MU Mizzou Wrestler Ben Askren Earns No. 1 Seed at U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials - Page 2

bowener · 06-11-2008, 03:30 PM

Pretty cool deal! He is a nice guy too, so its nice to see guys like him do so well. His 'little' brother is ranked 5th for his weight class.

Quote:

Ben Askren Earns No. 1 Seed at U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials
Three Tiger Grapplers Compete For Spot on Olympic Team

June 11, 2008

Columbia, Mo. -Missouri's two-time National Champion Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) was awarded the No. 1 seed in the 74 kg freestyle weight class in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, June 13-15, Las Vegas, Nev. Joining Askren in the freestyle competition are former Missouri wrestler Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.), seeded sixth in the 84 kg weight class, and current Tiger grappler Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis), seeded fifth in the 96 kg bracket.

The trio will compete for a coveted spot on the Olympic team, Sunday, June 15, in the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the lace University of Nevada. Wrestling will begin at Noon (CT) with NBCOlympics.com providing a live webcast of the championship finals beginning at 7 p.m. (CT). A two-hour tape delayed broadcast of the event will air Sunday, June 22, at 11 a.m. (CT) on MSNBC.

Askren, a four-time All-American who claimed the 174 pound NCAA Division I Wrestling title his junior (2006) and senior (2007) seasons enters the all-day tournament after taking top honors at the U.S. Nationals, April 26. Askren earned the title after besting Tyrone Lewis (Gator Wrestling Club), 3-0 and 3-2. Lewis enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed. In his last run through the Olympic Trials, 2004, Askren finished fifth in the 84 kg weight class, defeating 2001 World Silver Medalist Brandon Eggum, 6-2.

Two-time All-American Pell is making his first appearance at the Olympic Trials and will face Tyrel Todd (New York Athletic Club), the No. 11 seed, in his opening round match. Pell, a current assistant coach with the UVA wrestling team, finished sixth at the U.S. Nationals. To Pell's name, the former Tiger wrestler finished third at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala in the summer of 2005. Pell earned All-America honors in 2005 at 184 pounds and 2007 at 165 pounds.

Current junior Maxwell Askren enters the Olympic Trials as the No. 5 seed at 96 kg. Askren earned his first All-America honor after taking seventh in the 197-pound weight class at the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Five weeks later, Askren finished sixth at the U.S. Nationals. Askren lost the fifth-place match to Damion Hahn (New York Athletic Club), his opening round opponent at the Trials June 15, by a score of 7-0, 3-0. Askren was a member of the 2006 FILA Junior World Team, and wrestled at 211.5 pounds.

Both Askrens will be wrestling for Sunkist Kids and are one of five sets of brothers competing in the Olympic Trials.

Link here.