AKRON, Ohio – There is plenty of championship-level talent in the loaded University Nationals freestyle competition this weekend.

You start with NCAA champions Kyle Dake of Cornell, Andrew Howe of Wisconsin, Quentin Wright of Penn State and Dustin Kilgore of Kent State.

And then there is Junior World champion Dom Bradley of Missouri.

And you can’t forget about NCAA runner-up finishers Andrew Long of Penn State, Mack Lewnes of Cornell, Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma and Robert Hamlin of Lehigh.

The University Nationals and FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle competition kicked off Friday at the University of Akron Field House.

Dake, Howe, Wright, Kilgore, Bradley, Long, Lewnes, Caldwell and Hamlin each advanced to the quarterfinals on the first of two days of competition in freestyle.

Dake and Howe are both in the quarters at 74 kg/163 lbs., Long is in at 63 kg/138.75 lbs., Caldwell made it at 79 kg/174 lbs., Wright, Hamlin and Lewnes reached the quarters at 84 kg/185 lbs., Kilgore advanced at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Bradley at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

The quarterfinals are set for 9 a.m. Saturday with the finals scheduled for approximately 1 p.m. in Akron.

Dake, a sophomore at Cornell, is halfway to winning four NCAA titles. Dake won the 2011 NCAA title at 149. Howe won an NCAA title in 2010 before placing third this year at 165. Howe missed much of this season with an injury. Dake and Howe would meet in the finals.

Long was a 2010 NCAA runner-up for Iowa State at 125 before placing third at the 2011 NCAAs for Penn State at 133. 

The top two finishers in each weight class in University Nationals qualify for June’s U.S. World Team Trials in Oklahoma City.

A strong field also is on display at the FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle competition.

Washington’s Jordan Rogers, the Outstanding Wrestler in the FILA Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman event on Thursday, won his first five matches Friday at 76 kg/167.5 lbs.

Nebraska’s Thomas Gilman, a prep junior and a top college prospect, went 5-0 in FILA Cadets on Friday at 54 kg/119 lbs. Gilman won Cadet Nationals in Fargo in 2010.

FILA Cadets will also resume competition on Saturday morning at 9.

FILA Cadet Nationals champions in each weight class in Akron, with the exception of 125.5 kg kg/275.5 lbs., qualify for the FILA Cadet World Championships in Szombethely, Hungary, on Aug. 25-28.

The University Nationals women’s freestyle competition is set for Saturday in Akron.