AKRON, Ohio — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Alec Pantaleo earned Outstanding Wrestler honors in recognition of his dominant run en route to the 70kg/154-pound freestyle title at the USA Wrestling U23 World Team Trials on Sunday (June 2) at the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House.
Pantaleo posted a perfect 7-0 record and outscored his two-day opposition by a 69-2 margin, and swept Lehigh’s Jimmy Hoffman, 7-1, 11-0, in the best-of-three finals. After a quiet start and a bit of a scare when he slightly rolled his ankle, Pantaleo hit a throw by and a gut wrench to open scoring late in the first period in the first bout against Hoffman. He added a penalty point and another takedown in the second.
Pantaleo cruised in the second finals match to complete the sweep, picking up his sixth technical-superiority — and fifth shutout — win of the tournament with a knee pick, a pair of guts and a penalty in the first, and double-leg and go-behind takedowns in the second to end the bout with 12 seconds to spare.
Pantaleo, who transitioned to the CKWC after wrapping his collegiate career as a three-time NCAA All-American in March, qualified for a world team for the second time in four years. He previously represented the United States at the 2016 Junior World Championships.
The U23 Senior World Championships is slated for Oct. 28-Nov. 3 in Budapest, Hungary.
Three current Michigan RTC wrestlers also earned top-five finishes in the freestyle division. Fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow claimed fourth place at 92kg/202 pounds with a 6-2 record, while junior Drew Mattin and senior/junior Kanen Storr took fifth place at 61kg/134 pounds and 65kg/143 pounds, respectively. Mattin also posted a 6-2 mark, while Storr went 5-2.
Storr was on the wrong end of some controversial calls in both of his losses, most notably a 3-2 defeat in the semifinals to eventual champion Jaydin Eierman of Missouri. Storr took the lead with a takedown midway through the second period — that could have been for four points — but ultimately lost on a subsequent stepout.
Pantaleo is the second Wolverine to make a world team this spring, joining sophomore Mason Parris, who qualified for the junior freestyle squad last month. Adam Coon, a 2018 world silver medalist, will look to reclaim his Greco-Roman world team spot at Final X: Lincoln in two weeks.
