Former Cal Poly Wrestler Chase Pami Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Trials

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Former Cal Poly wrestler Chase Pami has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

A total of 115 athletes are now qualified to compete in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, scheduled for April 21-22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
 
Pami is one of 21 wrestlers who earned their spots in the field based upon results at the Men's Freestyle Olympic Trials Qualifier, held in Las Vegas, Nev., last Saturday. The top three athletes in each of the seven weight classes who had not already qualified earned their spot into the field.
 
Pami, currently training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and wrestling for Sunkist Kids, placed fifth in the 66-kilogram (145.5 pounds) weight class in freestyle wrestling Saturday.

In his final match, Pami won by decision over Joe Johnston of the Gator Wrestling Club, 4-1, 1-2 and 5-1.

Adam Hall earned the 66kg title, followed by Dustin Schlatter, Jason Chamberlain and Kevin LeValley.

Pami wrestled at Cal Poly from 2006-10 and was an NCAA Division I runner-up at 157 pounds in 2010. He closed out his Cal Poly career with a 29-7 record as a senior in the 2009-10 season and a 100-35 career mark.

Pami placed seventh in the 2009 NCAA meet and is one of 10 two-time All-American wrestlers at Cal Poly. He is one of seven Mustang wrestlers who earned second-place finishes at the Division I nationals. Two more captured titles -- Tom Kline in 1969 and Mark DiGirolamo in 1975.

Pami claimed back-to-back Pac-10 Conference titles at 157 pounds in 2008 and 2009. Only other Mustangs to claim consecutive Pac-10 championships are Eric Osborne (1987-88), Jake Gaeir (1993-94) and Boris Novachkov (2010-11).

Pami was an NCAA qualifier all four seasons at Cal Poly. He finished 27-9 as a junior, 24-6 as a sophomore and 20-13 as a freshman.

He was a two-time Nevada state champion and four-time high school All-American while wrestling at Cimarron Memorial High School in Las Vegas. He was 185-14 in his prep career.
 
The next scheduled event to provide the opportunity to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for wrestling is the U.S. Open for Greco-Roman and Women's Freestyle, to be held in Arlington, Texas, Dec. 16-17. Seven athletes in each weight class will qualify for Iowa City from this event in both styles.