EAP Vegas Update: Aaron Brooks, Gabe Tagg win UWW Junior freestyle nationals titles with dominance
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
EAP wrestler Aaron Brooks secures a takedown in the UWW Junior Nationals finals. Photo by Austin Bernard.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The weekend in Las Vegas ended very well for the Elite Accelerator Program, as two men’s freestyle wrestlers closed out the action with championships at the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals.
Claiming gold medals were 2018 Junior World silver medalist and 2017 Cadet World champion Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md./Titan Mercury WC/EAP) at 79 kg, and Gabe Tagg (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/EAP) at 61 kg.
Brooks won the UWW Junior Nationals for the second straight year, capped off with a 10-0 technical fall over Shane Griffith of Stanford-California RTC in the finals. Brooks was dominant throughout, going 6-0 with five technical falls. His only decision was in the quarterfinals, an 8-2 win over Michael O’Malley of the Pennsylvania RTC. Brooks has signed with Penn State.
Tagg was named the Outstanding Wrestler, with an spectacular performance, including a pin of Roman Bravo-Young of the Nittany Lion WC in 4:15. He was trailing 4-2 in an active match, and was able to take Bravo-Young to his back with a duck under, then turned him again for the pin.
Tagg went 5-0 for the tournament, scoring four straight technical falls before pinning Bravo-Young. Tagg has signed with North Carolina.
DJ Shannon (East St. Louis, Ill./EAP) powered through to the semifinals with four straight wins, but finished sixth at 74 kg. In the semifinals, Shannon was ahead of eventual champion David Carr of the Cyclone WC after putting Carr to his back, but Carr battled back to win 8-6.
Shannon dropped his next two consolation bouts to Julian Ramirez of Blairstown WC and Travis Wittlake of the Cowboy RTC. He finished with a 4-3 record. Shannon has signed with Illinois.
EAP men’s freestyle wrestlers who were knocked out in the consolation rounds were Julian Tagg (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/EAP) at 57 kg and Job Greenwood (Livermore, Colo./EAP) at 61 kg. Julian Tagg finished with a 4-2 record in the tournament, while Greenwood ended with a 1-2 record.
It was a great week for the EAP program, which came home with six medals. The Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) is a progressive developmental movement based at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., aimed at molding young wrestlers into World and Olympic Champions.
In the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, EAP athlete, Tiare Ikei (Honolulu, Hawaii/EAP) won the gold medal at 53 kg and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division. Two other EAP women’s freestyle stars won Senior bronze medals, Cameron Guerin (Yakima, Wash./Titan Mercury WC/EAP) at 57 kg and Macey Kilty (Stratford, Wis./Sunkist Kids/EAP) at 65 kg
On the first day of the Open Wrestling Championships, Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids/EAP) won a gold medal at 130 kg at the UWW Junior Greco-Roman World Team Trials. He qualified for his sixth U.S. age-group World Team. Schultz has been a Cadet World champion and Junior World bronze medalist.
U.S. OPEN
At Las Vegas, Nev., April 27, 2019
EAP Men’s freestyle athletes in UWW Junior Championships
57 kg - Julian Tagg. Mayfield Heights, Ohio (EAP)
WIN McGuire Midkiff (Bison WC), 7-7
LOSS Kai Orine (Team Missouri Select), 9-8
WIN Gabriel Gray (Wayland Baptist), pin 3:55
WIN Jakob Camacho (Wolfpack WC), 11-10
WIN Aaron Cashman (U of Iowa), 10-4
LOSS Rayvon Foley (Titan Mercury WC), tech, fall 10-0
61 kg - Job Greenwood, Livermore, Colo. (EAP)
WIN Jake Gilva (Minnesota Storm), 13-9
LOSS Jaime Hernandez (Tarheel WC), tech. fall 14-3
LOSS Jevon Parrish (Nebraska), 8-7
61 kg - Gabe Tagg, Mayfield Heights, Ohio (EAP), gold medal
WIN Cole Zebley (Tiger WC), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Doug Zapf (Pennsylvania RTC), tech fall 13-3
WIN Teague Travis (Missouri), tech. fall 11-1
WIN Jarrett Trombley (Wolfpack WC), tech. fall 11-1
WIN Roman Bravo-Young (Nittany Lion WC), pin 4:15
74 kg - DJ Shannon, East St. Louis, Ill. (EAP), 6th place
WIN Austin Brenner (Bison WC), 12-8
WIN Gerrit Nijenhuis (Young Guns), 11-7
WIN Isaac Judge (Cyclone RTC), 5-4
WIN Joe Lee (Nittany Lion WC), 13-11
LOSS David Carr (Cyclone RTC), 8-6
LOSS Julian Ramirez (Blairstown WC), pin 0:43
LOSS Travis Wittlake (Cowboy RTC), 10-4
79 kg - Aaron Brooks, Hagerstown, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/EAP), gold medal
WIN Harlan Steffensmeier (Air Force RTC), tech. fall 14-2
WIN Luke Clark (Minnesota Storm), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Tate Battahi (Cyclone RTC), tech fall 11-0
WIN Michael O’Malley (Pennsylvania RTC), 8-2
WIN Parker Keckeisen (Askren Wrestling Academy), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Shane Griffith (Stanford – California RTC), tech. fall 10-0
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The weekend in Las Vegas ended very well for the Elite Accelerator Program, as two men’s freestyle wrestlers closed out the action with championships at the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals.
Claiming gold medals were 2018 Junior World silver medalist and 2017 Cadet World champion Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md./Titan Mercury WC/EAP) at 79 kg, and Gabe Tagg (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/EAP) at 61 kg.
Brooks won the UWW Junior Nationals for the second straight year, capped off with a 10-0 technical fall over Shane Griffith of Stanford-California RTC in the finals. Brooks was dominant throughout, going 6-0 with five technical falls. His only decision was in the quarterfinals, an 8-2 win over Michael O’Malley of the Pennsylvania RTC. Brooks has signed with Penn State.
Tagg was named the Outstanding Wrestler, with an spectacular performance, including a pin of Roman Bravo-Young of the Nittany Lion WC in 4:15. He was trailing 4-2 in an active match, and was able to take Bravo-Young to his back with a duck under, then turned him again for the pin.
Tagg went 5-0 for the tournament, scoring four straight technical falls before pinning Bravo-Young. Tagg has signed with North Carolina.
DJ Shannon (East St. Louis, Ill./EAP) powered through to the semifinals with four straight wins, but finished sixth at 74 kg. In the semifinals, Shannon was ahead of eventual champion David Carr of the Cyclone WC after putting Carr to his back, but Carr battled back to win 8-6.
Shannon dropped his next two consolation bouts to Julian Ramirez of Blairstown WC and Travis Wittlake of the Cowboy RTC. He finished with a 4-3 record. Shannon has signed with Illinois.
EAP men’s freestyle wrestlers who were knocked out in the consolation rounds were Julian Tagg (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/EAP) at 57 kg and Job Greenwood (Livermore, Colo./EAP) at 61 kg. Julian Tagg finished with a 4-2 record in the tournament, while Greenwood ended with a 1-2 record.
It was a great week for the EAP program, which came home with six medals. The Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) is a progressive developmental movement based at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., aimed at molding young wrestlers into World and Olympic Champions.
In the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, EAP athlete, Tiare Ikei (Honolulu, Hawaii/EAP) won the gold medal at 53 kg and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division. Two other EAP women’s freestyle stars won Senior bronze medals, Cameron Guerin (Yakima, Wash./Titan Mercury WC/EAP) at 57 kg and Macey Kilty (Stratford, Wis./Sunkist Kids/EAP) at 65 kg
On the first day of the Open Wrestling Championships, Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids/EAP) won a gold medal at 130 kg at the UWW Junior Greco-Roman World Team Trials. He qualified for his sixth U.S. age-group World Team. Schultz has been a Cadet World champion and Junior World bronze medalist.
U.S. OPEN
At Las Vegas, Nev., April 27, 2019
EAP Men’s freestyle athletes in UWW Junior Championships
57 kg - Julian Tagg. Mayfield Heights, Ohio (EAP)
WIN McGuire Midkiff (Bison WC), 7-7
LOSS Kai Orine (Team Missouri Select), 9-8
WIN Gabriel Gray (Wayland Baptist), pin 3:55
WIN Jakob Camacho (Wolfpack WC), 11-10
WIN Aaron Cashman (U of Iowa), 10-4
LOSS Rayvon Foley (Titan Mercury WC), tech, fall 10-0
61 kg - Job Greenwood, Livermore, Colo. (EAP)
WIN Jake Gilva (Minnesota Storm), 13-9
LOSS Jaime Hernandez (Tarheel WC), tech. fall 14-3
LOSS Jevon Parrish (Nebraska), 8-7
61 kg - Gabe Tagg, Mayfield Heights, Ohio (EAP), gold medal
WIN Cole Zebley (Tiger WC), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Doug Zapf (Pennsylvania RTC), tech fall 13-3
WIN Teague Travis (Missouri), tech. fall 11-1
WIN Jarrett Trombley (Wolfpack WC), tech. fall 11-1
WIN Roman Bravo-Young (Nittany Lion WC), pin 4:15
74 kg - DJ Shannon, East St. Louis, Ill. (EAP), 6th place
WIN Austin Brenner (Bison WC), 12-8
WIN Gerrit Nijenhuis (Young Guns), 11-7
WIN Isaac Judge (Cyclone RTC), 5-4
WIN Joe Lee (Nittany Lion WC), 13-11
LOSS David Carr (Cyclone RTC), 8-6
LOSS Julian Ramirez (Blairstown WC), pin 0:43
LOSS Travis Wittlake (Cowboy RTC), 10-4
79 kg - Aaron Brooks, Hagerstown, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/EAP), gold medal
WIN Harlan Steffensmeier (Air Force RTC), tech. fall 14-2
WIN Luke Clark (Minnesota Storm), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Tate Battahi (Cyclone RTC), tech fall 11-0
WIN Michael O’Malley (Pennsylvania RTC), 8-2
WIN Parker Keckeisen (Askren Wrestling Academy), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Shane Griffith (Stanford – California RTC), tech. fall 10-0
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