EAP athletes Rath, Kuhn win golds, O’Blia gets silver at Bob Smith Open in Hays, Kansas

Three USA Wrestling Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) athletes reached the finals of the Bob Smith Open, held at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas on Sunday.

Claiming gold medals were Kollin Rath (Stroudsburg, Pa./EAP Program) at 157 pounds and Rylan Kuhn (Parkville, Mo./EAP Program) at 285 pounds. Claiming a silver medal at 125 pounds was Dale O’Blia (Denver, Colo./EAP Program).

The Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) was designed to develop young athletes with Olympic potential at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (USOPTC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This has included wrestlers who are still in high school, or are high school graduates who choose to train in the international styles prior to going to college.

Rath won six straight bouts to claim the title, including a 17-2 technical fall over unattached Layton Schneider in the finals. Rath’s closest battle came in the semifinals, a 9-8 victory over Oklahoma State redshirt sophomore Cutter Sheets. His quarterfinals win was over unattached Oklahoma freshman Owen Eck, 4-1. In the round of 16, Rath stopped unattached Nebraska redshirt freshman Dez Garterell, 2-0.

Rath, who is a senior for Bethlehem Catholic, is a two-time Pennsylvania state champion. He is the No. 13 Pound-For-Pound high school wrestler according to FloWrestling. He was a 2023 U17 Nationals freestyle runnerup and a 2022 16U Nationals freestyle runner-up.

Kuhn had five straight wins, including an 8-3 win over Newman junior Caleb Wunsch. In the semifinals, he edged Nebraska-Kearney redshirt junior Jake Boley, 6-5. Two of Kuhn’s victories were by pin, over Arrick Williams of Northwest Tech and Peyton Hahn of Air Force.

Kuhn was a two-time Missouri state champion for St. Pius X High School and a three-time Fargo All-American, including finishing as a runner-up in the 2022 16U Nationals in Greco-Roman. He was fifth in freestyle at the 2024 Junior Nationals.

O’Blia was defeated in the championship finals by unattached Oklahoma sophomore Conrad Hendricksen, 4-2. He won four straight matches to reach the finals, including an 8-5 sudden victory win over sophomore Nico Tocci of the U.S. Air Force Academy in the second round. His semifinals win was over Adams State junior Isaiah Gamez, 7-2.

O’Blia was a four-time Colorado state high school champion for Mullen High School.

“As a whole, they did a great job. There are a lot of things still to work on, and they know it. I can definitely tell they are excited. There were a lot of breakthroughs today for each guy. It is good to know that they are not even close to wrestling their best, yet can put up such a performance and really gut out some matches,” said USA Wrestling National Freestyle Developmental Coach J’den Cox.

On November 23, O’Blia placed third at 125 pounds and Kuhn placed fourth at 285 pounds at the Younis Hospitality Open in Kearney, Neb.

“I am very excited for what the future holds for these guys. Their ceiling, I don’t know where that is at right now. With this being the last folkstyle tournament of our season, it is very exciting going into the freestyle season,” said Cox.

BOB SMITH OPEN

At Hays, Kansas, December 8

EAP performances

125 - Dale O’Blia, Denver, Colo. (EAP Program), silver medal

WIN Justin Shaw (Ouachita Baptist), tech fall, 15-0

WIN Nico Tocci (Air Force), 8-5, SV-1

WIN Gabe Sherrell (Pratt CC unattached), maj. Dec. 15-2

WIN Isaiah Gamez (Adams State), 7-2

LOSS Conrad Hendricksen (Oklahoma unattached), 4-2

157 - Kollin Rath, Stroudsburg, Pa. (EAP Program), gold medal

WIN Deklyn Miller (New Mexico Highlands), tech fall 17-2

WIN Micah Castro (Fort Hays Tech NW), tech. fall 18-3

WIN DezMonde Garterell (Nebraska unattached), 2-0

WIN Owen Eck (Oklahoma unattached), 4-1

WIN Cutter Sheets (Oklahoma State), 9-8

WIN Layton Schneider (unattached), tech. fall 17-2

285 - Rylan Kuhn, Parkville, Mo. (EAP Program), gold medal

WIN Arrick Williams (Fort Hays Tech NW), pin 1:09

WIN Riah Ostrander (Fort Hays State), 11-6

WIN Peyton Hahn (Air Force), pin 1:05

WIN Jake Boley (Nebraska-Kearney), 6-5

WIN Caleb Wunsch (Newman), 8-3

Final results in their weight classes

125

1st Place Match - Conrad Hendriksen (Oklahoma Unattached) won by decision over Dale O`Bilia (EAP OTC) (Dec 4-2)

3rd Place Match - Isaiah Gamez (Adams State) won by no contest over Caleb Coyle (Nebraska-Kearney) (NC)

5th Place Match - Rhys Sellers (CSU Pueblo) won by no contest over Alan Koehler (Nebraska Unattached) (NC)

157

1st Place Match - Kollin Rath (EAP OTC) won by tech fall over Layton Schneider (Unattached) (TF 17-2)

3rd Place Match - Cutter Sheets (Oklahoma State) won by no contest over Jude Randall (Oklahoma Unattached) (NC)

285

1st Place Match - Rylan Kuhn (EAP OTC) won by decision over Caleb Wunsch (Newman) (Dec 8-3)

3rd Place Match - Jake Boley (Nebraska-Kearney) won by no contest over Henry Sturn (CSU Pueblo) (NC)5th Place Match - Hunter Tennison (Central Missouri) won by no contest over James Bankston (Pratt CC Unattatched) (NC)