Olympic Trials Preview: Dake, Burroughs, Nolf headline 74 kg field, with young talent ready to challenge

Four-time World champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake leads a deep field that is loaded with stars. Dake sits out until the Championship finals series based upon his 2023 World silver medal. Dake, who won four NCAA titles in four different weight classes for Cornell, needed a number of years to become No. 1 in the USA in freestyle, but once he became No. 1 in the USA, he has dominated the world.   

Dake started his freestyle career at 74 kg but was not able to make the U.S. team due to Jordan Burroughs, the top U.S. wrestler in the world at the time. He competed at 86 kg in the 2016 Olympic Trials and lost in the finals to J’den Cox. Dake ultimately settled in at 79 kg and won his first two World titles in 2018 and 2019, then came back to 74 kg for his Olympic run. He was finally able to defeat Burroughs to make the 2020 U.S. Olympic team and went on to win an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo. Dake has remained at 74 kg this Olympic cycle, winning two more World gold medals. He lost to Russian superstar Zaurbek Sidakov in the finals of the 2023 Senior Worlds.   

Six-time World champion and 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs is back at 74 kg, after competing up at 79 kg throughout this Olympic four-year cycle. With 10 World-level medals and vast experience, Burroughs aims to reach the Olympic Trials finals series for a rematch with Dake, seeking a third Olympic team. His first four World titles and the Olympic gold came at 74 kg, with the next two at 79 kg. At 35 years old, Burroughs is still in top form, winning two international gold medals this season. Burroughs has rarely had to go through the Challenge Tournament during his career, and must be on task against a talented young field to advance to the finals series.

Jason Nolf, a three-time NCAA champion for host Penn State, was second to Dake in Final X the last two years at 74 kg. Nolf has shown tremendous success in the international events he has entered, including a 2020 Pan American title and a silver at the 2022 Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. Nolf lost a close 5-3 match to Burroughs in the 2021 World Team Trials. The question will be how much Nolf has advanced in the last few years. Like Burroughs, he knows he has to beat some talented young athletes in the Challenge Tournament.

The December 2023 Senior Nationals champion is Quincy Monday, son of the legendary Kenny Monday, an Olympic and World champion and three-time Olympian. Quincy Monday was an NCAA runner-up for Princeton, and is making a fast rise in freestyle in the same weight where his dad dominated. He showed his great promise by winning the 2023 Bill Farrell International against a talented field.  

Three 2023 age-group World champions qualified for the Trials, U23 World champion Keegan O’Toole plus U20 World champions Mitchell Mesenbrink and Meyer Shapiro. All of these athletes are also among the nation’s best college wrestlers. O’Toole is a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American for Missouri. Mesenbrink was a 2024 NCAA runner-up for Penn State, and Shapiro placed third for Cornell. O’Toole was also 2022 U20 World champion, winning a UWW World gold for two straight years. Shapiro also won a 2021 U17 World gold. Mesenbrink is a two-time U20 World finalist.

Three 2024 NCAA champions from Kansas City are projected to land at this weight class, 157-pounder Levi Haines of Penn State, 165-pounder David Carr of Iowa State and 174-pounder Carter Starocci of Penn State. In addition to successful collegiate careers so far, all three have been talented freestylers on their way up the USA Wrestling ladder. Carr, a two-time NCAA champion, was a 2019 U20 World champion. Starocci, who became a four-time NCAA champion this year, won a 2022 U23 World bronze. Both Carr and Starocci have already been members of the Senior National Team, placing in the top three of the ladder. In high school, Haines wrestled in the 2021 U17 Worlds.

The big question going into the Trials is the health status of Starocci, who was injured late in the college season and appeared to be physically hampered in his gutsy three-day journey to his fourth NCAA title.

Fans will appreciate the college rivalry between Carr and O’Toole, who wrestled many times in college, including dual meets, Big 12 Championships and NCAA Championships. Carr has the most recent win in the 2024 NCAA semifinals. Carr also beat Mesenbrink in the NCAA finals.

Among those earning Trials berths through the December 2023 Senior Nationals were runner-up Alex Marinelli, third-place Alex Facundo, fourth-place Jarrett Jacques and fifth-place Tyler Berger.

Marinelli, a star for Iowa whose college was extended due to pandemic eligibility, has medalled in the last two Bill Farrell Internationals, and was also third at the April 2023 U.S. Open. Penn State’s Facundo has won two U17 World medals, and most recently was a gold medalist at the 2024 Senior Pan American Championships.

Jacques, who was a college star at Missouri, has been fourth at the last two U.S. Opens, and reached the finals of the 2023 Bill Farrell International. Berger was second in 2023 Final X at 70 kg behind Zain Retherford, qualifying for the current Senior National Team. Berger, a star at Nebraska, was a 2023 Pan American Games champion at 74 kg, and recently won a bronze at this weight class at the Henri Deglane Challenge in France.

Vincenzo Joseph, a 2023 U.S. Open runner-up and a two-time NCAA champion for Penn State, won the Last Chance Qualifier to get the final berth at this weight class. Joseph has been No. 4 at this weight class for the last two years, falling just short of making the National Teams. There should be a lot for local fans to cheer for, as there are six Nittany Lions in the draw at 74 kg: Nolf, Mesenbrink, Facundo, Haines, Starocci and Joseph. 

While weight classes and final athlete registrations are not finalized until the completion of weigh-ins, this cast of 14 wrestlers is the expected 74 kg field for the Olympic Trials.

Fans looking to attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in person can still purchase all session tickets and single session tickets through Ticketmaster.

For those unable to grab a ticket, fear not—all the action from Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast by NBC properties, April 19-20. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions will be televised on USA Network. NBC’s streaming platform Peacock will host live streams of each mat throughout the competition.

Complete brackets and live results for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be hosted on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @usawrestling on the various social media platforms for regular updates throughout the event.

For more information about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wrestling

April 19-20, Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pa.

Event Schedule

Friday, April 19

10 a.m. (ET) – Challenge tournament prelims, quarterfinals, consolations

6:30 p.m. (ET) – Challenge tournament semifinals, finals

Saturday, April 20

10 a.m. (ET) – Championship series round one (all weights), championship series round two (GR 60-67-77 kg, MFS 57-65 kg), challenge tournament consolations, true third (if necessary)

6:30 p.m. (ET) –Championship series round two, championship series round three (if necessary)

Men’s freestyle 74 kg

Best of Three Championship Series

2023 Senior World silver medal at Olympic weight - Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC)

Challenge Tournament participants

2019 World Team member – Jordan Burroughs (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids)

2023 U20 World champion – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Nittany Lion WC)

2023 U23 World champion – Keegan O’Toole (Tiger Style WC/Sunkist Kids)

2023 U20 World champion 70 kg – Meyer Shapiro (Spartan Combat RTC)

2023 Bill Farrell champion – Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals champion – Quincy Monday (New Jersey RTC/TMWC)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals runner-up – Alex Marinelli (Hawkey WC/TMWC)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals third place – Alex Facundo (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals fourth place – Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals fifth place – Tyler Berger (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids)

2024 NCAA Div. I champion at 157 pounds - Levi Haines (Nittany Lion WC)

2024 NCAA Div. I champion at 165 lbs. - David Carr (Cyclone WC)

2024 NCAA Div. I champion at 174 lbs. - Carter Starocci (Nittany Lion WC)

2024 Final Olympic Trials Qualifier champion – Vincenzo Joseph (Sunkist Kids)