Fresno State Athletics
Chamberlain wins World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
5/20/2018 6:00:00 PM | Wrestling
Fresno State Wrestling assistant coach and Valley Regional Training Center athlete Jason Chamberlain won the 70 kg. weight class at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Rochester, Minn.
In the only best-of-three series that went to three matches, U.S. Open champion Jason Chamberlain took the first and third matches against 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro (Titan Mercury).
The two have met four times in the last three weeks as they also went head-to-head in the U.S. Open semifinals with Chamberlain taking a 4-3 decision.
In Sunday's series, Chamberlain won the first bout, 4-1, but Molinaro forced it to a third match, when he picked up a decisive 7-1 win. In the third match, Chamberlain walked away with a 2-1 win to earn a bid to Final X in Lincoln, Neb., where two-time World medalist James Green is awaiting him.
"[Molinaro] is tough. He's a tough competitor and I look forward to these battles," Chamberlain said. "I think I'm battle tested. I'm ready to go when it comes down to it. I think most of the time my teammates will say I play games in the room harder than anyone else. When I wrestle I never show that aggression and physicality, but I know I have it, and matches like that are when you have it and just be more physical than the other guy."
70 kg: Jason Chamberlain (Titan Mercury) def. Frank Molinaro (Titan Mercury), two matches to one
Bout one – Chamberlain dec. Molinaro, 4-1
Bout two – Molinaro dec. Chamberlain, 7-1
Bout three – Chamberlain dec. Molinaro, 2-1
Two other Valley RTC athletes competed at the WTT Challenge Tournament as Nikko Reyes competed at 92 kg. and Blaize Cabell wrestled at 97 kg. Reyes won his opening match over Cody Walters (TMWC), 4-2 and Cabell won his first match as well downing Braden Atwood (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 8-5.
Both Valley athletes then fell in the semifinals as Reyes fell to eventual champion Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota Storm), 10-0 while Cabell also lost to eventual champion Kyven Gadson (Sinkist Kids Wrestling Club), 4-0.
Current Bulldog student-athlete Danny Salas also wrestled in Minnesota this weekend taking part in the UWW Junior World Team Trials on Friday winning his quarterfinal matchup over Lucas Davison (Chicago RTC), 5-1 before falling in the semifinals to John Borst (SERTC-VT), 10-0.
Chamberlain and fellow U.S. Open champion Joe Colon now advance to wrestle in Final X with a bid to the 2018 World Championships (Oct. 20-28)Â in Budapest on the line. Chamberlain will take on James Green on June 9 in Lincoln, Neb., while Colon will face Nashon Garrett in Bethlehem, Pa. on June 23.
Fresno State Wrestling is hosting a Spring Training Camp this coming Friday through Sunday, May 25-27, where campers will have an opportunity to learn from all of these elite-level wrestlers. Register HERE!
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