West Virginia Wrestling

WVU Staff Heads to Olympic Trials

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 8, 2016) – West Virginia University wrestling coach Sammie Henson will accompany assistant coach Nick Marable and operations assistant Clarissa Chun as the two embark on the road to Rio at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Saturday and Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

Chun will look to make her third Olympic team, while Marable is aiming for his first. The two train under Henson for Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club at the Mountaineer Regional Training Center in Morgantown.

“I look forward to having Nick and Clarissa represent the MRTC and Sunkist at the Olympic Trials,” Henson said. “This is their life, and it’s time to lay it on the line. I couldn’t prouder of the work they have put in.”

The trials will start with preliminaries through challenge tournament finals at 10 a.m. ET. Saturday morning for select men’s and women’s weight classes. Both Marable (74 kg) and Chun (48kg) will compete on Sunday, which will also start with preliminaries at 10 a.m. ET. Wrestlers who were 2015 World Medalists will automatically advance to the finals, where they will face the winner of the challenge tournament. The winners of the nine qualified weight classes will advance to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. NBC Sports Live Extra will stream four mat of preliminary matches, as well as both finals (7 p.m. ET).

A 2014 U.S. World Team member at 70 kilograms, Marable has moved up to 74 kilograms and placed third at the U.S. Open/Olympic Trials Qualifier in December. He currently ranks sixth in the nation at that weight, with 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs ranked at No.1 Coincidentally, Marable handed Burroughs his first international loss, ending Burroughs’ 69-match win streak at Yasar Dogu in 2014. As a 2015 World Medalists, Burroughs automatically advances to the finals.

Chun will look to become a three-time Olympian after winning bronze at 48 kg (105.5 lbs.) in 2012 at the London games. She previously placed fifth at Beijing in 2008. Chun is a two-time U.S. Open Champion who won gold at the 2008 World Championships. She placed third at the 2015 U.S. Open in December.

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