Okinawa-based Marine Corps wrestler Jacob Clark defeated two Army World Class Athlete Program opponents on his way to capturing the 185-pound Greco-Roman weight class and qualifying for a berth on Team USA in the USA Wrestling world team trials last Sunday at Sioux City, Iowa.

Clark and the U.S. team are currently at the Senior Pan American championships, which began Thursday and ends Sunday at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

In earning his berth, Clark superior decisioned Chas Betts of St. Michael, Minn., 3-3, 7-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, then beat the Army’s Brad Ahearn 5-3, 1-1 in the semifinals. That put him into the best-of-three championship against Aaron Sieracki, who like Ahearn is based at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Sieracki edged Clark in the first bout, 1-1, 1-1, by scoring the last point in each period. Clark rallied to beat Sieracki in the next two bouts, 5-0, 4-0 and 3-2, 1-1.

It’s the latest in a growing line of achievements for Clark, who earned a title in the USA Wrestling national championship on April 15 at Las Vegas, dethroning three-time defending champion Brad Vering to capture the 185-pound gold medal.

Clark, a transportation management specialist assigned to Okinawa’s Camp Foster, has trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs since January. The 26-year-old from St. Paul, Minn., is a nine-time All-Armed Forces medalist, having won freestyle gold and Greco Roman silver in the All-Armed Forces championships in March at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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