Danny Mitcheff finished in 2nd place at the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier this past weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa at the UNI Dome. Mitcheff had a tremendous tournament racking up three consecutive tech falls on his road to the finals. Mitcheff scored at least 11 points in three out of four matches, including an 11-0 technical fall over Andrew Hochstrasser, an opponent that beat Mitcheff in the semi-finals of the US Open one year ago. Mitcheff has dedicated the past few years to chasing his Olympic dream, but was halted by NC State Assistant Coach Obe Blanc in the finals. With only the champion of the tournament advancing to this week’s Olympic Trials in Iowa City, Mitcheff will be forced to be a spectator for the competition. Danny has done an outstanding job with his training and participation with the RTC and Beat The Streets Philadelphia programs. His contributions have been greatly appreciated. The Pennsylvania RTC is confident that Mitcheff’s best wrestling is still ahead of him.

Mitcheff Results:

Mitcheff over Ludwin TF 11-0

Mitcheff over Kuhn TF 11-0

Mitcheff over Hochstrasser TF 12-2

Blanc over Mitcheff TF 11-0

Canaan Bethea finished the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier with a 1-2 record. He drew a tough Josh Asper in the first round, and fell into the consolations where he picked up a solid victory over Anthony Bonaventura in the next round. His third opponent would be his final match of the tournament, as he dropped a 15-8 nail biter to Frank Richmond. Bethea went on a few scoring bursts in the match, but was unable to overcome the front-headlock turns from Richmond. Bethea’s effort was evident in his training and in his competition. After just graduating last May, his international career is only in the beginning stages. He will make the trip to Iowa City to help prepare fellow Pennsylvania RTC teammate Richard Perry for his shot at Olympic glory. Canaan is a valuable contributor to Beat The Streets Philadelphia, and is also a co-founder of Beat The Streets Trenton. Bethea is an elite human-being, on and off of the mat.

Bethea Results:

Asper over Bethea Dec 7-0

Bethea over Bonaventura Dec 9-1

Richmond over Bethea Dec 15-8