Central’s Miranda to U.S. Senior Nationals wrestling tourney
PELLA—Former Central College wrestler Jaime Miranda, a 2017 graduate, will compete in the U.S. Senior Nationals & Trials Qualifier Friday through Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The tourney serves as the primary qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Trials April 4-5 in State College, Pennsylvania.
A U.S. Marines Corp corporal, Miranda will compete for All-Marine Wrestling in the Greco-Roman division at 97 kilograms (213 pounds). The top five finishers at each weight earn a spot at the Olympic team trials. Other spots can be gained through upcoming regional qualifiers. All-Marine Wrestling is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Miranda wrestled as an undersized 285-pounder at Central, posting a 63-42 record, including a 16-9 mark in 2016-17. But Dutch coach Eric Van Kley said Miranda made dramatic improvement after dropping to a lower weight class after college and that Greco-Roman style wrestling, which rewards upper-body throws and prohibits leg attacks, is a better fit for him.
He made the transition last year and won the 87-kilograms title at the Last Chance Senior World Team Trials Qualifier at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania May 5. He advanced to the World Team Trials Challenge May 16-19 in Raleigh, North Carolina, splitting a pair of matches. He was ousted by the No. 1 seed, former World Team member Ben Provisor of the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club.
