Mark Hall II among youngsters hoping to make noise at USA Wrestling Olympic Trials

IOWA CITY – The nation's top wrestling talent will descend upon Carver-Hawkeye Arena, attempting to fulfill a lifelong Olympic dream.

The field will include accomplished competitors who have won Olympic, World and NCAA championships. It will also be a chance to display some upcoming talent.

Among those young competitors is Mark Hall II, a high school senior from Apple Valley, Minn., who earned a spot at this weekend's USA Wrestling Olympic Team Trials by winning the 163-pound title at the Last Chance qualifier Saturday in Cedar Falls. The Olympic Trials will be held Saturday and Sunday, featuring men's and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Hall, 18, won his sixth Minnesota state title in February. Now, he will be in a bracket with Olympic gold medalist and reigning World champion Jordan Burroughs and U.S. Open champ Andrew Howe.

'It's all a privilege,' said Hall, noting that he wasn't the only prep to compete in the qualifier tournament. 'It's cool. Again, I'm not the only one doing this. That's the whole point of the process, the developing of wrestling in the tournament.

'There is something to be proud of coming into a tough field and winning it.'

Hall a Penn State commit, demonstrated a resolve and maturity well beyond most high school seniors. He trailed Lehigh's Santiago Martinez 8-0 before coming back to win. He also used a takedown in the final 20 seconds to beat Arizona State freshman Anthony Valencia, 5-4, in the Last Chance qualifier final.

He has continued to grow and knows a greater effort is needed against the elite bracket.

'I've got to bring my A game,' Hall said. 'I've wrestled better than I have been the folkstyle season. With the freestyle season, I'm still building. I'm enjoying the process.'

Hall had USA Wrestling coach Brandon Slay in his corner Saturday. The 163-pound class is one of the toughest weights. Hall said Slay considers it the weight of the average man and it's natural to have some of the best athletes with many competitors at the 165 to 170-pound range and coming in around 5-foot-10.

'That's why for so long the 74 (kilogram) weight class has been so tough,' Hall said. 'I'm really excited to compete with those types of guys.'

As Hall is looking to make his mark with this caliber of opponent, Kyle Snyder is attempting to defend his spot atop the U.S. rankings.

Snyder became the youngest World Champion in U.S. history at 19, claiming the 213-pound championship last September in Las Vegas. A two-time NCAA finalist, the Ohio State sophomore actually won a World title before a national title with the Buckeyes.

'Some of the people on the campus know I am a world champion,' Snyder said before he won the heavyweight title in New York City last month. 'That's pretty cool to walk in a football game or just walking around campus and people will ask for pictures and stuff like that.

'But most of the time I can just walk around and people don't know who I am, which is fine, too.'

Also in the 213—pound field is Iowa State NCAA champion Kyven Gadson, who qualified by placing at the U.S. Open. Gadson is the last U.S. wrestler to beat Snyder, pinning him for the 2015 NCAA title at 197.

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