Hofstra Assistant Vallimont Preps For U.S. Olympic Trials With Tournament In

Courtesy: Hofstra Athletic Communications For Release: Friday, January 29, 2016

Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University Assistant Coach Dan Vallimont will continue his preparations for his participation in the 2016 USA Wrestling Olympic Trials in April when he competes in the 44th annual Yasar Dogu in , Turkey from February 5 through 7.

The international open tournament for men’s freestyle and women’s wrestling, which is sponsored by the Turkish Wrestling Federation, will be held at the Ahmet Cömert Sports Hall in Istanbul. Vallimont will begin his competition at 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, February 6.

Vallimont, who is in his fifth season as an assistant with the Pride of Hofstra, qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials by placing second at 74kg at the 2015 Bill Farrell International Tournament at the New York Athletic Club in November. The 2016 USA Wrestling Olympic Trials will be held on April 9-10 at the University of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Entering the qualifying Bill Farrell International as the 11th-ranked grappler by USA Wrestling, Vallimont posted back-to-back tech fall wins over Keejin Kim (10-0) from Korea and American Nate Carr, Jr. (11-0). In the semifinals, Vallimont would dominate 2014 U.S. World Team member Nick Marable, 8-2 to become a finalist and earn a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Vallimont was defeated in the title match by 2014 World Championship Bronze medalist, Bekzod Adburakhmanov from , 10-0.

Vallimont’s performance in the Bill Farrell International moved him up from 11th place to fourth place in the USA Wrestling Senior Men’s Freestyle rankings at 74kg. Jordan Burroughs is first in the weight class, Andrew Howe is second and Colt Sponseller is third.

Vallimont, a native of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, was a four-time NCAA qualifier for the Nittany Lions of Penn State from 2005 through 2010. He recorded a 110-36 mark during his collegiate career. A team captain in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Vallimont placed second at the 2010 NCAA Division I Championships at 165 pounds and finishing the season with a 30-9 mark. As a sophomore, he finished third at the 2008 NCAA Championships at 157 pounds and posted a 32-3 record. placed second in 2008 and third in 2009 and 2010. As a red-shirt freshman in 2006-07, he placed fourth in the Big Ten Championships and tallied a 22-12 record. Vallimont advanced to the NCAA Championships as the 12th-seed at 157 pounds and came within one win of All-America accolades. As a junior, he placed third in the Big Ten, advanced to the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds and, again, came one victory shy of All-America status, finishing with a 26-12 slate on the season.

Vallimont has continued his wrestling career while coaching the Pride and has consistently been ranked in the top 10 U.S. National Team rankings over the past several years. Vallimont was a two-time U.S. World Team Trials qualifier and finished in the top six in 2014. He was also a member of the U.S. Freestyle World Cup team that placed third in in 2014. Vallimont was a runner-up at the 2014 Memorial Tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He was also recently elected into the Morris County (NJ) Sports Hall of Fame.

Jim Sheehan Sports information Director Hofstra University