World champions Kyle Dake and David Taylor advanced to Saturday’s U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials freestyle finals as the highest-profile athletes to compete in Friday’s challenge tournaments in Fort Worth, Texas.
Dake, the 2018 and 2019 World champion at 79kg (not an Olympic weight class), easily dispatched two foes to reach an anticipated 74kg finals series with 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs on Saturday night, live on NBCSN and Peacock.
Taylor, the 2018 World champion at 86kg, won his lone match to make Saturday’s finals in that division. Taylor gets fellow former Penn State star Bo Nickal for a spot on the Olympic team.