Tiger Style Wrestling Readies for 2026 U.S. Open
4/22/2026 12:58:00 PM | Wrestling
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou wrestling and the Tiger Style Wrestling Club are set to have seven competitors in the 2026 U.S. Open at the Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas. Senior men's freestyle competition is scheduled for April 24-25, with the U20 division of men's freestyle scheduled for April 25-26.
Mizzou alums and members of the staff, Keegan O'Toole (79kg) and Jarrett Jacques (74kg), will hit the mats at the Senior level. The U20 competition will feature current Tigers Seth Mendoza (70kg), David Gleason (70kg), Danny Heiser (79kg) and Peyton Westpfahl (79kg). The squad in Vegas will be rounded out by Aeoden Sinclair, the lone Mizzou competitor wrestling at both the U20 and Senior levels. He is registered for 86kg in the U20 division and 92kg in the Senior division.
Senior-level US Open champions automatically qualify for Final X on June 19, with a Senior World Team spot on the line. A strong performance in the U20 division qualifies wrestlers for the U20 World Team Trials, with an Open Championship qualifying them for an automatic bye to the WTT Finals.
SENIOR DIVISION
Two-time NCAA Champion O'Toole will be making his return to official competition at the 2026 US Open. The Hartland, Wisconsin native last competed in domestic freestyle at the 2024 non-Olympic World Team Trials prior to his final collegiate season. After an NCAA runner-up finish in 2025 and time recovering from injury, O'Toole kicked off some rust at RAF 06 against Tajmuraz Salkazanov prior to the Open. O'Toole's is a two-time age-group freestyle World Champion (2021-U20, 2023-U23), and the Mizzou assistant coach is in pursuit of his first senior world team. In order to earn his spot on the world team, O'Toole must win the US Open and defeat returning world silver medalist Levi Haines, whom he beat during his senior season at Mizzou in folkstyle.
Jacques is back in the US Open yet again at 74kg. At last year's event, he made the semifinals and placed fourth. After defeating NCAA finalist Joey Blaze in the Final X true-third match, he earned a spot on the US National Team for the second time (2024, 2025). Winning four Missouri state titles for Father Tolton High School before 102 collegiate wins, Jacques now serves as the Tigers' Recruiting Coordinator while training with the Tiger Style Wrestling Club. In addition to his national teams, he also holds a win over 2023 World Champion Ismail Musukaev and has competed at both 70kg and 74kg in recent years.
U20 DIVISION
Tiger Style Wrestling Club's five U20 entrants are all currently on the Mizzou wrestling roster.
Mendoza, a native of Mokena, Illinois, closed out his first campaign in Columbia with a record of 15-5. He also tallied four ranked wins and 11 bonus point wins in his redshirt season. On the freestyle circuit, Mendoza is a two-time Fargo Nationals finalist, winning the title in 2021. Heiser and Westpfahl are both slated to make their second appearances at the U20 Open, with both competing last April before their college careers kicked off. Heiser went 12-5 in his first season in the Black and Gold, and Westpfahl went 6-6. Prior to winning his fourth Wisconsin state title, Heiser was a finalist in Fargo and placed fifth in the U17 division of the 2024 US Open. Back at 70kg, Gleason is set to make his first appearance at the Open. In addition to his 15-7 collegiate record, he also holds a Fargo Junior National Championship and top-two finishes in both freestyle and greco-roman at the 16U MOUSA Championships in 2023.
AEODEN SINCLAIR
Coming off a recent third-place finish in his first NCAA Championships, Sinclair remains unafraid of competition. He closed out his redshirt freshman campaign with a 36-2 record, including a win over National Champion Max McEnelly of Minnesota. Sinclair and McEnelly have also faced off four times in freestyle, meeting at both the U20 US Open and U20 World Team Trials last spring. Sinclair holds many freestyle accolades, including being a member of the U17 World Team in 2023 and winning a U20 Pan-American Gold in 2024. The Edgerton, Wisconsin native flipped right into freestyle competition after the collegiate season ended, toeing the line at RAF 07, where he defeated world bronze medalist Khidir Saipudinov of Bahrain. He is also scheduled to wrestle the 86kg US world team representative and World Champion last season, Zahid Valencia, at RAF 08 on April 18, 2026.
This marks the second straight year that Sinclair will compete at multiple levels. Last season, he made the finals at U20 86kg and Senior 92kg, finishing runner-up in both. The Tiger is a contender to win both weights yet again this year. He holds a win over 2018 NCAA Champion Mike Macchiavello at the US Open last year at 92kg. As of April 14, Sinclair is one of only four wrestlers competing in both U20 and Senior level freestyle.
HOW TO WATCH
The full 2026 US Open can be streamed with a FloWrestling subscription. Streaming allows access to all matches for the entirety of the tournament, which kicks off on April 22 and goes until April 26.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Wrestling) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouWrestling).
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