Cam Caffey Wins Title to Lead Spartan Wrestling at 2022 U.S. Open

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – In his first competitive action since the NCAA Championships last month in Detroit, Michigan State wrestler Cameron Caffey used three Friday victories to earn a spot in the USMC U.S. Open's senior freestyle finals on Saturday night, while teammate Peyton Omania placed fourth in the senior Greco-Roman division Sunday Night at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Caffey's Saturday bout saw he knock off No. 1-seed Isaac Trumble to claim the 92kg freestyle championship, while Omania saw his run end with a loss in the 67kg Greco-Roman third-place match late Sunday.

Earning the No. 2-seed in the tournament earlier in the week, the four-time NCAA qualifier opened the bracket on Friday against a familiar foe, beating Michigan's Bobby Striggow (Cliff Kean Wrestling Club) by a 6-2 decision in the Round of 16. Caffey then drew Campbell's Levi Hopkins (Buies Creek Wrestling Club) in the quarterfinals, posting a 10-6 decision. In the Friday night semifinals, Caffey went up against Virginia's Michael Battista (Cavalier Wrestling Club), where the Spartan picked up a 13-1 victory by superiority in 4:11 to earn a chance for the title.

Facing fellow 2022 NCAA qualifier Isaac Trumble (Wolfpack Wrestling Club/TMWC) from N.C. State in the 92kg finals, Caffey saw himself fall behind 5-0 early in the first period but fought back to take the lead before the break and added to his lead in the second period to secure his crown with a 11-7 decision.

With the U.S. Open title, the Carbondale, Illinois native locked up the No. 1-seed in the U.S. Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Coralville, Iowa on May 21-22.

The top-seeded Omania started Saturday's preliminaries by taking on Northwestern's Justin Benjamin (Wildcat Wrestling Club), notching the 9-0 victory by superiority (3:23) over his fellow Big Ten grappler, and took down Jeremy Brockert (Interior Grappling Academy) via the 8-0 decision by superiority (0:29) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Omania dropped a decision, 8-7, to Princeton's Lenny Merkin (New York Athletic Club).

The Concord, Calif., native bounced back with a 10-0 decision against Morgan Flaharty (New York Athletic Club) on Sunday in the consolation semifinals, but fell to Northern Michigan's Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) in the third-place match, dropping the 8-0 decision by superiority (3:26) to the 2021 U23 U.S. Champion.

Caffey represented the Michigan Wrestling Club, founded by 1964 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling coach Dean Rockwell and run by the MSU coaches Roger Chandler, Chris Williams, Willie Miklus and Justin Oliver. For Omania, he represented the New York Athletic Club with Williams in his corner.

As a reminder, scoring is different in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling compared to the folkstyle wrestling that is seen at the collegiate level.

Fellow Spartans Ryan Vasbinder (Senior Freestyle at 125kg), Caleb Fish (U20 Freestyle at 74kg) and Luke Daly (U20 Freestyle at 79kg), along with 2022 signee Braden Stauffenberg (U20 Freestyle at 74kg and U20 Greco-Roman at 72kg), all wrapped up action in Las Vegas on Friday.

2022 U.S. OPEN RESULTS
Cameron Caffey (92kg) – Senior Freestyle, First Place
Round-of-16 def. Bobby Striggow (Cliff Kean Wrestling Club) – Dec., 6-2
Quarterfinal def. Levi Hopkins (Buies Creek Wrestling Club) – Dec., 10-6
Semifinal def. Michael Battista (Cavalier Wrestling Club) – Superiority, 13-1 (4:11)
Final def. Isaac Trumble (Wolfpack Wrestling Club/TMWC) – Dec., 11-7

Ryan Vasbinder (125kg) – Senior Freestyle
Round-of-32 lost to Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force RTC) – Superiority, 10-0 (0:22)
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 def. Zachary Knighton-Ward (Blue & Gold Wrestling Club) – Injury Default
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 lost to Derek White (Cliff Kean Wrestling Club) – Superiority, 10-0 (3:33)

Peyton Omania (67kg) – Senior Greco-Roman, Fourth Place
Round-of-32 – BYE
Round-of-16 def. Justin Benjamin (Wildcat Wrestling Club) – Superiority, 9-0 (3:23)
Quarterfinal def. Jeremy Brockert (Interior Grappling Academy) – Superiority, 8-0 (0:29)
Semifinal lost to Lenny Merkin (New York Athletic Club) – Dec., 8-7
Consolation Semifinal def. Morgan Flaharty (New York Athletic Club) – Decision, 10-0
Third-Place Match lost to Alston Nutter (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) – Superiority, 8-0 (3:26)

Caleb Fish (74kg) – Junior Freestyle
Round-of-64 lost to Levi Haines (M2 Training Center) – Fall (4:17)
Consolation Round-of-64 – BYE
Consolation Round-of-32 #1 def. Jeb Prechtel (Maurer Coughlin Wrestling) – Superiority, 12-2 (1:42)
Consolation Round-of-32 #2 def. Ethan Riddle (Wisconsin) – Fall (1:48)
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 def. Ty Ryan (Air Force RTC) – Dec., 7-6
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 lost to Collin McCorkle (Pennsylvania) – Dec., 9-6

Luke Daly (79kg) – Junior Freestyle
Round-of-64 def. Mannix Morgan (Bison Wrestling Club) – Dec., 5-5
Round-of-32 lost to Daniel Wask (New Jersey) – Dec., 9-6
Consolation Round-of-32 #2 def. Talmage Carman (Sanderson Wrestling Academy) – Fall (4:12)
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 lost to Cael Valencia (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) – Superiority, 10-0 (2:04)

Cam Caffey Wins Title to Lead Spartan Wrestling at 2022 U.S. Open

Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Luke Daly

Caleb Fish

Peyton Omania

Ryan Vasbinder

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