S. World Team Trials on May 31 and June 1 at the Alliant Energy Center. The U.S. squad is led by Olympic gold medalists Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner along with World champions Elena Pirozhkova and Adeline Gray. The other four World Team spots - two in freestyle and two in women’s freestyle - were set to be determined in late July in Fargo, N.D. Here is how it all went down in Madison: Saturday, May 31
What an amazing few months it was for Tony Ramos. In late March, the dynamic wrestler broke through to win his
first NCAA title as an Iowa Hawkeye senior. Just over two months later, Ramos turned in an incredible dis-
play of grit and moxie to make his first U.S. World Team in freestyle wrestling. Ramos swept two straight bouts from 2012 Olympian Sam Hazewinkel to win the U.S. World Team Trials title at 57 kg/125.5 lbs. A driven and confident Ramos won the Challenge Tournament
on Saturday afternoon before downing Hazewinkel 4-0 and 5-4 to prevail in the best-of-3 finals a few hours later. “It’s not about style. It’s about scoring points," Ramos said. "I
am best on my feet and that is what this is. It’s not about the rules. You find a way to win.” Champions at the World Team Trials advance to September’s
World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Wisconsin native Alyssa Lampe won a hard-fought, three-
match series over past World Team member Victoria Anthony in the women’s finals at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. Lampe, a bronze medalist in the last two World Championships, made her fourth World Team. “It was awesome. The last time I wrestled here was 2006. It
was great to be in my hometown. I heard people cheering for me. That was great,” she said. Lampe won the first and third bouts to prevail over a strong opponent in Anthony. She won 5-0 in the deciding match. “I always have thought if I could take 48 kg domestically, I had
a good chance of winning a World medal. You have Clarissa Chun. You have Vicky Anthony, who took fifth in the World last year at 51 kg. It is definitely a great weight class this year,” Lampe said. Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner made his third World
Team after sweeping Dustin Kilgore in the freestyle finals at 97 kg/213 lbs. Varner is back looking strong after taking most of 2013 off from competition. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 Worlds. “I am a lot better. I try to get better every time I step on into
the wrestling room. Whether it is one percent, a half percent, that is the plan. Hopefully by now, I am a lot better than I was in 2012. I try to improve in all areas that I can,” he said.
6 USA Wrestler
World champion Adeline Gray swept Jackie Cataline in the women’s finals at 75 kg/165 lbs. Tony Rotundo photo.
Olympian Tervel Dlagnev made his fourth World Team with a
strong performance in sweeping Zach Rey in the heavyweight finals in freestyle. Dlagnev won both bouts 5-0. Dlagnev has placed third, fifth and fifth in three previous appearances at the Worlds. He was fifth in the 2012 Olympic Games. Alli Ragan made her second straight World Team by sweep-
ing Olympian Kelsey Campbell in the women’s finals at 58 kg/127.5 lbs. Ragan powered her way to a quick 10-0 technical fall in the second bout. Veronica Carlson earned her second straight trip to Worlds by
taking two straight from Julia Salata in the women’s finals at 69 kg/152 lbs.
Sunday, June 1 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs is one of the most
talented wrestlers this country has ever seen. He’s also one of the most mentally tough athletes in U.S. his-
tory. That was evident when Burroughs overcame a very deter-
mined effort by the talented David Taylor to win the U.S. World Team Trials. Burroughs, now 84-1 in his amazing career, beat Taylor 6-2
and 6-5 in two hard-fought, edge-of-your-seat freestyle battles. The powerful Burroughs used his lethal double-leg attack to defeat Taylor, a two-time Hodge Trophy winner.
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