LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Adam Coon captured his second straight 125kg/275-pound freestyle title at the 2019 Marine Corps U.S. Open on Saturday (April 28) at the South Point Arena. Coon headlined a contingent of five CKWC senior-level placewinners.
With his victory, Coon earned an automatic berth in the 125kg final of the U.S. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, scheduled for May 18-19 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The winner of the challenge tournament will advance to face world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski in the Final X in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 8. Coon, a 2018 world silver medalist in Greco-Roman, has already accepted his berth in that 130kg Final X bout the following Saturday, June 15, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Coon defeated Minnesota’s two-time NCAA champion Tony Nelson, 5-2, in the U.S. Open final, overcoming a one-point deficit midway through in the second period with a single-leg takedown on the edge and a late crotch lift to ice in the final 15 seconds.
Coon did not allow a point in the tournament until the finals, outscoring his four opponents on the first day by a combined 37-0 margin. After three straight technical falls in his preliminary matches, he defeated Oklahoma State’s NCAA finalist Derek White, 6-0, in the semifinals behind three stepouts, a lost challenge and go-behind takedown.
Four additional Wolverines qualified for the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament with seventh-place finishes at their respective weights. Alec Pantaleo and Logan Massa took fourth place at 70kg/154 pounds and 74kg/163 pounds, respectively. Both lost heartbreakers in their third-place matches after sacrificing late leads.
Pantaleo earned three straight techs and defeated Iowa alumni Brandon Sorensen, 5-3 on two takedowns and a stepout, before falling to eventual champion Ryan Deakin of Northwestern, 8-4, in the semifinals. Pantaleo had the go-ahead takedown taken off the board on a challenge in the second period and, forced to chase, gave up two more takedowns late. He was leading Penn State’s three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf, 6-0, with 90 seconds to go in his third-place bout but lost 10-6 after allowing a takedown and a lace and a later takedown and two guts.
Massa went 5-2 and earned notable wins over Arizona State All-American Josh Shields, 8-6, to avenge a loss from the college season and a 9-8 barn burner over former Olympian Jared Frayer. Massa rallied from a five-point deficit in the latter, using a takedown and two turns off a bow and arrow to take control late in the first period. He fell to Arizona State’s Anthony Valencia, 4-4 on criteria, after giving up a takedown with just 14 seconds remaining.
Kevin Beazley and Kanen Storr rounded out the Wolverines’ placewinners, taking fifth place at 97kg/213 pounds and 65kg/143 pounds, respectively. Beazley went 3-2 and earned a pair of technical falls, while Storr rallied from a first-round loss to post a 6-2 record. Storr defeated three straight seeded wrestlers in the wrestlebacks, including an 8-4 win against two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State with six unanswered points in the final minute.
