Arnold Claims U20 National Title at 79 kg

LAS VEGAS – Incoming University of Iowa freshman Gabe Arnold won the 79 kg national title at the U.S. Open Championships on Sunday at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa.

The Hawkeyes had three additional wrestlers place in the top five. Bradley Hill was the runner-up at 125 kg, while Jace Rhodes (61 kg) and Aiden Riggins (74 kg) both placed fifth. The quartet qualify for the World Team Trials on June 2-4 in Geneva, Ohio.

Arnold had one pin and three technical falls to cruise into the semifinals. He followed with an 8-1 win over Luca Augustine of the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club to advance to the finals before claiming the title with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Rocco Welsh of Young Guns Wrestling Club.

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍@Gabe174Arnold is the U20 National Champion at 79 kg! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/ylpN7ksoqj

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) May 1, 2023

Hill advanced to the championship bout as the No. 9 seed, using three technical falls and a 13-11 decision over No. 12 seed Harley Andrews in the semifinals. In the title bout, sixth-seed Christian Carroll of the Cowboy FTC won the title with a 13-2 technical fall victory.

Rhodes opened the tournament with four straight victories, including a fall, to reach the semifinals. The Mason City, Iowa, native fell to the consolation bracket after falling to top-seeded Nic Bouzakis of Pennsylvania and he went on the place fifth with an injury default win.

Riggins took the round-about path to the podium after dropping a 4-2 decision in his opening bout of the tournament. The Janesville, Iowa, native responded with eight consecutive victories to get to the consolation semifinals. Riggins went on to finish fifth after beating Matthew Bianchi of the Arkansas RTC by an 8-4 decision.

Jace Rhodes – 61 kg – 5th Place
Jace Rhodes dec. No. 4 Zeke Seltzer (Tiger Style WC), 8-3
Jace Rhodes tech fall Chase Collins (Throbred WC), 3:29
Jace Rhodes pinned Derek Guanajuato (Arizona), 4:16
Jace Rhodes dec. No. 5 Cael Hughes (Cowboy WC), 6-3
No. 1 Nic Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) tech fall Jace Rhodes, 10-0 (1:40)
Emilio Ysaguirre, Jr. (Arizona) tech fall Jace Rhodes, 11-0 (3:41)
Jace Rhodes wins by injury default Nasir Bailey (Harvey Twisters WC)

Carter Martinson – 70 kg
Martinson tech fall Owen Hicks (Curby 3 Style WC), 12-2 (3:57)
No. 8 Nicco Ruiz (Sunkist Kids WC) tech fall Martinson, 10-0 (3:52)
Martinson tech fall Chase Kmosena (Norse WC), 10-0 (2:18)
Martinson tech fall Jayson Victoria (Livermore Elite WC), 10-0 (0:41)
Martinson dec. Trae Mcdaniel (West Point WC), 8-2
Martinson tech fall No. 9 Braden Stauffenberg (Illinois), 10-0 (5:00)
No. 5 Beau Mantanona (Coachella Valley WC) dec. Martinson, 5-2

Cade Siebrecht – 70 kg
Siebrecht dec. Charlie Fifield (Illinois), 10-2
No. 6 Paniero Johnson (Pennsylvania) tech falls Siebrecht, 12-0 (4:03)
Paul Ognissanti (Blairstown WC) dec. Siebrecht, 6-4

Aiden Riggins – 74 kg – 5th Place
William Henckel (Blairstown WC) dec. No. 5 Riggins, 4-2
No. 5 Riggins tech fall Michael Morales (Sunkist Kids), 10-0 (2:15)
No. 5 Riggins tech fall Jeb Prechtel (Maurer Coughlin WC), 10-0 (1:46)
No. 5 Riggins tech fall Carson Martinson (Iowa), 10-0 (3:20)
No. 5 Riggins tech fall Micah Hanau (West Point WC), 10-0 (1:23)
No. 5 Riggins dec. No. 9 Jed Wester (Pinnacle WC), 8-4
No. 5 Riggins pinned Jasiah Queen (New Jersey), 3:39
No. 5 Riggins won by injury default over Cameron Steed (Tiger Style WC)
No. 5 Riggins tech fall No. 11 Kyle Dutton (Arkansas RTC), 12-2 (3:22)
Nick Fea (New York) dec. No. 5 Riggins, 9-8
No. 5 Riggins dec. Matthew Bianchi (Arkansas RTC), 8-4

Carson Martinson – 74 kg
Martinson tech fall Roberto Padilla (Spartan Combat RTC), 10-0 (3:00)
No. 2 Joe Sealy (Pennsylvania) tech fall Martinson, 11-0 (2:35)
No. 5 Aiden Riggins (Iowa) tech fall Martinson, 10-0 (3:20)

Jude Link – 74 kg
Link tech fall Jeb Prechtel (Maurer Coughlin WC), 11-0 (1:32)
Link dec. Luke Ciampa (Eclipse WC), 9-6
Link dec. No. 6 Bradley Gillum (DeKalb WC), 3-1
No. 11 Kyle Dutton (Arkansas RTC) tech fall Link, 10-0 (2:02)
No. 13 Nick Hamilton (Cavalier WC) dec. Link, 9-0

Gabe Arnold – 79 kg – 1st Place
No. 3 Arnold tech fall Caesar Garza (California), 10-0 (1:59)
No. 3 Arnold pinned Austen Wetzel (Eierman Elite WC), 3:35
No. 3 Arnold tech fall Devin Wasley (Gopher WC), 10-0 (4:48)
No. 3 Arnold tech fall Ethan Riddle (Askren WA), 10-0, 4:10
No. 3 Arnold dec. Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh WC), 8-1
No. 3 Arnold dec. Rocco Welsh (Young Guns WC), 3-2

Bradley Hill – 125 kg – 2nd Place
No. 9 Hill tech fall Max Balow (Viking RTC), 10-0 (1:22)
No. 9 Hill tech fall No. 8 Alex Semenenko (New York), 10-0 (0:50)
No. 9 Hill tech fall Nathan Taylor (Lehigh Valley WC), 10-0 (3:22)
No. 9 Hill dec. No. 12 Harley Andrews (Tuttle WC), 13-11
No. 6 Christian Carroll (Cowboy RTC) tech fall No. 9 Hill, 13-2 (3:50)