Greco News

Monday Roundup: Ranking Points; Continental C’Ship Season

By 5PM Staff

Posted on April 19, 2021

Braxton Amos -- Photo: Richard Immel

The official 5PM Greco-Roman rankings were reset following the 2020 Unites States Olympic Team Trials earlier this month in Fort Worth, Texas. This was always the plan. However, a deviation has resulted due to the scheduling of the US Open, which takes place later this month in Coralville, Iowa.

The US Open, as is custom, is intended to serve as a qualifying tournament for September’s Senior World Team Trials. Thus far, several qualifying events have already occurred including both the ’20 Junior and U23 Nationals. For those who prefer splitting hairs, technically any and all Senior tournaments which provided a pathway to the Olympic Trials were qualifying events — because all athletes who competed in the Olympic Trials are granted automatic entry into this year’s World Team selection process.

With a Senior National tournament on the horizon, and one that will include all ten weight categories, the updated 5PM Greco-Roman rankings have no choice but to present an incomplete picture. There are only six Olympic weight classes, and many of the Trials participants from Fort Worth have indicated that they will be moving into non-Olympic (or “World”) weights. Moreover, Trials events do not traditionally offer placings below third, certainly not on a recognizable basis, plus our rankings do not take into account classification points from tournaments (for the tournaments themselves are assigned blanket values relative to placing).

Though, one recent aberration doeth exist, and is referenced in our system for this sheer purpose: the ’17 World Team Trials. That season, there was a “December Nationals” instead of an April Open, and the Trials held matches all the way down to 7th place. When our rankings system was constructed, this very tournament stood as the outlier of the quad but played a role in assigning point values to the more convoluted placings beneath National Team (i.e., athlete takes third but falls in “true second” bout; wrestlers with this distinction according to our structure are observed as having placed 4th).

— The problem? Olympic Trials point values for 5PM’s rankings are higher than for World Team selection, and cease at third place.
— The solution? Institute a ranking value for 4th place at the Olympic Trials.

*See updated chart below.

five point move greco-roman rankings, OLYMPIC TRIALS UPDATE

5PM Greco-Roman Rankings ‘Tournament Values’ chart has been updated to include a 4th-place designation for Olympic Trials events.

Thus, in the interest of providing updated rankings post-Olympic Trials — whilst also recognizing that said rankings are fluid in scope due to the impending US Open — below are tallies for the six Olympic weight categories.

Notes:

Complete rankings will be released following the US Open on FLOWrestling.
Wrestlers whose apparent retirements were witnessed at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials are still included until further notice.

60 kg

1. Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) — 35 pts
2. Ryan Mango (Army/WCAP) — 30 pts
3. Mike Fuenffinger (Army/WCAP) — 25 pts
4. Sammy Jones (NYAC/UVRTC) — 15 pts

67 kg

1. Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) — 35 pts
2. Ellis Coleman — 30 pts
3. Benji Peak (Sunkist/NTS) — 25 pts
4. Xavier Johnson (Marines) — 15 pts

77 kg

1. Jesse Porter (NYAC/NTS) — 35 pts
2. Peyton Walsh (Marines) — 30 pts
3. RaVaughn Perkins (NYAC) — 25 pts
4. Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm) — 15 pts

87 kg

1. John Stefanowicz (Marines) — 35 pts
2. Joe Rau — 30 pts
3. Patrick Martinez (NYAC) — 25 pts
4. Spencer Woods (Army/WCAP) — 15 pts

97 kg

1. G’Angelo Hancock (Sunkist) — 35 pts
2. Braxton Amos (Wisconsin RTC) — 30 pts
3. Lucas Sheridan (Army/WCAP) — 25 pts
4. Nick Boykin (Sunkist/Ohio RTC) — 15 pts

130 kg

1. Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen) — 35 pts
2. Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist) — 30 pts
3. Jacob Mitchell (Army/WCAP) — 25 pts
4. Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm) — 15 pts

Continental Championships Season Has Begun

This past weekend, the Asian Championships concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan (one week following their Olympic qualifier); this week, the Euros get underway in Warsaw; eventually, the African Championships, originally scheduled for earlier this month in Morocco, will be conducted; and at the end of the May, the Pan-Ams will come and go in Guatemala.

Asian Championships – 4/13-4/14 — Almaty, KAZ

European Championships – 4/23-4/25 — Warsaw, POL

Pan-American Championships – 5/27-5/28 — Guatemala City, GUA

Team USA at the Pan-Am Championships will be coming off of a pre-Olympic camp in Atlanta. That roster is expected to include those athletes targeted for Tokyo as well as US Open champs from the non-Olympic weight categories.