The wrestling is finally here and the US is sending some of their best grapplers to secure a strong performance. With the Zagreb Open coming up, the tournament will be the first of the United World Wrestling Senior Ranking Tournament of 2025. Scheduled for a February 5, 2025 start, the United States will be looking to come back with a significant number of accolades from Croatia. 

After all, the team contains some of the fearsome names from the wrestling realm. The likes of Spencer Lee, Aaron Brooks, and Kyle Snyder are the ones who are expected to catch all the limelight. However, the one name that can be a surprise entry will be David Taylor’s protege, Zahid Valencia. Competing in the 86 kg category, Valencia has won 4 gold medals in the Grand Prix. 

He also won the gold at the 2022 Pan American Championships in Acapulco. While moving up in weight, Valencia also secured a third-place, bronze medal finish at the 2023 World Championships. But his career truly seemed to peak after he signed up for the Cowboys. Taking special attention towards Valencia, Taylor has been pivotal in upgrading and fine-tuning his game further. Thus, with such a powerful inclusion, the US team in Zagreb looks quite promising. 

The men’s freestyle division will be spearheaded by the 3x World Champion Kyle Snyder. He will be competing in the 97 kg category, trying to continue his merry run further. Moreover, after winning the Olympic silver, Spencer Lee has become quite a phenomenon. He will be trying to secure the top spot for the 57 kg category. Apart from the aforementioned names, the other notable inclusions in the men’s division will feature Olympic bronze medalist Aaron Brooks and world silver medalist James Green. 

And to top it all, the US delegation, consisting of 42 athletes, will also be the largest team taking part in the tournament. Meanwhile, coming back to Zahid Valencia, his performance will be closely monitored by David Taylor and the Cowboys. After all, a solid performance would lift the Cowboys’ hopes of inching closer to the NCAA title. Valencia recently weighed in on his thoughts about David Taylor getting involved with the Cowboys. 

Zahid Valencia doubles down on his take about David Taylor

When David Taylor took up the realms of the Cowboys’ coaching, a lot of questions were being asked. Taylor was replacing John Smith, who held the team together for a whopping 32 seasons. Thankfully, with each passing match, the fans became more and more assured that Oklahoma was in able hands. Emerging as a top contender for the NCAA title this season, Taylor wanted to inject some fresh faces into the mix. This was done with the sole intention of further strengthening the squad moving forward. 

One such recruit was Zahid Valencia. Formerly playing for Arizona State University, Valencia has been making waves in the NCAA wrestling realm. Now, coming from a different setup, it usually takes time for an athlete to settle into a new place. But thanks to David Taylor, Valencia had a smooth transition.

Interacting with FloWrestling on X, Valencia said, “I’m not a big ego, so it’s like, ‘Hey, I would learn, I would take anything,’ and he’s willing to help, so it’s been kind of a smooth transition.” He further threw in some of his thoughts about Taylor’s addition to the Cowboys. Valencia mentioned, “Um, nothing really new. I mean, I’ve seen him around the Olympic Center, how he is, and how he holds himself. So, it kind of flowed in nicely just coming in, you know.”

Thus, it is quite evident that the respect for David Taylor is significant from Valencia. It now remains to be seen how he fares in Zagreb and which way his career path follows from thereon.