U.S. Olympic Team Trials 2024: 5 wrestlers who stand a chance to make their Olympic debut in Paris ft. Daton Fix and Carter Starocci 

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for wrestling take place on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, at the Bryce Jordan Centre in Pennsylvania. America has already booked an Olympic quota for 13 of the events, with wrestlers from the other five still unsure about their participation in the Games.

Many experienced wrestlers including Olympic and World Champions will take to the mat, delighting crowds with their skill in a bid to make it to Paris. However, there are also a handful of underdogs who hold the capacity to pull off a surprise.

Here are five wrestlers who could make their Olympic debut after their outing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

#5 Levi Haines

Levi Haines in action

Penn State University’s star wrestler, Levi Haines, will make an attempt to qualify for his debut Games and he'll do it in his own backyard. The trials are being held at PSU, giving Haines the advantage of competing on home ground.

The youngster will attempt to qualify in the 74kgs event, a weight class which is headlined by the likes of six-time World Champion and Olympic gold-medalist Jordan Burroughs, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time World Champion Jason Nolf, as well as four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake. Haines is certainly up for the challenge, boasting an NCAA championship win himself.

#4 Aaron Brooks

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling

Aaron Brooks will be hoping to shine in the 86kg at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Like Haines, the 23-year-old Nittany Lion holds the advantage of being able to compete on home ground. Additionally, Brooks goes into the trials with his fair share of international exposure.

In 2023, the wrestler was crowned US National Champion, before he went on to win the U23 World Championships in Tirana. This Olympic year so far has seen him claim his fourth consecutive NCAA Division I wrestling championship. For the Olympic berth, one of Brooks’ biggest obstacles will be 2020 Olympic Champion David Taylor. The last time the two clashed was in June, 2023, where Taylor beat Brooks two to nothing in a best of three match.

#3 Carter Starocci

Carter Starocci will hope to perform well at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Making Brooks work for his spot in the best-of-three championship series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be his teammate Carter Starocci. The 23-year-old boasts a record of four consecutive NCAA Division I Championships, making him only the sixth wrestler in history to achieve the feat.

On the international level, the American won bronze at the 2022 Pontevedra U23 World Championships. The youngster suffered a knee injury earlier this year that forced him to forfeit the finals of the Big Ten Championships. However, he made a roaring comeback to storm to his fourth NCAA title just a few weeks later, and looks to be in good form for the trials.

#2 Nick Lee

2021 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship

Nick Lee heads into the U.S. Olympic Team Trials as the No. 1 seed in the 65 kg weight class Challenge Tournament. Lee boasts an impressive record, having won two back-to-back NCAA Division I Championships in his collegiate career at Penn State University.

Since then, the 26-year-old has gone on to win the 2023 national championships, as well as the 2024 Acapulco Pan American Championships.

#1 Daton Fix

Daton Fix in action

Daton Fix will be competing in the 57kg, which is one of the five events where America is yet to qualify for the Olympics. While the field is wide open since no wrestler has pre-qualified for a spot in the best-of-three championship series, Fix will still have his work cut out for him.

He will be facing the likes of Zane Richards and Thomas Gilman in his Challenge Tournament. If Fix were to be crowned champion at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, he would then have to prove his mettle at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Turkey, which takes place between May 9-12.