USA Wrestling has announced that four wrestle-offs will take place to make the 2024 Pan American Games Team. This is important as it is the next step to try and qualify weights for the Olympic Games that were unable to do so at the 2023 World Championships. After the Pan American Games, the last remaining opportunity will be the Last Chance Qualifier May 9-12.

Of note, Amit Elor will drop to 68 kg to challenge Emma Bruntil, Forrest Molinari and Mallory Velte, and Zane Richards will earn the MFS 57 kg spot as Thomas Gilman, Daton Fix, and Vito Arujau opted not to challenge Zane Richards for the spot. Read the full USA Wrestling press release below.

USA Wrestling - USA Wrestling has announced the women’s freestyle and men’s freestyle athletes who will participate in Wrestle-offs for the U.S. team that will compete at the 2023 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier.

The Wrestle-offs will be held on Saturday, Feb. 3 in Colorado, alongside the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Women’s Championships, at a site to be announced.

The winners of the Wrestle-offs will compete at the 2023 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Acupulco, Mexico, February 28 – March 1, 2024. Pan American nations may enter an athlete only at weight classes where their nation has not yet qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. The semifinals winners from the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in each weight class qualify their nation to compete at the Olympic Games at that weight class.

The United States has not qualified to compete in Paris in three weight classes in women’s freestyle (53 kg, 62 kg and 68 kg), two weight classes in men’s freestyle (57 kg, 65 kg) and all six weight classes in Greco-Roman (60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg).

USA Wrestling has published its team selection process for the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier on its website under Team Selection Criteria. https://www.themat.com/team-usa/team-selection-criteria

There will be no Wrestle-offs in Greco-Roman, as the winner of the Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, Dec. 15-17 in the six Olympic weight classes will represent the USA in Acupulco.

In men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle, the 2023 Senior World Team member in the weight classes not yet qualified will be the U.S. representative, but can be challenged by a Senior World medalist, at any weight, within the years 2019-2023. Athletes who met the qualification to challenge were required to notify USA Wrestling that they would compete in the Wrestle-off, as were the 2023 World Team members.

All of the 2023 World Team members in the five weight classes in question notified USA Wrestling that they would compete in the Wrestle-off.

According to the Selection Criteria, “if there is more than one challenger in a weight, there will be a single elimination tournament to determine who will challenge the 2023 World Team Member. There will be a best of three series between the 2023 Senior World Team Member and the challenger to determine who will earn the spot.”

At 57 kg in men’s freestyle, no qualified athletes decided to challenge 2023 World Team member Zane Richards, so Richards will compete at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Acupulco at that weight class.

At 65 kg, the other men’s freestyle weight class not yet qualified, 2023 World Team member Nick Lee will be challenged by Yianni Diakomihalis, a 2022 World silver medalist at 65 kg, in the best-of-three series.

There will be Wrestle-offs in all three of the women’s weight classes not yet qualified for Paris.

At 53 kg, 2023 World Team member Dom Parrish will be challenged by Jacarra Winchester, a 2019 World champion at 55 kg. This will be a best-of-three series between World champions, as Parrish was a 2022 World champion at 53 kg.

At 62 kg, 2023 World Team member Kayla Miracle will be challenged by two athletes. Macey Kilty, a 2023 World silver medalist at 65 kg will wrestle one match against Jennifer Page, a 2023 World bronze medalist at 59 kg. The winner of that match will face Miracle in a best-of-three series.

At 68 kg, 2023 World Team member Emma Bruntil will be challenged by three athletes. A single-elimination bracket will include Amit Elor, a 2022 and 2023 World champion at 72 kg, Forrest Molinari, a 2021 World bronze medalist at 65 kg, as well as Mallory Velte, a 2022 World bronze medalist at 65 kg. (Velte was also a 2018 World bronze medalist, which was not in the 2019-23 time frame). The winner of the bracket will face Bruntil in a best-of-three series.

Additional information on the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier Wrestle-off will be posted when available.

Schedule

10:00 AM

• Match # 1: 68 KG - Mallory Velte – Red vs Forrest Molinari – Blue
• Match # 2: 65 KG – Nick Lee – Red vs Yianni Diakomihalis – Blue

11:00 AM

• Match # 3: 62 KG - Macey Kilty – Red vs Jennifer Page – Blue
• Match # 4: 68 KG – Amit Elor – Red vs Winner Match # 1 – Blue
• Match # 5: 65 KG – Yianni Diakomihalis – Red vs Nick Lee – Blue

12:00 NOON

• Match # 6: 53 KG – Dom Parrish – Red vs Jacarra Winchester – Blue
• Match # 7: 62 KG - Kayla Mircle – Red vs Winner Match # 3 – Blue
• Match # 8: 68 KG - Emma Bruntil – Red vs Winner Match # 4 – Blue
• (IF NEEDED) Match # 9: 65 KG - Nick Lee – Red vs Yianni Diakomihalis – Blue

1:00 PM

• Match # 10: 53 KG - Jacarra Winchester – Red vs Dom Parrish – Blue
• Match # 11: 62 KG - Winner Match # 3 – Red vs Kayla Miracle – Blue
• Match # 12: 68 KG – Winner Match # 4 – Red vs Emma Bruntil – Blue

2:00 PM

• (IF NEEDED) Match # 13: 53 KG – Dom Parrish – Red vs Jacarra Winchester – Blue
• (IF NEEDED) Match # 14: 62 KG - Kayla Mircle – Red vs Winner Match # 3 – Blue
• (IF NEEDED) Match # 15: 68 KG - Emma Bruntil – Red vs Winner Match # 4 – Blue

Women’s freestyle participants

53 kg – 2023 World Team member Dom Parrish (Sunkist Kids) vs. 2019 World champion Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC)

62 kg – 2023 World Team member Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) vs. winner of the match between 2023 World silver medalist Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids) and 2023 World bronze medalist Jennifer Page (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

68 kg – 2023 World Team member Emma Bruntil (Titan Mercury WC) vs. winner of the bracket including 2022 and 2023 World champion Amit Elor (Titan Mercury WC/NYC RTC), 2021 World bronze medalist Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids) and 2022 World bronze medalist Mallory Velte (Titan Mercury WC/Beaver Dam RTC)

Men’s Freestyle participants

57 kg – 2023 World Team member Zane Richards (Titan Mercury WC/Illinois RTC), uncontested

65 kg – 2023 World Team member Nick Lee (Titan Mercury WC/NLWC) vs. 2022 World silver medalist Yianni Diakomihalis (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat)