From the desk of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club

The NLWC had two gold medalists, two silver medalists, and one bronze medalist at the U.S. Open National Championships in Las Vegas this past weekend.  It was an outstanding showing by the Club wrestlers!

Ben Provisor Wins Gold 

At 87 kg/191.5 lbs., NLWC Resident Athlete Ben Provisor, already a 2X Olympian and 2017 World Team member, won his third U.S. Open National Championship.  In the finals, Ben fell behind Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm) 0-6 before fighting back to take a 14-10 victory.  On his way to the finals Ben scored wins over Austin Chaon (NMU-OTS), 10-1, Robert Hammers, 8-0, and Kevin Radford (Sunkist Kids), 8-1.  

David Taylor Wins Gold

At 86 kg/189 lbs., NLWC Resident Athlete David Taylor continued his domination of this weight class.  In the gold medal match, David defeated Richard Perry (New York AC/Penn RTC), 8-0 to capture his third U.S. Open title.  On his way to the finals, David scored wins over Evan Hanson (Viking Wrestling Club), 10-0, Austin Coburn (Predator), 10-0, Noe Garcia (Roadrunner WC), 2-0, and Timothy Dudley (Sunkist Kids), 12-2.  

Jake Varner Earns Silver and Nico Megaludis Bronze

In his first competition in several years, NLWC Coach Jake Varner made an impressive showing earning a Silver Medal 125 kg/275 lbs.  Despite a significant size difference, Jake lost a close 1-3 decision to Adam Coon (NYAC/MWC) in the finals.  Jake scored four straight wins to earn the spot in the finals.  

In one of the tournament's deepest and toughest weight classes at 61 kg/134 lbs, NLWC Resident Athlete Nico Megaludis had a fine performance.  In the bronze medal match, Nico defeated Tyler Graff (TMWC), 10-0.  Nico's only loss was a 2-5 decision to eventual champion, Joe Colon (TMWC).  Nico had five other victories in his performance, knocking off several top competitors.

At 57 kg/125.5 lbs., NLWC Resident Athlete Josh Rodriquez opened his tournament with two wins before dropping a 1-2 decision to eventual champion Tony Ramos (Sunkist Kids).  Josh dropped his next match to fall short of placing.  

College Athletes Competing under the NLWC Banner

Brady Berge, competing at 70 kg/154 lbs., had an incredible tournament earning a silver medal in the UWW Junior freestyle division.  Although Brady dropped a 2-2 decision in the finals, he scored four technical falls and 8-0 shutout on his way to the championship bout.  Jarod Verkleeren also in the UWW Junior freestyle division had several good wins at 70 kg/154 lbs. but fell short of placing.   Luke Gardner, competing at 70 kg/154 lbs. in the senior division, lost his first match to eventual champion Jason Chamberlain (Titan Mercury WC), won his second match, but dropped his third bout.

Regional Training Center Competition

The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club finished as the Regional Training Center Cup runner-up in the tournament's Regional Olympic Training Center competition.  

Congratulations to all of the NLWC Wrestlers and Coaches on an outstanding performance!