Phil Keddy of the Hawkeye WC, shown battling Raymond Jordan at the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial, is one of six 84 kg wrestlers battling for a World Cup team berth on Sunday. Larry Slater photo

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the University of Iowa wrestling program will serve as hosts for a Freestyle National Team training camp, which will be held at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, January 5-9.

Many top Senior-level freestyle wrestlers will travel to Iowa City to train with athletes from the host Hawkeye Wrestling Club. The training camp will be conducted by National Freestyle Coach  Zeke Jones and Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay, along with University of Iowa coaches Tom and Terry Brands and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club coaches. 

As part of this camp, there will be a Special Wrestle-off for the 84 kg/185 lbs. position on the 2013 U.S. Freestyle World Cup Team on Sunday, January 6. Six nationally-ranked wrestlers have accepted invitations to compete in the Special Wrestle-off, with the winner earning the spot on the team.

The 2013 Freestyle World Cup, which is the annual international dual meet championships and is one of the most important events of the year, is scheduled for Tehran, Iran, February 21-22.

The Special Wrestle-off will be a single-elimination bracket, with two wrestlers receiving first-round byes, based upon recent competitive results.

One of the athletes who have a bye is local favorite Phil Keddy (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC), who was an All-American for Iowa. Keddy won gold medals at the Hargobind International in Canada in November and the Minnesota Storm Holiday Cup in Minnesota in December.

The other athlete who receives a bye is Austin Trotman (Boone, N.C./AppState RTC). A past All-American for Appalachian State, Trotman won a gold medal at the New York Athletic Club International in New York in November.

The other participants are Max Askren (Somers, N.Y./New York AC), Clayton Foster (Laramie, Wyo./GRIT Athletics WC), Jon Reader (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) and Tyrel Todd (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC).

Preliminary matches will be held at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. The championship match will be held at 4:40 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, just prior to the start of the Iowa vs. Purdue Big Ten dual meet, which is set for 5:00 p.m. 

The Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the University of Iowa been an active supporter of USA Wrestling’s National Teams for many years. Most recently, in December 2011, Women’s Team USA trained at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in preparation for the Olympic year.

International matches have also been included alongside previous University of Iowa wrestling dual meets. On December 2, 2011, an exhibition bout between Women’s Team USA members Leigh Jaynes and Helen Maroulis was held at halftime of the Iowa vs. Illinois dual meet. On January 7, 2012, two men’s freestyle international matches were held at halftime of the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual meet. Former Hawkeyes and Team USA stars Brent Metcalf (66 kg) and Steve Mocco (120 kg) won bouts against top foreign opponents that day.

For information on the Freestyle National Team training camp and the 84 kg World Cup Special Wrestle-off, please contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at 719-659-9637 or at gabbott@usawrestling.org

84 KG FREESTYLE WORLD CUP SPECIAL WRESTLE-OFF
At Iowa City, Iowa, January 6

Top bracket pairings
Austin Trotman (AppState RTC), bye
Tyrel Todd (New York AC) vs. Max Askren (New York AC)

Bottom bracket pairings
Jon Reader (Sunkist Kids) vs. Clayton Foster (GRIT Athletics WC)
Phil Keddy (Hawkeye WC), bye

Preliminaries at 11:00 a.m. in Dan Gable Wrestling Complex
Final match at 4:40 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena prior to Iowa vs. Purdue dual meet