At the upcoming Olympic Games, wrestling will be one of the USA’s strongest suits. With a packed roster, both the men’s and the women’s have commensurate attacking prowess and are sure to give all their foes a run for their money. Among these stars, Michigan’s Mason Parris is most likely to bag a podium finish in Paris, especially considering the momentum he’s gathered in recent months. And now, Team USA once again sent out a sonorous message to its competition from another international stage.

Ahead of the Paris Games, testing the waters has become a strategic part of the country’s wrestling squad. With that in mind, the Poland Open was projected as a major stepping stone on the way to the top of the podium at the French capital, and the Americans didn’t disappoint.

Mason Parris in formidable company

An article by The Mat from yesterday reported on the USA’s exploits from Warsaw. At the PanAm Olympic Qualifiers held in March in Mexico, Dominique Parrish was one of the first wrestlers from the USA to secure her place in the national team for the Olympic Games. Retaining her dominance, the Simon Fraser University student picked up the top spot in the women’s 53kg weight class. Keeping up with her, Sarah Hildebrandt also did remarkably well in the same bracket.

New York AC’s star wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt will be competing is set to compete in the 50kg category at the Paris Games, but decided to take the opportunity in Poland to prove her mettle in the bracket above. With three technical fall victories to her name, she took a second place at yesterday’s event.

Parrish and Hildebrandt were also slated to face off against each other, but they chose not to, and the 2022 World Championships gold medalist Dominique won by forfeit as a result. The competition will continue on Friday with stars like Helen Maroulis eyeing the chance to follow up on their PanAm Championships success.

The elusive Olympic gold beckons

While the women racked up their own achievements at the Polish capital, Mason Parris has been running high himself. Earlier this month, the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club athlete added another feather to his already decorated cap as he was announced as the winner of the 125kg bracket at the 2024 UWW Ranking Series: Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial in Budapest, Hungary. Thanks to his exploits at the tournament, Parris was bestowed with the coveted USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on June 10. For good reason, Parris is feeling pretty swell as the Olympic Games inch closer every day.

His confidence was highlighted by his comment after taking over Budapest when he put his opponents on attention for the big showdown in Paris. “Hopefully it’ll be my city that day, Parris with the gold in Paris,” quipped the wrestler, evidently feeling good about his chances at the upcoming quadrennial event.What do you think Mason & Co. will put forth at the Olympics? Share your prediction with us in the comments!