BRAWLNAGELS Will Be at the OLYMPIC TRIALS!



Don't let their tiny size and happy demeanors fool you! These Brawlnagel twins are motivated Olympic Trials qualifiers. After his work on Friday, all Danny needed was one win on Saturday to earn a spot at the OTT. He got two forfeits. That gave him the Bronze and earned his trip to Happy Valley for the Trials. 

Thiccc Zac needed one win on Saturday to cement his ticket to the Trials, and he did it with another tech fall over Terrence Zaleski of the Marines. He finished fourth, which means he gets a trip to Happy Valley to earn a spot on the 2024 Olympic Team. 

Including Zane Richards, that'll be at least three IRTC athletes at the 2024 Olympic Trials. 

On top of that, IRTC-adjacent folk including Kamal Bey and Joe Rau earned spots at the OTT. Bey had a bye all the way to the Finals, where he faced a brash Benji Peak and stuck his shoulders to the mat. It was a sweet step-over defending a gut wrench that did the trick. Joe Rau fought his way through the tournament and lost to Alan Vera in the Finals. With a Silver, he also qualifies for the OTT. 

West Cathcart was well on his way to qualifying when he suffered an injury and had to injury default out of his first match on Saturday and then medical forfeit the second. He will have one more opportunity in March during the Last Chance Qualifier. Only the winner of that tournament gets into the Trials, and might we see Farmer and Luffman there? 

Of course, we look forward to seeing Ermak Kardanov qualify for the Olympics at the Slovakian trials in January. 

If you have a few extra dollars in your pocket, you can donate to the IRTC at this link. They're doing a great job! GO ILLINI RTC! 

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