Returning champions Eros Correa and Cam F. Awesome got off to strong starts, winning their opening bouts convincingly and setting up intriguing semifinal fights, on the opening day of the US Boxing Olympic Trials on Monday in Reno, NV.

Correa, who won the light flyweight division in 2012, scored a unanimous decision over Aarkeyse Higdon at flyweight. He advances to the winnerÂ’s bracket semifinals where he will face 2015 Pan American Games champion Antonio Vargas. Vargas defeated Khalid Twaiti, 3-0, to move on.

Like Correa, Awesome scored a unanimous decision in his opener at heavyweight, taking down Adrian Taylor. Awesome moves on to face Joshua Temple in the semifinals. Temple, the reigning national champion, stopped Hakim Lopez by TKO.

In arguably the most anticipated match-up of the first round, Jaron Ennis earned a split-decision victory over Gary Russell at light welterweight. The loss puts Russell in a somewhat familiar position coming out of the challengerÂ’s bracket. 

In 2007, his older brother, Gary Russell Jr., lost to Roberto Marroquin in the first round – his first loss to an American in eight years – before rebounding to win the bantamweight division. Only Russell Jr., Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather have ever lost in the first round and come back to win the Trials.

Day 1 Results

Light Flyweight (108 lbs.)

• Nico Hernandez (Wichita, KS) dec. DÂ’Angelo Sandate (Thornton, CO), 3-0
  
• Leroy Davila (Princeton, NJ) dec. Rondarrius Hunter (Atlanta, GA), 3-0
  
• Nicholas Scaturicho (Hartsdale, NY) dec. Pablo Ramirez (Weslaco, TX), 2-1
  
• Adrian Servin (Phoenix, AZ) dec. Melik Elliston (Denver, CO), 2-1
  

Flyweight (114 lbs.)

• Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, FL) dec. Khalid Twaiti (Brooklyn, NY), 3-0
  
• Christian Carto (Deptford, NJ) dec. Jay Crenshaw (Houston, TX), 3-0
  
• Eros Correa (San Jose, CA) dec. Aarkeyse Higdon (Lansing, MI), 3-0
  
• Brent Venegas III (Sacramento, CA) dec. Gilbert Renteria (Houston, TX), 3-0
  

Bantamweight (123 lbs.)

• Efren Lopez (Fresno, CA) dec. Duke Ragan (Cincinnati, OH), 3-0
  
• Ruben Villa (Salinas, CA) dec. Irvin Gonzalez (Worcester, MA), 3-0
  
• Shakur Stevenson (Newark, NJ) dec. Mikhail Montgomery (Macon, GA), 3-0
  

Lightweight (132 lbs.)

• Elijah Pierce (Oklahoma City, OK) dec. Bruce Carrington (Brooklyn, NY), 2-1 (not an Olympic Trials bout)
  

Light welterweight (141 lbs.)

• Tyrek Irby (Oxon Hill, MD) dec. Richardson Hitchins (Brooklyn, NY), 2-1
  
• Abraham Nova (Albany, NY) dec. Jamaine Ortiz-Rodriguez (Worcester, MA), 2-1
  
• Jaron Ennis (Philadelphia, PA) dec. Gary Russell (Capitol Heights, MD), 2-1
  
• Rahim Gonzales (Sylmar, CA) dec. Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, WI), 3-0
  

Welterweight (152 lbs.)

• Jose Alday, Jr. (Odessa, TX) dec. Paul Kroll (Philadelphia, PA), 2-1?
  
• Ardreal Holmes (Flint, MI) dec. Rashid Stevens (Gahanna, OH), 3-0?
  
• Brian Ceballo (Brooklyn, NY) dec. Mark Dawson (Philadelphia, PA), 3-0?
  
• Vardges Vardanyan (Panorama City, CA) dec. Ferdinand Kerobyan (North Hollywood, CA), 2-1
  

Middleweight (165 lbs.)

• Charles Conwell (Cleveland Heights, OH) dec. Leshawn Rodriquez (Coram, NY), 2-1?
  
• Chordale Booker  (Brooklyn, NY) dec. Carlos Monroe (Snellville, GA), 3-0?
  
• Anthony Campbell (Covington, TN) dec. Trevor Lattiore (Bridgeport, CT), TKO-2?
  
• Marquis Moore (Colorado Springs, CO) dec. Christopher Ousely (Middleton, WI), 3-0
  

Light heavyweight (178 lbs.)

• Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, CA) dec. Miguel Teo (Framingham, MA), 3-0
  
• Steven Nelson (Omaha, NE) dec. Richard Vansiclen (Seattle, WA), 2-1?
  
• Eric Moon (Marietta, GA) dec. Joseph George (Houston, TX), 2-1
  
• Elvis Figueroa (New Haven, CT) dec. Edward Ortiz (San Antonio, TX), 2-1
  

Heavyweight (201 lbs.)

• Joshua Temple (St. Louis, MO) dec. Hakim Lopez (Lithonia, GA), TKO-2?
  
• Cam F. Awesome (Lenexa, KS) dec. Adrian Taylor (Mesquite, TX), 3-0?
  
• Brandon Glanton (Atlanta, GA) dec. Sardius Simmons (Flint, MI), 3-0?
  
• Derae Crane (Colorado Springs, CO) dec. Patrick Ferguson (Spokane, WA), 2-1?
  

Super heavyweight (201+ lbs.)

• Marlo Moore (Hayward, CA) dec. Nkosi Solomon (Brooklyn, NY), 3-0?
  
• Alante Green (Cleveland, OH) dec. Manase Raikadroka (Inglewood, CA), 3-0