The Tigers sent a small contingent to the US Open and had an overall solid performance between age level and senior level. They had four competing under the Tiger Style wrestling club and then a handful of recruits and incoming wrestlers competing for their clubs. Here are some of the big takeaways I got after watching.
- Aeoden Sinclair is a stud and looks like a title contender.
- Future and present prospects highlighted at U20 57kg.
- Jarrett Jacques continues to be a consistent force in freestyle.
- Incoming freshmen had some mixed results.
Let’s dive in.
- Aeoden Sinclair is a stud and looks like a title contender.
To me, Aeoden Sinclair was the story of the tournament for the Tigers. Not only was he entered at U20’s and Seniors, but at two different weights and made the finals in each. He started at 92kg in Seniors, where he had impressive wins over Cam Caffey and Mike Macchiavello to make the finals. Caffey was a 2023 grad of Michigan State and a 5x NCAA qualifier who was a consistent podium contender at 197. Macchiavello was a 2018 grad of NC State who won a national title at 197 his senior year, he has also been a relevant contender nationally in freestyle. In both matches Sinclair displayed excellent handfighting, matching physicality and defense in a tactical match.
He did all that after weighing in at 195lbs, nearly 8lbs lighter than the 92kg cutoff. The next day he had his seniors finals match, but had to weigh in at 86kg that morning. He also had two matches that day, getting a 30 second tech about 30 minutes before his finals match. He took on Trent Hidlay in the finals, a full size 92kg and 4x All-American/2x finalist for NC State. Again Sinclair showed impressive physicality, as Hidlay is known to have a bullying style with forward pressure.
After a long two days, Sinclair made weight for his third consecutive day of wrestling in U20’s. After a quick tech in the semis he took on Minnesota’s Max McEnelly, the top freshman last season who finished 3rd at 184lbs. It was a tight match, with both wrestlers getting passivity points. McEnelly had a takedown that gave him the lead, but Sinclair scored one of his own with just :12 left. They gave him a surprisingly short amount of time in par terre, and McEnelly clutched up to get a takedown nearly at the buzzer.
