RALEIGH, N.C. — South Dakota State University wrestler Tanner Sloan is scheduled to compete for a spot on the United States national team at this weekend’s UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials. Competition begins at 10 a.m. Eastern Time Friday at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State University campus and runs through Saturday.
The champion in each of the 10 weight classes will earn the right to represent the United States at the 2019 Junior World Championships Aug. 12-18 in Tallinn, Estonia. The junior division features wrestlers ages 17-20.
A native of Alburnett, Iowa, Sloan will compete in the 97-kilogram division as a member of the Jackrabbit Wrestling Club. He earned a berth in the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials after posting a 4-1 record and runner-up finish at the 2019 Marine Corps U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada, in late April. The junior competition is being held in conjunction with the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, featuring top Olympic hopefuls in the three Olympic disciplines of men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle.
Sloan redshirted during the 2018-19 season for the Jackrabbits, but posted a 24-2 record in open tournaments, including a runner-up finish in the 197-pound weight class at the 2018 Midlands Championships.
Coverage of the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials and World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will be available online through FloWrestling.org (subscription required).