The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Alec Pantaleo, Alex Dieringer and Mason Parris will compete at the 2021 U.S. World Team Trials this weekend (Sat-Sun., Sept. 11-12) at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Action starts at 10 a.m. CDT each day, while the best-of-three finals are slated for 2 p.m. CDT on Sunday.

The World Team Trials will feature six men’s freestyle weight classes — 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg. Four of five Tokyo Olympic medalists in men’s freestyle have accepted their spot on the world team, as permitted by the World Team Trials qualifying procedures.

Pantaleo (70kg), Dieringer (79kg) and Parris (125kg) all earned the No. 2 pre-seed at their respective weights. Seeds will be finalized after weigh-ins on Saturday.

The trials champion in men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman will represent Team USA at the 2021 Senior World Championships on Oct. 2-10 in Oslo, Norway.

When to Catch Them

Each day will feature two sessions in all weights and styles. Preliminary, quarterfinal and consolation rounds commence at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, followed by the challenge tournament semifinals at 5:30 p.m. CT. Sunday’s action includes the challenge tournament consolation and third-place matches at 10 a.m. CDT, while the best-of-three championship series starts at 2:30 p.m. CDT.

Saturday, Sept. 11
Session I: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Challenge Tournament: preliminaries, quarterfinals and consolation)
Session II: 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Challenge Tournament: semifinals and consolations)

Sunday, Sept. 12
Session III: 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Challenge Tournament: consolations, 3rd place)
Session IV: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. (Final: best-of-three championship series)

*All times Central

How to Catch the Action

All matches will be streamed live and archived on Flowrestling.com.

Tickets are still available for the World Team Trials, both all-session passes and single-day passes, and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com.

The CKWC Representatives

Alec Pantaleo — Pantaleo is the No. 2 seed at 70kg. Currently the No. 1 70kg wrestler in the UWW world rankings, Pantaleo has claimed three international golds at the weight this year — at the Matteo Pellicone, Pan American Championships and Poland Open. He owns the most recent matchup against top-seeded James Green with a 5-3 win in the Poland Open final. A three-time NCAA All-American at Michigan, Pantaleo has previously represented the United States at the Junior and U23 World Championships.

Alex Dieringer — Dieringer is the No. 2 seed at 79kg freestyle. A three-time NCAA champion, four-time All-American and Hodge Trophy winner during his collegiate career at Oklahoma State, Dieringer joined the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club in 2020. An injury kept him out of competition, including the Olympic Trials, since last fall. He won the 2019 U.S. Open titles at 79kg before taking second to two-time world champion Kyle Dake in the Final X series for the world team spot. He is a four-time U.S. Senior National Team member, previously taking third at the 2017 and 2018 World Team Trials and 2016 Olympic Trials.

Mason Parris — Parris is the No. 2 seed at 125kg freestyle. He split matches with the top-seeded Nick Gwiazdowski at the RTC Cup last December, sacrificing an eight-point lead in the first bout before bouncing back with a 10-7 decision to clinch the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s win in the event’s semifinals. Parris captured the U.S. Senior Nationals title at 125kg last October and was a 2019 junior world champion in his first ever international event, pinning Iran’s Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (1:20) in the final. Parris placed third at the Olympic Trials in April after claiming NCAA runner-up honors at heavyweight, falling to Minnesota’s Gable Steveson in the final. Parris’ only losses over the last two collegiate seasons have been to Steveson, who also captured Olympic 125kg gold in Tokyo in August.