Going into the 2019 World Championships, 86 KG (about 189.5 pounds) is probably the weakest spot on the US Men’s Wrestling team. I understand that this is offensive to Pat Downey, the United States’s current representative at the weight, but it’s pretty tough to argue at this point, especially with a pretty short resume when it comes to Senior level freestyle wrestling accomplishments.
That being said, going into the Olympics in 2020, it goes from being the weakest to possibly the strongest weight class. Since there are only 6 Olympic weights where there are 10 world champions in non-Olympic years, it shrinks down the possibilities of where guys can wrestle. It is guaranteed at least two former world champions, and possibly, although extremely unlikely, up to five former World Champions.
Pat Downey
First off, you have the current representative, Pat Downey. I did mention that he has not done much on the Senior Freestyle scene, but on the Junior scene, he did win a Silver Medal back in 2012 which was the best finish of any American that year. He struggled to find the right fit in college, so he was only a one-time All-American due to multiple transfers that limited his eligibility. Still, he came out with the right attitude this year and won the US Open before winning the best 2-out-of-3 falls against Nick Heflin at the World Team Trials. Nobody expected Downey to make it that far. Then, instead of having to compete at Final X, he won the spot simply by making weight as last year’s US Representative and defending World Champion, David Taylor, was injured in an exhibition match in May. Downey will represent the US team this year in Kazakhstan this year, but I can’t imagine he’s got that much more magic left in him. Still, the guy will grind, and nobody has ever questioned his self-confidence.
David Taylor
Next, let’s talk about the 2018 World Champion, David Taylor. The Magic Man has had one hell of a career as he won two Dan Hodge trophies as the best college wrestler in the country, something that has only been done three times in history. It was expected that he would go out on the international scene and dominate, but he could never quite get started as he continually ran into competition that was just slightly better than him. He started his career at 74 kg where he ran into two unbelievable talents in Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake. He was always close but could never quite overcome them. So he did the next logical thing, he gained 25 pounds of muscle and moved up to 86 kg. 2016 appeared to be his year to represent the United States at the Olympics, but there, he could not overcome future World Champion, J’Den Cox, who managed to squeak by with the sweatiest victory in US history. Again, he was denied.
But with Cox moving up to 92 kg, the path was completely clear for Taylor to take over for the United States, and he did that in 2018 by storming through the competition and winning a World Championship. Everything was lining up for him to defend his crown this year before he hurt his leg in at Beat The Streets and will take time off in order to make sure he’s 100% healthy for the Olympics next year.
J’Den Cox
I guess it only makes sense to transition to talk about J’Den Cox who has moved up to 92 kg and won a World Title last year but has stated that he will be cutting down to 86 kg for the Olympics. On top of his World Title, he has a World Bronze, Olympic Bronze, and three NCAA Titles. So yeah, he’s pretty damn good. If he can handle the weight cut well, it’s tough to say he wouldn’t be the favorite. I might have given the edge to Taylor before the injury but putting that into consideration, Cox may be the guy to beat. There is nobody with better defense than Cox, and even though this really isn’t relevant, he’s the sweatiest person I have ever seen. I will never get over how sweaty he was against Taylor a few years ago, because there were practically puddles on the mat from a six-minute match. I expect him to win another World Title this year, and the biggest question mark for him will be the weight cut, because his skills clearly make him one of the best wrestlers in the world.
Kyle Dake
Speaking of one of the best wrestlers in the world, there was no one more dominant than Kyle Dake last year. He is another World Champion, but he did it without giving up a single point at the World Championships and tech falled three out of four opponents. Oh yeah, he’s also the only man to ever win four NCAA Titles at four different weight classes. Still, I would say he is the longest of long shots. His World Championship was at 79 kg, and he has to make the decision of whether to go up to 86 kg or move down to 74 kg. I think he will go down in weight, but waiting for him down there is possibly America’s greatest wrestler of all time, Jordan Burroughs. He’s beaten David Taylor every time they have gone up against each other, and he gave J’Den Cox a run for his money despite being vastly undersized in their matchup. I wouldn’t bet against Dake, but I think it’s also likely that he doesn’t move up in weight to have this intense of competition waiting for him.
Oh, and he hasn’t even qualified to represent the United States at 79 kg, because he still has to wrestle the last man on this list.
Alex Dieringer
That’s because he still has to go up against the freight train that is Alex Dieringer. Dieringer has wrestled Dake very close in previous matchups, and he seems to be getting better and better every year. He dominated the competition to earn a chance against Dake, but things have been delayed due to Dake recovering from an injury. If he takes the spot at 79 kg, he would be the favorite to win gold at this year’s World Championships, and he’s already stated that he’s going up to 86 kg next year. He won’t go in as the favorite, but the way he’s been wrestling, he’s as dangerous as anybody in the division.
All this talk doesn’t even include former National Champions Mark Hall and Zahid Valencia who are wrapping up their college careers, former NCAA Champion Myles Martin who will now be able to focus on freestyle full time, and the possibility of Bo Nickal coming back down who may have been the scariest person in college wrestling over the last four years. Oh, and for some Iowa flair, how about Sammy Brooks, a man with a mullet that helps give him super powers? This may be the most competitive division in US Wrestling history.
But that’s all for next year. We’re less than two months away from the 2019 World Championships where the only guy that matters is PDIII. USA! USA! USA!
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