Spencer Lee, Jason Nolf advance to Olympic wrestling trial finals

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, April 19, 2024 | 11:11 PM

The Summer Olympic dreams of Franklin Regional graduate Spencer Lee and Kittanning grad Jason Nolf are still alive following wins Friday at the United States Olympic Trials at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.

Lee defeated fellow Franklin Regional grad Nico Megaludis, 8-0, in the quarterfinals and then dominated the No. 1 seed Zane Richards, 13-6, in the semifinals.

Lee, a three-time NCAA champion from Iowa, will face No. 2 seed Thomas Gilman in the 57 kilogram finals Saturday.

Nolf defeated Alex Marinelli, 8-2, in the quarterfinals and then knocked off the No. 1 seed in the challenge tournament, Olympic gold medalists Jordan Burroughs, 3-0, in the 74 kilogram semifinals.

The three-time NCAA champion from Penn State will meet Kyle Dake in the best-of-three finals.

Central Catholic’s Vincenzo Joseph dropped a close decision to Jarrett Jacques in the Round of 16 at 74. Joseph was a two-time NCAA champion at Penn State.

Pitt’s Demetrius Thomas defeated Trent Hillger, 11-7, in the Round of 16, but fell to Hayden Zillmer, 4-2, in the quarterfinals.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Armstrong, Central Catholic, Franklin Regional