Kyle Dake became the third Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestler to win a U.S. Open title and advance to Final X, defeating Parker Keckeisen 8-2 in the 86-kilogram final.
Dake controlled the championship bout from the opening minute. He scored two quick takedowns in the first period, jumping out to a 4-0 lead just 24 seconds into the match. After a passivity point pushed the advantage to 5-0, Dake carried firm control into the break.
Keckeisen continued to battle in the second period, but Dake answered with another two-point score at the 2:13 mark. Keckeisen added points late, but Dake closed out the match with another score in the final minute and finished off an 8-2 decision.
The gold-medal performance capped a strong tournament run for Dake. He opened with a 33-second fall over Jackson Sapp in the round of 32, then followed with an 11-0 technical fall over Joshua Cordio in just 1:05. Dake beat Cade DeVos 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Aeoden Sinclair 6-1 in the semifinals before handling Keckeisen in the final.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Earlier in the night, NLWC teammates Luke Lilledahl and Marcus Blaze also captured U.S. Open titles. Lilledahl won the 57-kilogram title with a buzzer-beating 5-4 victory over Spencer Lee, while Blaze defeated Ben Davino 4-1 to win at 61 kilograms.
With Dake’s title, the NLWC finished the night with three Senior freestyle champions advancing to Final X.
