Olympic Trials Preview: Olympic champion Snyder, World champion Cox among 97 kg stars

2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder advances to the Championship Series after winning a 2023 World bronze medal and qualifying Team USA for the Paris Games. Snyder has won a U.S. record nine-straight World and Olympic wrestling medals. With a 2020 Olympic silver medal also to his credit, Snyder seeks a third Olympic Team berth at the age of 29. Snyder was the youngest Olympic champion in U.S. wrestling history at age 20.

Snyder was an age-group star in the USA Wrestling program out of Maryland. He was also a U20 World champion as a high school junior and spent his senior year at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, training with many top Senior athletes. He went on to become a three-time NCAA champion and four-time finalist at Ohio State, while at the same time winning Senior World and Olympic medals for Team USA.  He has had a rivalry with Russia’s Olympic and World champion Abulrashid Sadulaev in some classic World and Olympic bouts, and they have great respect for each other.

Two-time World champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist J’den Cox is aiming to get the chance to battle Snyder in the Championship Series. Cox and Snyder went back and forth in matches during high school, and Snyder had a win over Cox at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Snyder beat Cox in two straight in the featured series of the SuperMatch card held alongside the 2022 NCAAs in Detroit. Cox won his World titles at 92 kg, but decided to go up to 97 kg in 2023. He was injured right before 2023 Final X and did not get to challenge Snyder.

Like Snyder, Cox has been a consistent medal winner at the World level. Cox was a three-time NCAA champion for Missouri, and after his senior year, he won the 2016 Olympic Trials at 86 kg. He then qualified the weight for the USA for the Rio Games. Since then, he has won his two World titles, plus a 2022 World silver, and 2017 and 2018 World bronzes. Cox has not competed this season, so fans are looking forward to seeing him at the Olympic Trials.

December 2023 Senior Nationals champion Kollin Moore has proven himself on the Senior level and has a strong age-group record as well. A teammate of Snyder at Ohio State and a multiple All-American, Moore was the No. 1 wrestler in the nation when COVID shut down the NCAA Championships. Moore won a 2017 U20 World bronze medal, then a 2018 U23 World silver medal. He was No. 2 on the Senior National team at both 92 kg and 97 kg. Snyder beat Moore in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials finals series. Moore is seeking to make his first Senior team be the 2024 Olympic team.

One of the top young stars in this weight class is 2013 U23 World champion Isaac Trumble, who is also No. 3 on the 2023-24 Senior National team. Trumble was second in both the 2022 and the 2023 U.S. Open. Trumble is a two-time NCAA qualifier for NC State and is on an Olympic redshirt this year. A native of Nebraska, he was a Junior Nationals All-American in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. His freestyle skills have blossomed since he joined the Wolfpack program.

2023 Bill Farrell International champion Michael Macchiavello was second in 2023 Final X at 92 kg and moved up for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Macchiavello has won two U.S. Open titles and was a 2023 Pan American Championships gold medalist. Macchiavello won an NCAA title for NC State in 2018, and quickly rose on the national freestyle scene once he focused on the Olympic style after graduation.

Nathan Jackson, a December 2023 Senior Nationals runner-up, was second in 2022 Final X at 92 kg. Jackson won a 2024 Pan American Championships gold medal. A star at Indiana, Jackson quickly moved up in freestyle, especially after he began training at the New Jersey RTC. He was second in the 2020 Senior Nationals at 86 kg and was very active on wrestling cards during the pandemic. Since moving to 97 kg, he won a silver medal at the Henri Deglane Challenge in France.

2023 U23 World bronze medalist Jonathan Aiello was third at the December 2023 Senior Nationals, which qualified him for the Olympic Trials. Like a number of the others in the field, he competed at 92 kg earlier in this Olympic cycle. He made the Senior National Team in 2022-23. A star at Virginia, Aiello was a silver medalist at the 2024 Yasar Dogu in Turkey at 97 kg.

Also qualifying through the Senior Nationals were fourth-place Eric Schultz and fifth-place Anthony Cassioppi. Schultz, who was an All-American for Nebraska, was also 2022 Bill Farrell International champion. Cassioppi won a 2021 U23 World gold and 2022 U23 World bronze competing at 125 kg. Cassioppi was a two-time Junior Triple Crown winner for Illinois as a top heavyweight in high school. He was a four-time All-American at Iowa.

The final spot in the Olympic Trials went to Oklahoma State wrestler and two-time U20 World Team member Christian Carroll, who won the Last Chance Qualifier. In 2022, he competed in the U20 Worlds in Greco-Roman, then wrestled in the 2023 U20 Worlds in freestyle. He was a Junior Nationals champion for Indiana at 220 pounds in freestyle in 2021.

While weight classes and final athlete registrations are not finalized until the completion of weigh-ins, this cast of 10 wrestlers is the expected 97 kg field for the Olympic Trials.

Fans looking to attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in person can still purchase all session tickets and single session tickets through Ticketmaster.

For those unable to grab a ticket, fear not—all the action from Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast by NBC properties, April 19-20. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions will be televised on USA Network. NBC’s streaming platform Peacock will host live streams of each mat throughout the competition.

Complete brackets and live results for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be hosted on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @usawrestling on the various social media platforms for regular updates throughout the event.

For more information about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.