Olympic Trials Preview: Schultz awaits challenge tournament champion at 130 kg

Cohlton Schultz, who competed on the last three Senior World Teams, qualified the USA for the Paris Olympics by reaching the finals at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier. Schultz also competed on seven U.S. age-group World teams, with three medals, including a 2017 U17 World title. Schultz is a four-time NCAA All-American for Arizona State, where he was a 2022 runner-up. He will be the one to beat at the Olympic Trials, as he has proven to be one of the top competitors in the United State at 130 kg.

Schultz will await the winner of the challenge tournament in a best-of-three finals series after qualifying the United States in Greco-Roman at 130 kg.

2018 Senior World silver medalist Adam Coon is also in the mix at 130 kg. Coon defeated Schultz in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, but was unable to qualify the weight class for Tokyo Games. He was also on the 2019 Senior World Team. In 2019, Coon won gold at the Pan American Championships. Also a talented freestyler, Coon made Final X in both styles and also won 2014 U20 World bronze medals in both styles. An NCAA runner-up for Michigan, Coon left wrestling to pursue pro football, and since coming back in 2023, has yet to beat Schultz.

Aden Attao, a 2022 U20 World bronze medalist, is a young star on the rise. A two-time U20 World Team member, Attao was third at the December 2023 Senior Nationals. He won two Junior Nationals Greco-Roman titles before going off to Oregon State. Attao most recently competed in Thor Masters in Denmark, placing sixth in a tough field of talent.

2024 Armed Forces champion Courtney Freeman was second in the December 2023 Senior Nationals. Freeman was also the runner-up at the 2023 Bill Farrell Memorial International. He won gold at the Grand Prix of Spain in 2023.

Senior National Team member Donny Longendyke was a 2021 Pan American silver medalist and has competed on the Senior level since 2016. Longendyke placed fifth at Senior Nationals, qualifying him for this event. He was the runner-up at the 2023 Senior World Team Trials Challenge tournament, and the winner of the True Third match at 2023 Final X.

Jacob Mitchell, a 2019 U.S. Open champion and past Senior National Team member, qualified at the Last Chance Qualifier. Mitchell, who has not competed in a few years, placed in both the 2016 and the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. 2024 Armed Forces runner-up Jeremiah Imonode wrestled for Army West Point in college. In 2020, he placed fourth at Senior Nationals.

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.

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)

Greco-Roman 130 kg

Best of Three Championship Series

2024 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier finalist - Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids)

Challenge Tournament participants

2019 World Team member – Adam Coon (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC)

2022 U20 World bronze medalist – Aden Attao (Suples WC)

2023 Bill Farrell runner-up – Courtney Freeman (U.S. Marine Corps)

Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals fifth place – Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm)

2024 Armed Forces Greco-Roman runner-up - Jeremiah Imonode (U.S. Army WCAP)

2024 Final Olympic Trials Qualifier champion – Jacob Mitchell (Colorado)