Rey to compete at U.S. Olympic Trials Saturday in Iowa City
4/7/2016 3:41:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Olympic Trials home | NBC Sports Coverage
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Former Lehigh standout Zach Rey will bid to represent the United States at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when he competes in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, beginning Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa. The 2011 NCAA heavyweight champion and three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, Rey will represent the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club at 125 kg (275 lbs.) at the trials and will try and become the first Lehigh wrestler to compete at the Olympics since Bobby Weaver '83 won gold in Los Angeles in 1984.
Rey finished second to rival Tervel Dlagnev at both the 2015 U.S. Open and the World Team Trials last summer but an injury to Dlagnev allowed the Hopatcong, N.J. native and Bethlehem resident to represent the United States at last September's UWW World Championships in Las Vegas. At the World Championships, Rey dropped his first match to Alen Zaseiev of Ukraine by a 6-1 score and was not pulled into the repechage as Zaseiev failed to reach the semifinals.
So far in 2016, Rey earned a bronze medal at the Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial International in February, again losing his lone match to Zaseiev, a former World silver medalist. He also went 2-2 to finish fifth at the Yasar Dogu International in Turkey.
In addition to competing at the World Championships and finishing second at the 2015 U.S. Open and World Team Trials, Rey won the Pan American Championships in Chile last April and subbed for Dlagnev to win a gold medal at the Pan American Games last summer in Toronto. Rey also won the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba and finished third at the Alexander Medved International in Belarus in 2015.
Rey was a three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, finishing third in 2010 and second in 2012 in addition to winning Lehigh's 27th and most recent individual national championship in 2011. He posted a 116-14 career record for the Mountain Hawks and ranks third on Lehigh's career wins list.
The Olympic Team Trials will take place Saturday and Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Rey enters the tournament as the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the country behind Dlagnev. The 125 kg. weight class will be contested Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. (CT), with the best-of-three championship series slated for a 6 p.m. start.
NBC Sports will provide complete streaming video coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team trials on NBCSports.com/LiveExtra. The championship finals will air on NBC Sports Network with live coverage available on Saturday and tape delayed coverage for Sunday's finals.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Former Lehigh standout Zach Rey will bid to represent the United States at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when he competes in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, beginning Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa. The 2011 NCAA heavyweight champion and three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, Rey will represent the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club at 125 kg (275 lbs.) at the trials and will try and become the first Lehigh wrestler to compete at the Olympics since Bobby Weaver '83 won gold in Los Angeles in 1984.
Rey finished second to rival Tervel Dlagnev at both the 2015 U.S. Open and the World Team Trials last summer but an injury to Dlagnev allowed the Hopatcong, N.J. native and Bethlehem resident to represent the United States at last September's UWW World Championships in Las Vegas. At the World Championships, Rey dropped his first match to Alen Zaseiev of Ukraine by a 6-1 score and was not pulled into the repechage as Zaseiev failed to reach the semifinals.
So far in 2016, Rey earned a bronze medal at the Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial International in February, again losing his lone match to Zaseiev, a former World silver medalist. He also went 2-2 to finish fifth at the Yasar Dogu International in Turkey.
In addition to competing at the World Championships and finishing second at the 2015 U.S. Open and World Team Trials, Rey won the Pan American Championships in Chile last April and subbed for Dlagnev to win a gold medal at the Pan American Games last summer in Toronto. Rey also won the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba and finished third at the Alexander Medved International in Belarus in 2015.
Rey was a three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, finishing third in 2010 and second in 2012 in addition to winning Lehigh's 27th and most recent individual national championship in 2011. He posted a 116-14 career record for the Mountain Hawks and ranks third on Lehigh's career wins list.
The Olympic Team Trials will take place Saturday and Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Rey enters the tournament as the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the country behind Dlagnev. The 125 kg. weight class will be contested Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. (CT), with the best-of-three championship series slated for a 6 p.m. start.
NBC Sports will provide complete streaming video coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team trials on NBCSports.com/LiveExtra. The championship finals will air on NBC Sports Network with live coverage available on Saturday and tape delayed coverage for Sunday's finals.
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