Former NDSU All American Hayden Zillmer, competing for the Minnesota Storm, has qualified for the World Team Trials at 97 KG.  Zillmer, who finished second in the US Open (and World Team Qualifier) at 98 KG Greco Roman a month ago, entered the freestyle last chance bracket along with a few other Storm wrestlers that didn’t achieve their Greco Roman World Team goals.  In the last chance qualifier, Zillmer got behind Titan Mercury’s Timmy McCall 2-0 in the first period, but battled back for a 6-4 decision.  Tied 2-2 in the second period, McCall hit a beautiful inside trip to take a 4-2 lead with two minutes remaining.  After successfully defending from underneath, Zillmer immediately hit a snatch single from neutral that turned into a feet to back exposure for four points.  With a  two point lead plus tiebreaker criteria in his back pocket, Zillmer was able to hold on for the 6-4 victory.

The Freestyle World Team trials are scheduled for June 9-10 at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  At 97 KG, Olympic champion Kyle Snyder will await the winner of the challenge tournament that will now include Zillmer.