The 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials took place over the weekend for wrestling, and many Buckeyes, current and former, competed to try to take a spot on the team this summer.
Jesse Mendez, who is fresh off his first national title last month, finished in fourth place at the 65-kg weight class after losing to former Ohio State wrestler Joey McKenna in the consolation match. Mendez had defeated McKenna in the first match of the weekend they both wrestled, sending McKenna to the consolation bracket where he would fight back for third place.
Mendez made it all the way to the semifinals before losing his first match to Zain Retherford, a former Penn State wrestler who graduated in 2018 after winning three national titles of his own. Mendez fell in a 3-2 decision. He beat Nahshon Garrett in the consolation semifinals before losing to McKenna in the third-place bout.
Three-time collegiate national champion Kyle Snyder earned a trip to his third Olympic games with two wins in a best of three fight against Isaac Trumble. Snyder was a part of the Ohio State team that won the team national championship in his 2015 freshman season when he came in second place.
In his two other trips to the Olympics, Snyder has won a gold medal in 2016 at 97 kg and a silver medal in 2021, and he will compete in the same weight division this time around.
Former Buckeye Kollin Moore and current Buckeye Nicholas Boykin both took second place in their respective brackets after Boykin defeated another former Buckeye, Tate Orndorff, in the second-place match.
Former Buckeyes Brady Koontz, Gary Traub and Fritz Schierl each also competed in the event, but each of them lost their first match of the tournament.
