Penn State wrestlers, commits, set for U20 US Open; here's what to expect

The freestyle wrestling season rolls on this week in Las Vegas. One weekend after a pair of former Penn State wrestlers made the U.S. Senior team, a number of current and future Nittany Lions will take the mat with hopes of taking a step toward making the U20 U.S. World team at the 2024 U.S. Open. Winners of this week’s event will sit until the final at the World trials next month in Ohio.

In full, 10 Penn State connections will compete across the 10 weight classes. They will be represented in all of them except for 65 and 125 kilograms.

How to watch, follow the action

The action begins with preliminary round bouts at 1 p.m. ET on Friday. Session two is set for 7 p.m. ET the same day. On Saturday, the quarterfinals, semifinals, and consolation bracket matches will be held as part of session three. It starts at 1 p.m. ET. And, the medal matches, including the finals, will be held at 7 p.m. ET tomorrow night. FLO Wrestling is streaming all sessions.

A link to the brackets and results can be found below.

Which Nittany Lions are participating?

57 kilograms (125.6 pounds)
Class of 2024 commit Luke Lilledahl
Class of 2025 commit Nate Desmond
–Both have a bye in the Round of 128 into the Round of 64 and are on opposite sides of the bracket.

61 kilograms (134.4 pounds)
Penn State sophomore-to-be Braeden Davis
–Has a bye into the Round of 64.

70 kilograms (154.3 pounds)
Class of 2025 commit PJ Duke
–Has a Round of 128 matchup with Morgan State freshman Joshua Greenwood.

74 kilograms (163.1 pounds)
Class of 2024 commit Joe Sealey
–Has a bye into the Round of 64.

79 kilograms (174.1 pounds)
Class of 2024 commit Zack Ryder
Class of 2025 commit Will Henckel
–Ryder faces Central Michigan freshman Mason Alessio in the Round of 64. Henckel has a bye into that round.

86 kilograms (189.5 pounds)

Penn State sophomore-to-be Josh Barr
–Has a bye into the Round of 64.

92 kilograms (202.8 pounds)
Class of 2024 commit Connor Mirasola
–This is a 64-man bracket. Mirasola faces Duke freshman Kwasi Bonsu in the Round of 32 after both got a Round of 64 bye.

97 kilograms (213.8 pounds)
Class of 2024 commit Cole Mirasola
–This is a 32-man bracket. Mirasola has a bye into the Round of 16.

What should Penn State fans be watching for at the U20 US Open?

Let’s start with the two current Penn State wrestlers who are competing. It caught our eye that Braeden Davis, last year’s 125-pound starter for the Nittany Lions, has bumped up to 61 kilograms/134.4 pounds. We’ll be interested to learn what he weighs in at, as there are two possibilities for the weight class jump. One is that he simply doesn’t want to cut weight for this event. The other is that he’s going to take a run at incumbent 133-pound starter Aaron Nagao later this year. As for Josh Barr, the freshman looked poise and strong during his dual meet opportunities this year. So, we’re curious to see how that translates to the freestyle scene.

Moving on to the high school wrestlers, Zack Ryder trained at David Taylor’s M2 facility this year instead of wrestling his senior high season. Thus, we’re curious to see what gains he made during that period of time and how it translates to this competition. As for potential winners, FLO projects 57 kilograms to be a wide open affair. Davis looks to be the favorite at 61 kilograms, while Duke is a “contender” at 70 kilograms. The outlet says Sealey is should reach the 74-kilogram finals. It calls Ryder and Henckel “threats” to take the 79 kilogram title. Flo notes Connor Mirasola will be “tough to beat” at 92 kilograms. And, it adds that his brother, Cole, “has a solid chance to win this bracket.”

Brackets and results can be found by clicking this link to visit FLO Arena.

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