The 2025 Bill Farrell Memorial, held on Friday at the New York Athletic Club, broke open the new season of competition and provided a glimpse at some of what is available in the United States’ talent pool. Most of the American titlists were already well-known. Athletes like Randon Miranda (60 kg, NYAC), Zac Braunagel (87 kg, NYAC/Navy WC), and two-time U20 World bronze Aden Attao (130 kg, NYAC) were expected to be in the hunt for gold and, as everyone now understands, the trio prevailed in their respective weight classes.
There was also an infusion of youth. Kenny Crosby (55 kg, NMU/NTS) had entered the National consciousness two years ago and, like Attao, competed in the U23 Worlds last month in Serbia. Crosby was brilliant on Friday, this despite his having been hampered by an injured left knee. Three weight categories north was Amryn Nutter (67 kg), who in August resumed his full-time Greco-Roman journey at Northern Michigan. Nutter — younger brother of top Senior Alston Nutter (67 kg, Army/WCAP) and Aidan, who walked away from competition in ’24 — is currently considered a top-5 prospect for Team USA and he demonstrated why on Friday. He has the instincts, the technical foundation, and competitive fire that often combine to produce success on the Senior level.
But there were other athletes from the tournament on Friday whose names didn’t make the headlines even though their performances deserved more attention. This is, of course, common, hence why 5PM normally publishes sections in Monday Roundups called “Undercover Stars” in effort to acknowledge those wrestlers who shined away from the spotlight at various events. Since there has been a dearth of competition on US soil in recent years, the “Undercover Stars” segment is being isolated so as to allow the athletes and their descriptions to stand alone.
2025 Bill Farrell Memorial Undercover Stars
William Jakeway (55 kg, 3rd place) — Perhaps no other wrestler in the tournament was as committed to sticking to his guns as was Jakeway, who constantly sought two-on-ones in each match and made the tie-up work for him. It was a sound and fundamental strategy that paid off numerous times in numerous ways as he insisted on fighting for the arms in nearly every on-the-feet engagement. For bookkeeping concerns, Jakeway made a statement by winning a surprising shutout decision against ’24 Farrell silver Peter Del Gallo (Southside WC) before giving Crosby a stiff test in their semifinal. Jakeway then had to bear down to get past Del Gallo once more in the bronze round. A young wrestler who was underrated entering action on Friday, Jakeway demonstrated legitimate jumps in his game that could lead to even more coming up shortly — and his progression could also help 55 kg regain some momentum in the US come selection season.
Ned Kauffman (63 kg, Tiger WC, 3rd place) — High schooler Kauffman — 2nd at the U20 Nationals in April and Fargo three months later — was teched by eventual champ Ruslan Khamzin (UWW) in the opening round and had to take the long road to his first Senior medal (which he earned against another youngster, Brian Grabner of Interior Grappling Academy in Alaska, a super stout prospect in his own right). Kauffman showed a nifty but still developing inside-out gutwrench in the tournament and his zeal for meaningful on-the-feet attacks was hard to miss. 63 kilos looks comfortable for him, at least for now, but his body type suggests that he may easily grow into 67 by the end of the quad.
Tyler Eischens (82 kg, Tar Heel WC, 2nd place) — Feels a little too on-the-nose to throw a nod towards Eischens, but how he appeared and competed at 82 has to be discussed, particularly his scoring rampage against the terrific Fritz Schierl (Minnesota Storm). Eischens was always a natural and capable scorer, and he had an amenable counterpart in Schierl, but the former’s instincts were such that they carried him through what was expected to be a slugfest. The young man below pressed Eischens nicely, yet that is another feather in Eischens’ cap from Friday. That it took an impassioned effort from exceedingly-experienced Tornike Dzamashvili (GEO) to keep him from gold is one more. 82 fits Eischens, and his hustling, intuitive scoring are a welcomed addition to this weight category.
Aaron Dobbs (82 kg, NMU/NTS, DNP) — NMU’ers should, and better be, very encouraged by Dobbs’ time in New York. For one thing, he has become even more of a unit at 82 than before as he has filled in a bit. More important was what he did on Friday. He started off by earning a solid decision over James Foy (Minnesota Storm) and turned right around in the quarters and edged ’23 U23 World Team member Ty Cunningham (NYAC/MWC) 3-2 thanks to a sequence in which he reversed from par terre bottom. Dobbs had to battle hard to keep Cunningham off the board, which he did, and that, too, is worth mentioning because it is how tough matches are won. Dobbs gave Eischens a whole lot of work in the semis but fell to Tommy Brackett in the consolation semifinal to cap his day. Nevertheless, it was still a very strong outing for a young upper-weight who has now begun to piece it all together.
Eli Pannell (97 kg, Dubuque RTC, 2nd place) — Pannell earnestly desires reaching the top echelon and there was evidence of his efforts on Friday. In his first match, yes, he was iced by Olympian (and eventual gold) Mostafa Elders (EGY), but whatever. He wasn’t alone on that front. Match 2 saw Pannell gut out ’23 Final X runner-up Christian DuLaney (Minnesota Storm). DuLaney might have been banged up a little prior to the bout, though one might imagine such a thing wouldn’t render him any less dangerous due to his skill-set and pedigree. Pannell closed out in fine style against ’24 U23 World rep Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC). He zipped an arm throw for four, got two from a gut and, after a reset, netted two more from a land-on-top. The silver (97 kg was round-robin’ed on Friday) represented Pannell’s first relevant Greco medal, but it did more than that. He put forth a convincing case that, so long as he can train at an adequate level, he is not far behind the curve as the Olympic cycle now moves towards its second half. Plus, 97 kg in the US badly needs more sharks in the tank ASAP.
