Jakob Camacho, shown at the Senior Nationals final in April, competed at the U.S. World Team Trials this weekend in Nebraksa. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)
In April after winning the U.S. Senior National championship at 57 kilograms (125.6 pounds), Danbury’s Jakob Camacho didn’t hesitate when asked if he would compete in the U.S. World Trials tournament in September for a spot in the American team.
“I’ll be there,” he said. “Any (chance) to compete at the high level, I will be there.”
Camacho, the redshirt sophomore from North Carolina State, was in Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend but had to adjust his plans – giving up nearly 10 pounds to wrestle at 61 kilograms (134 pounds).
There was no challenge tournament at 57 kg since Thomas Gilman, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics in Tokyo in August, accepted the automatic berth onto the American team for the upcoming Senior World Championships in Oslo, Norway on October 2-10.
Americans who won medals at the Olympics were automatically placed on the World Championship team. Eight of the nine men and women that won medals in Tokyo accepted their bids to the U.S. team.
So, Camacho moved up a class and gave up some weight.
Camacho lost his opening round bout to Carter Young, a 5-foot-8 graduate from Stillwater High in Oklahoma, 8-6. Young, who will be a freshman at Northwestern this fall, had a 6-2 lead after one period and extended it to 8-2. Camacho finished with a flurry with four points in the final 30 seconds but it wasn’t enough to earn the win.
In the consolation round, Camacho was eliminated by a former North Carolina State wrestler Sean Fausz, 11-5. Fausz is currently a coach at Cal Poly. Fausz took control early and had a 9-2 lead after one period.
