SOURCE: bubearcats.com

December 12, 2023

DePrez aims to qualify for 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials

VESTAL, N.Y. - Lou DePrez, who competed on the Binghamton Wrestling team from 2017-23, is returning to the mat to compete at the 2023 USA Wrestling Senior Nationals from Dec. 16-17 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The event serves as a qualifier for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

DePrez, who is representing the Bearcat Wrestling Club, will compete in the Men's Freestyle section of the competition at 97 kg. Those who finish in the top five in each weight category will earn a spot at the Olympic trials, which take place in April in State College, Pa.

This will be the first time that DePrez will compete on a wrestling mat since he suffered a season-ending injury at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 2, 2023. DePrez then went on to serve as an assistant coach for the Bearcats.

In his six seasons as a wrestler at Binghamton, DePrez enjoyed one of the most decorated careers in program history. The Hilton, N.Y., native qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships four consecutive times (2019-22), won three straight EIWA championships (2020-22), became the first two-time All-American in program history (2020-21), and was victorious in 131 matches. In 2021, he finished in eighth place at the NCAA Championships, followed by an appearance in the quarterfinals in 2022.

DePrez has also enjoyed success on the international stage. In 2018, DePrez finished ninth at the United World Wrestling Junior World Championships at 86 kg. He qualified for the event after winning both the Freestyle Junior National and the Junior World Team Trial championships earlier that year.

The Men's Freestyle preliminaries begin on Saturday at 11 a.m., leading up to the semifinals and consolations that day at 5 p.m. On Sunday, the session that includes the consolation semifinals, 3rd place, 5th place, and 7th place matches starts at 11 a.m. The championship matches begin at 2 p.m.