May 30 through June 1st hosted some of the best wrestling matches in 2014. Some of the best free-style wrestlers went head to head to compete for the World Team.

At 86 kg, Keith Gavin, former Pitt panther, went up against 3X NCAA champion, Ed Ruth. Ed Ruth had to wrestle Clayton Foster for the spot to wrestle the champ Keith Gavin. Ruth won the match 7-3, and was set to wrestle Gavin on the 1st of June. The match had to go the full length, best 2 out of 3 matches. Gavin won the first match 7-5. Ruth retaliated the match by Fall over Keith Gavin in the second match. For the final match between the two, with many high scoring takedowns, Ruth was named victorious with a 11-7 victory over the champ Keith Gavin and was named a World Team Member.

At 65 kg, there was a battle between Brent Metcalf and Jordan Oliver, who are both 2X NCAA Champions. Metcalf, the champ, had to wait through May 31 to see who he would wrestle the final night. Oliver wrestled Reece Humphrey for the match to wrestle Metcalf and was victorious 4-3. For the final matchup at 65 kg, Metcalf came out hard the first match with a win 4-2. The next match was no different as Metcalf still got the better of Oliver, with the win 3-0 over Oliver. Metcalf with that win will now join the elite club of  World Team Members.

The final main event of the night was the highly anticipated matchup between the 2 greats, Jordan Burroughs and David Taylor. They met not long ago at the US Open tournament where Burroughs took the match 6-4. The highly anticipated matchup was broadcasted live and viewers were set to see the matchup. Burroughs ended up taking the pretty dominant first match 6-2. Although, the second match was a different story where Taylor closed the gap on Burroughs, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Olympic champ; Burroughs won the second match and the series 6-5.  After the match, Burroughs said, “I’m going to celebrate like I do every other match, with ice cream and rainbow sprinkles.”

The World Team Trails were a great experience for the viewers and the participants as some of the younger wrestlers got a look at what an atmosphere freestyle wrestling brings to an arena.