FINAL TALLY: 4 IRTC Wrestlers at Final X!

The ILLINI Regional Training Center put three athletes into Final X, and Zane Richards will also be there wrestling for the third spot on the World Team. This was a brilliant tournament for the IRTC! On the Greco side, the only wrestler to lose a semifinal match was West Cathcart, and his loss was to fellow IRTC big Tanner Farmer. 

On the Freestyle side, Zane Richards lost in the semis, but he won two matches on the back side to earn third place. Because there is a world medalist at this weight, he will get a chance to earn true second (and a spot on the world team) at Final X in a showdown with Jacob Camacho. 

Final X, for some reason, is divided between Stillwater, Oklahoma (June 3) and New York City (June 8). The IRTC has wrestlers who will be competing in both of these venues. Kamal Bey will wrestle in New York, while Max Nowry and Tanner Farmer will wrestle in Stillwater.

Here's some getting-to-Final-X action:

MAX NOWRY

When it is said that Max Nowry is a veteran, that is based on fact. He has been representing the United States since first joining a Junior World team in 2008. 

 

In the image above, you see what happens to an opponent who gets a shrug-by from Nowry. I don't think I've ever seen a shrug-by send a wrestler eight yards over the mat. It took Max under two minutes to secure the takedown, add on three gut wrenches and get his hand raised against the long drink of water known as Drew West. Now, it's on to Final X! 

KAMAL BEY

Kamal won in the quarters and on Sunday faced Jesse Porter of the NYAC. This was a revenge match for Bey, as Porter beat him at the US Open via uncalled leg foul. (Even though it was reviewed!). 

This was the winning sequence for the IRTC athlete. Porter was placed down for passivity. Kamal went for a reverse lift, but Porter sprang to his feet before it was locked. Bey ended up with a front headlock and tried a head pinch, but Porter slipped out and got behind him. Then, it was Kamal's turn to slip out, gain the hold you see and score the most important takedown of the match. The final was 6-3 for the good guy. 

TANNER FARMER & WEST CATHCART

The final semi involving IRTC athletes included both Tanner Farmer and West Cathcart. They had to face off against each other, brother versus brother. The winner gets a trip to Final X. 

The winner would be Farmer by a 5-0 margin according to Flo, but in actual real life, it was a fall for Farmer. Cathcart was placed down by the ref, while Farmer used a modified method to obtain his lock and started pulling Cathcart over. At one point--you can see it in the picture above--there was some question about whether Cathcart would be able to step over and secure a pin. It was Tanner Farmer, though, who powered through that position and gained the pinfall. 

They had a good brother versus brother hug afterwards. 

ZANE RICHARDS

Zane had to win twice on the day to secure the bronze medal. He won both matches. Since he never got to face the second-place finisher, Jacob Camacho, there will be a true third-place match wrestled between the two at Final X. This was confirmed to me by the IRTC in a tweet, and in the name of all things holy, it is the right thing to do. 

Zane was on the offensive in the match against Ramos until he got the lead. Ramos made the mistake of trying the Delgado Funk Roll in Freestyle. Zane did the veteran thing and whipped him to his back. The picture above shows the two of them going at it, and it shows Coach Medlin wearing my favorite hat. How'd he get that? The final score was close, as Ramos took the lead with about :30 left. But then Zane went back on the offense and got a quick takedown to secure the win. 

OVERALL

If my numbers are correct, the IRTC brought six wrestlers to the World Team Trials, and four of them will have matches at Final X. One of the other wrestlers didn't quite make it because he ran into his teammate in the semifinals. 

That is brilliant! 

Max Nowry will be a huge favorite to win his best-of-three matches against Brady Koontz of Ohio State at 55kg in Greco. These guys have a long history together that includes a 2-0 sweep by Nowry (3-0; 11-5) at the 2019 Final X. 

Kamal Bey will be wrestling the four seed from WTTs, as that fourth seed, Britton Holmes of Army (WCAP), upset the number one seed RaVaughn Perkins of NYAC. Bey will also be a solid favorite. 

Tanner Farmer will be the underdog against Cohlton Schultz, but as a late-comer to the sport, he keeps adding skills all the time, and he has a very positive attitude right now. The two met at Senior Nationals in 2020, with Schultz coming out the 4-3 winner. Schultz widened the gap to 5-0 in 2021, so it will be up to Tanner to make the adjustments.

Zane Richards will be a favorite in his true third-place match against Jacob Camacho. 

DONATIONS

My minnow-sized donations maybe buy a meal or two for the athletes while they're at an event. I do the best I can. Can you help? If so, here's the link. 

If not, maybe golf is your thing? You can take in the next IRTC Golf Outing, which is July 30th at Lake of the Woods Golf Course in Mahomet. 

Top image credit to IRTC; remaining images credit to FloWrestling.com.