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OSU Wrestling: Four Cowboys Have a Path to the Olympics

Breaking down what it would take to see these OSU alums in the Olympics.

Published

3 years ago

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In the strange world that we’re currently living in, sports is not guaranteed. Social distancing to avoid the spread of the Corona Virus has resulted in the cancellation of a number of different athletic events and many believe it could stretch out into the summer and even include the Olympics.

But for discussion’s sake, we’re going to act as though the Olympics will take place as scheduled and break down what a few former Cowboys need to do to qualify.

So far Chandler Rogers, Daton Fix, Jordan Oliver, and Alex Dieringer have all qualified for the Olympic trials. Those trials have been postponed but if/when they’re rescheduled here’s what each of them need to do to be able to wrestle in the Olympics

Daton Fix 57 KG — Win the Olympic Trials

Fix has a spot in the Olympic trials by virtue of his World Team bid at 57 KG last year. This past weekend at the Pan Am Games in Ottawa Canada, Fix’s rival Thomas Gilman qualified the weight class for the United States by winning the tournament for the United States. This means whoever wins 57 KG at the Olympic trials will represent the United States at the Olympics.

Jordan Oliver 65 KG — Win the Olympic trials and the last chance qualifier

The only men’s freestyle Olympic weight that was not qualified for the Olympics is 65 KG.

Zain Retherford had the opportunity at the Pan Am games, but fell and did not grab the spot. This means Oliver will need to win the trials and also win the last chance Olympic qualifier to grab the final spot available for the tournament.

Alex Dieringer 86 KG — Beat David Taylor

In a regular World team cycle there are a lot more weights than the six listed above. Dieringer is more of a natural 79 KG and was forced to make a choice to either go up or down to pursue his Olympic dream. He went up and since making the move the weight has made some shifts in his favor. Kyle Dake went down to 74 KG, World Champion J’den Cox moved up to 97 KG and one of Dieringer’s few domestic losses in the past few years Zahid Valencia is now out after a failed drug test. That leaves only one guy who’s beat him of late in at the weight class with Myles Martin who Dieringer’s split with.

He’s got to beat the champ to get the spot though. Taylor dominated the weight class at the Pan Am Games and even bested Cuba’s Yurieski Torreblanca 8-0. Torreblanca beat Dieringer just about a week before this.

It’s no easy task for Dieringer, but he’ll have to knock off the World Champion if he wants a spot on the Olympic team.

Chandler Rogers 87 KG Greco — Win the Olympic trials

The United States has historically not fared as well in Greco as they have in freestyle and it’s not always been a given that they would qualify many weights for the Olympics. The U.S. had a great Pan Am games though and managed to grab some spots. Specifically 87 KG where Chandler Rogers will be competing at the Olympic trials.

So if Chandler wins the trials, then he’s headed to Tokyo to represent the United States on the Olympic team.

These are the four Oklahoma State wrestlers that have qualified for the Olympic trials. They typically have a last chance qualifier for the trials which is now postponed. Any other OSU wrestler would have to win the last chance qualifier and go on to win the trials as well if they hope to receive an Olympic bid.

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