Penn State’s Aaron Brooks defeated fellow former Nittany Lion David Taylor on Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center to earn spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic wrestling team.
Brooks’ victory came in the final session of the two-day U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center, where he and three other Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members won their weight classes to claim spots on the team. Five more NLWC members won places on the U.S. National Team.
After winning the first bout of the 86 kg men’s freestyle final on Saturday morning, Brooks, a month removed from finishing his Penn State career with a fourth NCAA title, took down the Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Taylor 3-1 in round 2 to claim the best-of-three series and book his trip to the Summer Games in Paris.
Brooks joined fellow NLWC members Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder in earning Olympic berths on Saturday night. Dake swept former Nittany Lion Jason Nolf in the 74 kg final and Snyder defeated Isaac Trumble for the 97 kg title.
Zain Retherford earned a U.S. Olympic Team spot earlier in the day by winning the 65 kg final against another former Nittany Lion, Nick Lee. Because the U.S. has not yet qualified the weight, Retherford will need to finish in the top three at the the last World Qualification Tournament in Istanbul next month to be able to compete in Paris Summer Games.
By finishing in the top three, Taylor, Nolf and Lee, along with Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink and NLWC member Thomas Gilman secured spots on the U.S. National Team.
How It Happened
74 kg: Kyle Dake vs. Jason Nolf
After taking the first round against his NLWC teammate in Session III, top-seeded Kyle Dake completed the series sweep against Jason Nolf.
The two wrestlers remained on their feet for the entirety of the first half. Nolf was docked for passivity, giving the lead to Dake before the half ended. At the end of the first half, Dake led 1-0. Nolf was hit with passivity again, awarding Dake another point. Dake pushed Nolf out of the circle, growing his lead to 3-0. Nolf got in on a single-leg takedown with minimal time left but was only awarded one point for pushing Dake out of the circle. Dake won 3-1 and improved his career record over Nolf to 8-0. With the series sweep of Nolf, Dake will represent the United States in the 74 kg weight class in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
86 kg: David Taylor vs. Aaron Brooks
The first-round matchup between the two Penn State alumni and NLWC teammates left an entire arena in shock. Aaron Brooks defeated David Taylor 4-1 in Session III, and the two went to battle again in Session IV.
Taylor was the aggressor to start the match as he had multiple shot attempts within the first few seconds. Brooks got on the board first with a caution for hands in the face by Taylor. Shortly after, Brooks secured a takedown to extend his lead to 3-0. The score remained the same heading into the second half. Taylor got in on a single leg shot but was unable to come up with any points. Brooks got hit with passivity and gave a point to Taylor. Brooks held on to win 3-1 and defeated Taylor to earn his representation for the United States in the 86 kg weight class.
97 kg: Kyle Snyder
The last NLWC member needed to book their trip to Paris was Kyle Snyder as he took on Isaac Trumble of Wolfpack RTC. Snyder won the first matchup in Session III 5-0.
Snyder was the attacking wrestler to start, pushing Trumble out and gaining a point. Snyder gained a second point along the edge of the mat to go up 2-0 quickly. As time ran out, the score remained the same going into the second half. Snyder got in deep on a double leg takedown but only scored one point for pushing Trumble out of bounds, extending his lead to 3-0 with 2:30 left in the match. Trumble got put on a passivity clock and eventually conceded a point, making Snyder’s advantage 4-0. Snyder got in on a shallow ankle pick but didn’t secure any points as it was well defended by Trumble. The clock ran out, securing Snyder the series sweep and the honor to represent the United States in the 97 kg weight class in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What’s Next?
All of the winners from the weight classes today aside from 57 kg and 65 kg are set to travel to Paris and compete for Olympic glory Aug. 5-11. Spencer Lee of the 57 kg class and Retherford will travel to Turkey in May to qualify their weight classes for the United States.
