Texan earns trip to Olympic Games as U.S. Wrestling sets team at Dickies Arena
With tears of joy rolling down her face, Tamyra Mensah-Stock couldn’t see her friends and family.
The Katy native had just stamped her ticket to the Tokyo Games this summer with a sweep in the 68 kg weight class at the U.S. Wrestling Olympic trials at Dickies Arena Saturday night.
Several minutes after walking off the mat as a freshly-minted Olympian, Mensah-Stock was still fighting back tears as she did an in-arena interview.
She was thanking all of her supporters, her Wayland Baptist coaches, her Colorado Springs team coaches, her husband, most of all, her mom and dad and other family and friends cheering and crying along inside the arena. Finally, she was handed her eyeglasses and she quickly spotted her family in the stands.
“My support system is positively amazing. I see you guys,” the 28-year-old first-time Olympian said, her voice breaking again with emotion. “I love you guys so much.”
The crowd of about 5,000, which was about capacity for the COVID-19 pandemic limitations in place, burst into cheers as Mensah-Stock put on her glasses.
“I can’t see when I’m out there,” she later said during an interview. “I started to break down all over again [when I saw them.] I wanted to jump into their arms. It was definitely a moment of a lifetime.”
Mensah-Stock was close to advancing to the Olympics in 2016 but fell short.
“I’ve been wanting this. It gets tiring, frustrating knowing you’re capable of doing something and it has been pushed back again and a gain,” she said. “Thank God I can call myself an Olympian.”
And she said it was extra special that she had the ability to do it in her home state. The trials were supposed to have been held on Penn State’s campus in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday and Monday, but the coronavirus protocols there would have prevented family from attending the meet there from the governing board moved the trials to Texas.
“It couldn’t have been sweeter. So many of my friends and family were able to come at a drop of a dime,” Mensah-Stock said. “I had to do it for them. The fact that I was able to achieve this phenomenal goal in my home state that I miss so dearly, it’s awesome.”
She’ll be joined by five other women on the U.S team, including two returning 2016 Olympians, gold medalist Helen Maroulis, who needed a tie-breaking third match against Jenna Burkert in the 57 kg, and Adeline Gray, who won the 76 kg trials.
On the men’s side, Gable Steveson followed up his NCAA championship two weeks ago by winning the 125 kg class with a sweep over Nick Gwiazdowski.
The 20-year-old, University of Minnesota student celebrated the win with an acrobatic, roundoff into a backflip on the mat he had just competed on after being egged on by chants from the crowd. Steveson celebrated the same way after his NCAA title on March 20.
The biggest upset of the night was Kyle Dake sweeping 2012 Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Jordan Burroughs in the 74 kg division.
Women’s freestyle finals
50 kg — Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC) defeated Victoria Anthony (ASU RTC/Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-0
53 kg — Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC) def. Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-0
57 kg — Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids) def. Jenna Burkert (ARMY WCAP), 2-1
62 kg — Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) def. Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-1
68 kg — Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Kennedy Blades (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-0
76 kg — Adeline Gray (New York AC) def. Kylie Welker (Titan Mercury WC), 2-0
Men’s freestyle finals
57 kg — Thomas Gilman (TMWC/ NLWC) def. Vitali Arujau (TMWC/ Spartan Combat), 2-0
*65 kg — Jordan Oliver (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) def. Joseph McKenna (TMWC/ PENN RTC), 2-0
74 kg — Kyle Dake (TMWC/ Spartan Combat) def. Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska WTC/Sunkist Kids), 2-0
86 kg — David Taylor (TMWC/ NLWC) def. Bo Nickal (TMWC/ NLWC), 2-0
97 kg — Kyle Snyder (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC) def. Kollin Moore (TMWC/ Ohio RTC), 2-0
125 kg — Gable Steveson (Gopher Wrestling Club) def. Nick Gwiazdowski (TMWC/ Wolfpack WC), 2-0
Greco-Roman finals
60 kg — Ildar Hafizov (ARMY WCAP) def. Ryan Mango (ARMY WCAP), 2-0
67 kg — Alejandro Sancho (U.S. Army WCAP) def. Ellis Coleman (ARMY WCAP), 2-0
*77 kg — Jesse Porter (New York Athletic Club) def. Peyton Walsh (All-Marine Wrestling Team), 2-0
87 kg — John Stefanowicz (All-Marine Wrestling Team) def. Joe Rau (Titan Mercury), 2-0
97 kg — G’Angelo Hancock (Sunkist Kids) def. Braxton Amos (Wisconsin RTC), 2-0
*130 kg — Adam Coon (NYAC/CKWC) def. Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-0
*These weight classes have not yet qualified for the Olympics so these winners need to finish first or second at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria May 6-9 in order to reach Tokyo.
