Joseph McKenna (wrestler)
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Full name | Joseph Christopher McKenna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Ridgewood, New Jersey, United States | August 3, 1995|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Freestyle and folkstyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | Ohio State Buckeyes Stanford Cardinal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Pennsylvania RTC Titan Mercury Wrestling Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Brandon Slay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Joseph Christopher McKenna (born August 3, 1995 in Towaco, New Jersey) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 65 kilograms and formerly competed collegiately at 141 pounds.[1] In freestyle, he is the reigning Pan American Continental champion, claimed a bronze medal from the 2017 U23 World Championships, was the 2018 US Open National Champion (medalist at '20 and '19 US Senior Nationals), the runner–up at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials and 2021 US World Team Trials and was also the 2014 Junior World Championship runner–up.[2][3] As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three–time NCAA Division I All-American (runner–up in 2019), two–time Big Ten Conference champion and two–time Pac-12 Conference champion for the Ohio State Buckeyes (two–time AA and two–time B1G champion) and the Stanford Cardinal (AA and two–time Pac-12 Conference champion).[4]
Folkstyle career[]
High school[]
McKenna attended Blair Academy, notorious for its wrestling program, in his native New Jersey.[5] During his time as a high schooler, he went on to rack up three Prep National titles while claiming multiple titles from prestigious tournaments such as the Beast of the East and Ironman.[6] McKenna was the team captain during his last two years.[7] He also competed at Who's Number One in 2013, falling to eventual Penn State great Jason Nolf.[8] Going into his junior year (November 2013), McKenna committed to the Stanford Cardinal.[6]
College[]
Stanford University[]
After redshirting during the 2014–15 season, McKenna posted big success during his freshman year, going 19–2 during regular season with top–ranked Dean Heil being the only to beat him during this period of time.[9] The second–ranked wrestler in the country, McKenna claimed the Pac-12 Conference title and placed third at the NCAAs, only losing to Bryce Meredith in the latter and bouncing back to beat Anthony Ashnault in his last match of the season.[10] After the season, McKenna was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.[11]
As a sophomore (2016–17), McKenna posted an outstanding 26–1 record during regular season, and after claiming his second straight conference title,[12] he was upset and failed to place at the NCAAs.[13]
The Ohio State University[]
After the previous season, McKenna transferred from the Stanford University to the Ohio State University.[14] During his first season as a Buckeye (2016–17), he went 12–1 during regular season, claimed the prestigious Big Ten Conference title and placed third at the NCAAs, notably defeating MAC Conference champion from Missouri Jaydin Eierman in the third–place match.[15][16][17] In his senior year, McKenna had yet another successful regular season, claiming the Cliff Keen title and racking up a 16–2 record, before claiming his second straight B1G title and placing as the runner–up at the NCAA tournament, in his best season during college.[18] Overall, McKenna racked up a 105–11 record in two seasons for the Buckeyes and two seasons for the Cardinal.[19]
Freestyle career[]
2014–2016[]
After a second–place finish at the Junior World Championships, McKenna made his senior freestyle debut in November 2014 at the age of 19, placing fourth at the Bill Farrell Memorial International.[20][21] Afterwards, he placed third at the Brazil Cup, notably defeating future U23 World Champion from Russia Nachyn Kuular in the first round.[22] McKenna competed in multiple tournaments throughout 2015, but only placed at the 2015 Granma y Cerro Pelado, claiming the gold medal.[23] In 2016, he only competed at the Polish Open, placing third.[24]
2017–2019[]
After placing third at the 2017 Ion Cornianu & Ladislau Simon tournament in Romania,[25] he made the US U23 World Team and went on to claim a bronze medal from the U23 World Championships.[26][27] In 2018, he started off by claiming the US Open National Championship, defeating Jaydin Eierman after tech'ing his way to the finals.[28] Due to his last result, McKenna sat out in the finals of the US World Team Trials, in where he was defeated twice in a row by '16 World Champion (61kg) and four–time NCAA champion for the Buckeyes Logan Stieber.[29] To finish the year, he was defeated by three–time World Champion (61kg) from Azerbaijan Haji Aliyev at the prestigious Alexandr Medved Memorial International.[30] In 2019, McKenna failed to qualify for the US World Team Trials, but qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials after a second–place finish at the US Senior Nationals.[31]
2020–2021[]
McKenna opened up the year with a seventh–place finish at the prestigious Matteo Pellicone and a ninth–place finish Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin.[32][33] He was then scheduled to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials, however, the event was postponed as well as the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] After months of being unable to competed due to the pandemic, McKenna placed third at the US National Championships, going 7–1.[35] To open up 2021, McKenna competed in back–to–back FloWrestling events, dominating NCAA champions Nahshon Garrett and Seth Gross.[36][37] McKenna went back to competing overseas, first competing at the Ukraine Open, where he notably defeated '20 European Continental finalist from Belarus Niurgun Skriabin before falling to reigning U23 World Champion from Azerbaijan Turan Bayramov, failing to place.[38] Next, he competed at the prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series, placing third.[39]
McKenna then competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials in April 2–3, as the fifth seed, in an attempt of representing the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[40] McKenna performed outstandingly on his way to the finals, upseting fourth–seeded and '17 World Championship runner–up (70kg) James Green and top–seeded and defending US World Team Member Zain Retherford.[41] In the best–of–three finale, he was defeated by '19 US National champion Jordan Oliver twice in a row, earning hard–fought runner–up honors.[42]
As the other US Olympic Trials finalist, McKenna competed at the Pan American Continental Championships from May 27 to 30, replacing an injured Oliver.[43] He captured the crown after tech'ing all of his four opponents, most notably four–time All–American for Rutgers and representative of Puerto Rico Sebastian Rivera, helping the USA reach all ten medals in freestyle.[44] In a quick turnaround, McKenna competed at the prestigioys Poland Open on June 9.[45] After a victory over a Ukrainian opponent, McKenna suffered back–to–back losses that came in hand of the highly accomplished accomplished Vasyl Shuptar and Yianni Diakomihalis, before earning a forfeit win over Shuptar to claim the bronze.[46][47]
McKenna competed at the 2021 US World Team Trials on September 11–12, intending to represent the country at the World Championships.[48] After a back-and-forth win over Evan Henderson to make the finals, McKenna beat rival Yianni Diakomihalis in another slugfest, before being downed twice convincingly, losing the series.[49]
2022[]
To start off the year, McKenna placed fifth at the prestigious Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin, notably downing two-time World medalist Akhmed Chakaev from January 27 to 30. He then beat Kamal Begakov on February 12, at Bout at the Ballpark.[50] McKenna competed at the prestigious Yasar Dogu International on February 27, claiming a bronze medal after going 4–|, only losing to World Champion Zagir Shakhiev in a close bout.[51]
Freestyle record[]
NCAA record[]
Stats[]
References[]
- ^ "Joey McKenna". Ohio State Buckeyes. May 21, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna chooses PRTC". Pennsylvania RTC. August 26, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna Wins U.S. Open Senior Freestyle Wrestling Championship". Eleven Warriors. April 28, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna". Pennsylvania RTC. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Follow Joey McKenna, Blair — 2012-2013 Wrestling". highschoolsports.nj.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ a b Bryant, Jason (November 15, 2013). "Blair Academy's Joey McKenna signs with Stanford". The Open Mat. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna - Wrestling". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Jason Nolf and Jordan Oliver Impress at Flo's Who's #1". PA Power Wrestling. November 6, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Wrestling hopes to make history at the Pac-12 Championships". The Stanford Daily. February 25, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Athletics, Stanford. "Pair of Stanford wrestlers earn All-American honors at NCAA meet". paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "This Year in Pac-12 Wrestling | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Athletics, Stanford. "Stanford's McKenna wins another Pac-12 wrestling title". paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "McKenna, Collica, Martin upset on Day 1 of NCAAs". InterMat. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "McKenna transferring from Stanford to Ohio State". InterMat. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week After Upsetting No. 2 Kevin Jack". Eleven Warriors. February 20, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Isaiah Martinez Wins Historic Fourth Big Ten Title". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Rabinowitz, Bill. "Ohio State wrestling | Transfer Joey McKenna finishes third in NCAAs". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Joey McKenna". Ohio State Buckeyes. May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Joseph McKenna (Ohio State) Profile | WrestleStat". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Bryant, Jason (August 9, 2014). "Khadjiev wins France's first-ever gold, Americans McKenna, Snyder win medals at Junior Worlds". The Open Mat. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Guillotine1 (November 10, 2014). "Bill Farrell International Open – Freestyle". The Guillotine. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ tim. "Russia and America Split Freestyle Titles at Brazil Cup as Japan Controls Greco-Roman". United World Wrestling. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "El «Gimnasta» salvó la honrilla". www.juventudrebelde.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Final X Preview: Joey McKenna vs. Logan Stieber, 65 kg men's freestyle". teamusa.org. June 14, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "ION CORNIANU & LADISLAU SIMON, BUCHAREST – ROMANIA | Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club". Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Buckeye Wrestler Joey McKenna Earns Spot on the U23 World Team With Win at Team Trials in Minnesota". Eleven Warriors. October 8, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Wrestling: Buckeye Joey McKenna Earns 65kg Bronze at U23 World Championship in Poland". Eleven Warriors. November 26, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Dake, Ramos, Colon score big wins at U.S. Open". InterMat. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Logan Stieber Tops Fellow Buckeye Joey McKenna at Final X, Joins Kyle Snyder on World Team". Eleven Warriors. June 16, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Six U.S. National Team members receive draws for Medved International in Belarus". teamusa.org. September 13, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Joey McKenna Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Trials; Places Second at Senior Nationals". Pennsylvania RTC. December 23, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Matteo Pellicone – Results Recap". tech-fall.com. January 19, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Nine Americans set to compete at Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia". teamusa.org. January 22, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Scott, Roxanna. "USA Wrestling postpones Olympic trials due to coronavirus concerns". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Hanson, Austin. "Eierman finishes fifth at USA Wrestling Senior Nationals". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Mensah-Stock downs Gray, Cox makes return in Flo event". InterMat. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Taylor holds off Burroughs in FloWrestling event". InterMat. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Anthony qualifies for repechage at Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial; McKenna eliminated with 2–1 record". teamusa.org. February 26, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Six U.S. men's freestylers are going for gold at Matteo Pellicone in Italy, with two more in bronze-medal bouts". teamusa.org. March 7, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Miller, Zach. "Wrestling: Men's freestyle seeds announced for U.S. Olympic Trials". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ NJ.com, Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for (April 3, 2021). "N.J. native Joey McKenna upsets Zain Retherford, reaches U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials finals". nj. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Gallo, Ed (April 16, 2021). "Wrestling breakdown: How Jordan Oliver shut down Joey McKenna to win the US Olympic Trials". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Duckworth, Seth (May 18, 2021). "Update: Jordan Oliver Will Not Compete at Senior Pan American Championships". Pistols Firing. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Eric. "USA Claims Eight Gold Medals for Team Title on Last Day of #WrestleGuatemala". United World Wrestling. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Eric. "Poland Open Entries (June 9-13)". United World Wrestling. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ "Gwiazdowski and Diakomihalis advance to the Poland Open finals, while three Americans will wrestle for bronze". teamusa.org. June 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Diakomihalis takes gold, Gwiazdowski silver and McKenna and Jackson earn bronze as men's freestyle concludes at Poland Open". teamusa.org. June 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Who's Registered For World Team Trials So Far? - FloWrestling". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ "Diakomihalis Earns Spot On Senior National Team, Will Represent USA At World Championships". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ Goodwin, Cody. "Iowa wrestling secures decisive 23-9 win over Oklahoma State at the Bout at the Ballpark". Hawk Central. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "BURROUGHS CLAIMS RANKING SERIES GOLD, FOUR OTHERS EARN PODIUM SPOTS AT YASAR DOGU IN TURKEY". teamusa.org. February 27, 2022.
- Living people
- 1995 births
- People from Ridgewood, New Jersey
- American male sport wrestlers
- Pan American Wrestling Championships medalists
- Stanford University alumni
- Stanford Cardinal wrestlers
- Ohio State University alumni
- Ohio State Buckeyes wrestlers
- Blair Academy alumni