Kilgore in an early round match against Venezuela’s Vivenes Urbaneja at the Pan American Championships. Photo by Jackie Branca

After losing in several of his first international tournaments with the Senior U.S. team, Dustin Kilgore has finally turned a page and is coming into his own.  Kilgore, who is taking an Olympic redshirt year from Kent State University, was crowned the Pan American Champion at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. this past weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

“He did great today. Winning a Pan Am Championship is always a goal for a wrestler and I think that was the appropriate goal for him as he improves,” said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones. “I think he’s doing a super job and developing nicely, just like we figured he would.”

Kilgore raised some eyebrows last June when he placed third in the U.S. Olympic team Trials to qualify for the Freestyle Team USA. However, at that point, he had limited freestyle achievements. He decided to push himself by training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

When Kilgore first arrived at the OTC, he jumped right into the competition, traveling with Team USA in order to gain valuable international experience. As predicted by the national team coaches, Kilgore didn’t necessarily dominate the international field right away.

“When we first got Dustin and he moved out here, we took him overseas for about a month and wrestled Azerbaijan, Kiev and in Poland. He wrestled for a full month, just to get that international experience,” said Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay. “He didn’t win any of those tournaments so he has continued to progress over time and for him to win the tournament in Cuba and win here at the Pan Ams is showing all of his time and effort he has put in and the coaching staff has put in is really paying off.”

The efforts of the coaches and Kilgore have certainly started to fruition.  Kilgore won the Cerro Pelado International tournament in Cuba, including beating Javier Cortina whom he defeated again this weekend on his way to winning the Pan American Championships.

“Dustin really wrestled well today and it was a great win coming off our tournament in Cuba,” Slay said. “He actually wrestled the Cuban (Cortina) over in the Cerra Pelado tournament and beat him there. So, coming into the Pan Ams he had the confidence he could beat him again and that was his toughest match of the day, it was his second match, and he dominated in the semi-finals and his finals match. It’s good international experience for him going into the U.S. Olympic Trials in April.”

The national team coaches are excited about Kilgore’s potential and his bright future, as is Kilgore. However, if you ask Kilgore, he says he never imagined he’d be in such a strong position heading into the April U.S. Team Trials.

“I didn’t even place at the U.S. Open and here I am ranked second in the country, it’s quite an honor,” Kilgore said after his semi-final victory over Puerto Rico’s Marcos Santos. “I never pictured myself being this far ahead in the game. Coming out here and training with the coaches, Slay, Zeke, and (Bill) Zadick, they are doing a tremendous job.”

Kilgore, who is Kent State’s first NCAA Wrestling Champion in program history, is excited about the possibility of making the Olympic team and hopes to live out his dream of going to the Olympics. Although some people may project Kilgore for the 2016 Olympics, he believes he will be ready for London this summer.

“I didn’t want to be one of those guys that takes an Olympic redshirt just to sit out a year,” Kilgore said. “I wanted to do it to compete internationally and (wrestle) as much as I could because it truly is a goal of mine to make the Olympic Team. That’s my top priority right now.”

“I want to go out there and win it. I don’t think anyone has a different goal than that. Anyone who is competing for the Olympics, you have the expectation of going in there and winning,” Kilgore added after his finals win over Yuri Alexi Maier of Argentina. 

Echoing Kilgore’s sentiments, Jones feels Dustin, is a legitimate threat to make the Olympic team bound for London. He will have some tough competition in the 96 kg/211.5 lbs. weight class, including 2011 World bronze medalist Jake Varner, but Kilgore is beginning to prove he can compete with the best. 

“He’s got a great chance at the Trials,” Jones said. “Right now, as a coach, I’m feeling really good that we’re making the 96 kg the best weight class in the world, in the United States. Everybody talks about the Russian 96 kgs. Well, don’t forget about the American 96 kilos like Dustin Kilgore, Jake Varner, J.D. Bergman, Wynn Michalak and Tommy Rowlands. I believe we’ve got an Olympic champion in that group and I think we certainly have the potential to do it.”