The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center had a successful showing at the 2019 Bill Farrell International, a highly competitive qualifying tournament for the Olympic Team Trials.

The highlight of the weekend was Joey McKenna’s fourth place finish at 65kg. McKenna dominated his first three opponents, including 2x NCAA Champion Dan Heil, on his way to semifinals. In the semis, McKenna dropped a close 5-3 match against eventual champion Jordan Oliver. In the third place match, McKenna battled back and forth with Evan Handerson, eventually losing an exciting 14-12 match.

PRTC resident athletes Ethan Lizak and Dan Vallimont also competed. Lizak went 1-1 at 65kg, winning his first match 10-0 in 52 seconds. Vallimont led his first match against Dylan Ness 3-0 after one period, but Ness scored seven unanswered points to win 7-3.

Lukas Richie and Tony Tolbert at 65k; Evan Barczak and Nick Incontrera at 74 kg; and Mauro Correnti at heavyweight also wrestled tough matches while representing the PRTC. Barczak is currently redshirting for Drexel University, while Richie and Incontrera are taking a grayshirt year before enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania in Fall 2020.

The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center will be in action next at the 2019 U.S. Senior Nationals & Trials Qualifier, Dec 21-22 in Ft. Worth, TX, where the top five finishers at each weight will earn a spot in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.