USA Wrestling held its World Team Trials this past weekend, hosting the top competitors in the nation for a chance to earn a spot on the national team.
Four members of the NC State wrestling team, including two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski, and assistant coach Adam Hall competed in the Trials, vying for their chance to represent their country on an international level at the World Wrestling Championships Sept. 7-12 in Las Vegas.
Gwiazdowski finished with a fourth-place result in the Senior 125kg weight class after dropping the true third-place match, marking the third-straight time Gwiazdowski has finished one spot away from a place on Team USA.
“I felt prepared and showed up ready to wrestle, and I felt like I wrestled pretty well,” Gwiazdowski said. “I beat some guys I’ve never beat but also lost to some guys that I’ve beat before. Coming up one spot short of the National team for the third straight year is kind of a bummer.”
Gwiazdowski recorded two solid victories in bracket play, defeating Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon, 12-2, and MMA fighter Tyrell Fortune, 5-0. Coon was responsible for one of Gwiazdowski’s two losses during his two years at NC State.
In the true third-place match, which would determine the final spot on the USA roster, Gwiazdowski lost a close bout to Dom Bradley, a competitor he beat in the 2014 Trials.
The three other Wolfpack wrestlers competed in the Junior division. Junior Pete Renda (84kg) and freshman Malik McDonald (96kg) each earned a victory before falling to their opponents in the loser’s bracket. Freshman all-American Kevin Jack (66kg) battled but failed to earn a win.
Gwiazdowski said the younger wrestlers weren’t expected to do especially well in their first year at the Trials, but the experience gained is a reward in itself.
“It was their first experience in freestyle,” Gwiazdowski said. “I know they didn’t finish where they wanted to finish, but it was their first tournament. If it’s your first time in the World Team tournament, you’re going to face some really skilled guys, and that’s who they got.”
