By Tim Hands of 5 Point Move - The six brackets that will avail Greco-Roman athletes at the 2020 Olympic Trials in April are now just about full. That was the main purpose of this past weekend’s US Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, to fit into place more pieces of the Trials puzzle while also giving wrestlers who were already qualified the chance to shake off some rust. 

Most of the tournament went according to script. Four of the six top seeds took first; one second seed ran the table (Daniel Miller, 97 kg), and one top seed advanced to his final but defaulted due to short-term injury (Patrick Martinez, 87 kg). 

But wow, there were also a few pleasantly surprising storylines that dominated the entire proceedings. 

1. The Rise of Calvin Germinaro

Germinaro was not an unknown commodity, but on his side of the 67-kilogram bracket were several very heavy hitters he would have to beat in order to advance: 2006 World Champion Joe Warren, ‘19 Junior World bronze Peyton Omania, and the criminally-underrated Michael Hooker. Germinaro not only defeated the aforementioned trio, he dominated them. And then he gave Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) his best shot in the final and came up short thanks to a second-period par terre that Sancho used to score on two lifts. It was, in short, a sparkling performance for a young athlete who is just beginning to blossom. 

2. The Resurgence of Jake Fisher

There is something about an older athlete who is forced to pick his spots. Training isn’t taken for granted; neither is rest; and lessons learned from long ago are applied more completely. Nothing goes to waste. Fisher might not have been an obvious pick to make the final at 77, let alone tech Peyton Walsh and RaVaughn Perkins back-to-back on his way there, but now that it has happened, it almost makes sense. Fisher, once one of the best the US had to offer, knows how to keep it simple (turn and don’t get turned, or lift and don’t get lifted) without ever shying away from trying to create offense on the feet. Those strengths never go out of style, and apparently, neither has Fisher, who is certainly more than just a sleeper candidate in April. 

3. Sheridan/Miller Is Its Own Thing Now

Greco is home to many natural rivalries and the best one going is between Lucas Sheridan and Daniel Miller. It is too perfect; similar ages, both are athlete servicemembers (Sheridan, Army/WCAP; Miller, Marines), and both wrestled for D1 schools before becoming full-time Seniors. Yet, they only started banging heads a year ago, with Sheridan getting the better of Miller at the Open, the Trials, and last month in Sweden. Miller came out on top Saturday night thanks to a correct throw that gave him criteria. The entire rest of the match was heart-pounding stuff because it just felt like something crazy could happen at any moment. Even though it didn’t the suspense was more than enough to make it worthy of a few re-watches. 

4. Cohlton Schultz...the Bully?

Or maybe “bullied the bully” is more appropriate. In the heavyweight final, Schultz confidently plunged underhooks in against reputed bruiser Jacob Mitchell and proceeded to dominate the mat space as if leading a dance partner through the waltz. Also, Schultz on a couple of occasions bumped hard into Mitchell in an effort to clarify that he would not tuck tail when Mitchell goes for his against-the-joint overhook that has injured several opponents. Schultz winning was almost beside the point. He pinned Mitchell in May, and plus, they were both already qualified for April prior to the Nationals. This was a message-sending match. Whether he wanted to or not, Mitchell read the inscription. 

5. Everyone Was Happy for Anderson

Martinez’s injury (from which he is expected to recover in time for the US trip to Italy) provided multi-time National Team member Jon Anderson with his first Senior National title. It is almost hard to believe, since Anderson has been so good for so long. But at 35 years of age and just over a year removed after returning from deployment to Afghanistan, the Army Major got his ‘stop sign.’ It was not given for free, however. Anderson downed the surging Chandler Rogers in the semifinal to set up the would-be Martinez final. The only bummer about that match not unfolding is that they’ve done it before and delivered each time. Alas, there’s always April.