Local wrestlers close memorable weekend at US Olympic Trials

Neither Chance Marsteller or John Stefanowicz will be competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. But the brothers still had a weekend to remember at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in State College.

The Kennard-Dale High School graduates wrestled on side-by-side mats as they began their quests on Friday morning. Marsteller, wrestling in the 86-kilogram freestyle class, and Stefanowicz, in the 87-kilogram Greco-Roman bracket, claimed victory just moments apart. They exchanged a celebratory handshake before leaving the floor at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center, their Olympic dreams still alive.

Stefanowicz, who competed in the Tokyo Games in 2021, advanced to the finals of his challenge tournament before losing to eventual Olympic qualifier Payton Jacobson. Marsteller reached the challenge tourney before dropping his last two matches of the weekend to finish fifth.

Biglerville graduate Levi Haines, less than a month removed from winning an NCAA individual championship at Penn State, went 0-2 in his first Olympic trials, losing to Nittany Lion teammate Alex Facundo and former Iowa All-American Alex Marinelli at 74 kilograms.

The men’s and women’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman disciplines all crowned champions in six weight classes on Saturday. While a majority of those winners are officially bound for the Olympics, a handful will still need a top-three finish at the Last Chance Olympic Qualifier, which will be held May 11 and 12 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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It was a big weekend for wrestlers with Penn State ties, as Nittany Lion legends Aaron Brooks and Zain Retherford were among the six men’s freestyle champions in State College. Brooks delivered the headline result of the event, knocking off reigning Olympic gold medalist and two-time defending world champion David Taylor — also a former PSU star — in the 86-kilogram championship series. Retherford, who nearly stepped away from wrestling in the winter, swept former Penn State teammate Nick Lee for the title at 65 kilograms.

Two other Olympians — Kyle Dake (74 kg) and Kyle Snyder (97 kg) are members of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Dake, a bronze medalist in Tokyo, bested PSU’s Jason Nolf for the title less than two weeks after the death of his father. The U.S. team will also feature former Michigan standout Mason Parris at 125 kilograms, while ex-Iowa star Spencer Lee (57 kg) still needs a top finish in Istanbul.

The men’s Greco-Roman champions at the Trials were Dalton Roberts (60 kg), Ellis Coleman (67), Kamal Bey (77), Jacobson (87), Josef Rau (97) and Adam Coon (130). The women’s freestyle roster includes Sarah Hildebrandt (50 kg), Dominique Parrish (53), Helen Maroulis (57), Kayla Miracle (62), Amit Elor (68) and Kennedy Blades (76). Maroulis is the first American to make three women’s freestyle Olympic teams; she won gold in 2016 and bronze in 2021.

Chasing championships: The Trials are always littered with surprises, and Stefanowicz pulled off a shocker of his own three years ago, defeating a decorated 87 kg Greco-Roman bracket and becoming the first U.S. Marine to make the Olympic wrestling team since 1992. He finished 12th in Tokyo. 

Now 32 years old, Stefanowicz knew he had his work cut out for him in a bracket that featured three former Olympians. He defeated Timothy Young 8-0 via technical fall on Friday morning, then won 3-0 over Mahmoud Sebie, a 2016 Olympian representing Egypt and the challenge tournament’s top seed. That set up a challenge finals bout with Jacobson, who took a 1-1 battle on tiebreaking criteria. Stefanowicz then beat Zachary Braunagel 2-1 in the third-place match.

Marsteller began his tournament with a 6-0 win over Evan Wick, then took a 4-2 decision against Trent Hidlay. But Zahid Valencia, who earned a bye into the challenge semifinals, kept Marsteller off the board and won 3-0 to earn a bout against Brooks (who won 7-6 before stunning Taylor). Marsteller closed his weekend with a 3-2 loss in the consolation bracket to Alex Dieringer on Saturday.

Haines’ 0-2 weekend came after he completed a 23-0 college season with a 157-pound individual title. The former Biglerville star will return to a star-studded Nittany Lions team that won’t include Brooks but might include four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci, as well as national runners-up Beau Bartlett and Mitchell Mesenbrink.

The three former York-Adams League wrestlers took vastly different paths to the Trials. Haines went 100-5 in three years at Biglerville before competing in open college tournaments as a high school senior. Marsteller was 166-0 with four PIAA titles at Kennard-Dale but saw his early college career derailed by drug addiction, which he overcame to become a two-time NCAA All-American and 2023 U.S. World Team member. Stefanowicz was 5-foot-3 and 125 pounds as a high school senior but gained seven inches and 75 pounds before taking up wrestling again while with the Marines and earning opportunities on the sport’s biggest stages.

Neither Marsteller nor Stefanowicz have immediate plans to step away from competitive wrestling. Perhaps they’ll be in the same position four years from now, and perhaps they’ll add to their achievements in the coming seasons. No matter what happens, however, neither brother will soon forget winning side-by-side as they chased their biggest dreams.