LAS VEGAS - 2020 Olympic champion Gable Steveson was among 30 wrestlers to win the 2023 Pritchard Companies U.S. Open Championships, presented by FloWrestling, and earn a spot in Final X, presented by Tezos, on June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Team in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series at Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Steveson recorded a technical fall victory over two-time World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski in the 125 kg finals to advance to Final X. He will await the champion of the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament being held in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 20-21.
Similar to Steveson, newly crowned U.S. Open men’s freestyle champions Vitali Arujau (61 kg) and Michael Macchiavello (92 kg) do not know their Final X opponent since the U.S. did not medal at those weights at the 2022 Senior World Championships.
2016 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World champion J’den Cox and the remaining six U.S. Open champions in men’s freestyle will face a 2022 World medalist at Final X. Cox declined his initial Final X berth at 92 kg, a non-Olympic weight, after earning a silver medal at last year’s Worlds. He elected to move up to the Olympic weight of 97 kg where he will face 2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Synder.
Zane Richards (57 kg), Nick Lee (65 kg), Tyler Berger (70 kg), Jason Nolf (74 kg), Chance Marsteller (79 kg) and Aaron Brooks (86 kg) round out the latest group of Final X qualifiers in men’s freestyle.
In women’s freestyle, 2021 World bronze medalist Forrest Molinari earned her place at Final X by winning the 68 kg bracket. Molinari will face the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament winner after 2022 World champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock declined her Final X berth.
U.S. Open champions Alisha Howk (55 kg), Michaela Beck (59 kg) and Kennedy Blades (76 kg) will also face the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament winner at Final X. Blades, a 2021 U20 World champion, won by technical fall against six-time World champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Adeline Gray to win the U.S. Open.
The remaining six U.S. Open women’s freestyle champions will face a 2022 World medalist at Final X: Audrey Jimenez (50 kg), Katie Gomez (53 kg), Xochitl Mota-Pettis (57 kg), Macey Kilty (65 kg) and Joye Levendusky (72 kg).
All 10 U.S. Open Greco-Roman champions advanced to Final X, where they will face the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament winner.
2022 World Team member and three-time age-group World medalist Cohlton Schultz won by technical fall over 2018 World silver medalist Adam Coon in the 130 kg finals to win the U.S. Open.
Dalton Roberts (60 kg), Robert Perez III (67 kg), Kamal Bey (77 kg), Spencer Woods (82 kg) and Alan Vera (87 kg) each defeated an Olympian to secure their place at Final X. Brady Koontz (55 kg), Hayden Tuma (63 kg), Justus Scott (72 kg) and Josef Rau (97 kg) also earned a spot at Final X by winning U.S. Open titles.
It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.
Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023. For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny.org.
Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY, which provides a safe, positive atmosphere for student-athletes to learn the essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through wrestling.
Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.
FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcasting partner for Final X, presented by Tezos.
ORIGINAL POST - https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/May/04/Olympic-champion-Steveson-among-30-US-Open-champions-to-qualify-for-Final-X-on-June-10#:~:text=2020%20Olympic%20champion%20Gable%20Steveson,Center%20in%20Newark%2C%20New%20Jersey.