LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Alec Pantaleo captured the 70kg title at the U.S. Open on Saturday evening (April 30) at the South Point Arena. It is Pantaleo’s first 2021 senior national championship.
Pantaleo earned a 3-2 win over Jordan Oliver in the championship final, taking the initial lead on a first-period passivity point before tacking on two with a slick counter go behind in the opening seconds of the second. Oliver narrowed the final score with a passivity point of his own in the second and a late stepout but was not close to anything more. Pantaleo is now 3-0 over Oliver, who won the 2020 Olympic Trials at 65kg last summer.
Pantaleo went 5-0 in the tournament. He defeated Doug Zapf, 3-2, in the semifinals with a first-period single leg and passivity point, and cruised to an 8-1 win over Ed Scott in the quarterfinals with three takedowns, including a four-point pancake early in the second. Perhaps his most interesting bout came in the first round when Pantaleo scored eight unanswered points in the second period to rally past Cal Poly’s Luka Wick, 18-10. Wick scored 10 points off Pantaleo’s attacks, including a four-point chest lock, to lead on criteria at the break, but Pantaleo answered with two takedowns and two guts to slam the door.
Alex Dieringer bounced back from an unexpected quarterfinal loss to claim third place at 79kg with a 6-1 record. Dieringer fell to Vincenzo Joseph, 7-6, on a late four-point lateral drop in the final 30 seconds of the bout before reeling off four straight wins in the consolation bracket. He earned four first-period fall in the tournament, including one in 1:39 against Taylor Lujan off a feet-to-back fireman’s carry. Dieringer also pinned Evan Wick in 1:23 with a whipover.
With their performances, Pantaleo and Dieringer have both qualified for the U.S. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, scheduled for May 21-22 in Coralville, Iowa.
