#Fortaleza2018

USA Wins Greco-Roman Team Title with Six Champions at #Fortaleza2018

By Taylor Miller

FORTALEZA, Brazil – The United States claimed the Greco-Roman team title at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships, claiming six gold medals on Friday in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Winning titles for the U.S. was 2017 Junior World silver medalist Cevion SEVERADO at 55 kg, Dylan GREGERSON at 63 kg, Lenny MERKIN at 72 kg, Cameron CAFFEY at 87 kg, Austin HARRIS at 97 kg and Anthony CASSIOPPI at 130 kg.

Cassioppi repeated as the 2017 Junior Pan American Greco-Roman champion, defending his 2017 title when he pinned Paul MORALES (MEX) early in the finals.

He was the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Also repeating a gold-medal performance was 2017 Junior Pan Am champion and 2018 Senior Pan Am runner-up Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS (BRA), who won the 67 kg bracket on Friday with a 10-1 finals win over 2017 Junior Pan Am bronze medalist Julian HORTA (COL).

Winning gold for Colombia was 2017 Pan Am bronze winner Andres Cortes, who outlasted Samuel UGALDE (MEX) with a 3-3 decision on criteria.

Mexico claimed multiple champions, striking gold at 77 kg with Hector RODRIGUEZ and at 82 kg with Alfredo DE STEFANO MUNOZ.

Overall, the U.S. won the team title with Mexico taking second and host Brazil finishing third.

Final results

55 kg
GOLD - Cevion SEVERADO (USA)
SILVER - Nestor DELGADO (MEX)
BRONZE- Luis MORALES (ECU)

60 kg
GOLD - Andres CORTES (COL)
SILVER - Samuel UGALDE (MEX)
BRONZE - Ricardo QUINONEZ (ECU)

63 kg
GOLD - Dylan GREGERSON (USA)
SILVER - Irving SALAZAR (MEX)
BRONZE - Jharold DE LA TORRE (ECU)

67 kg
GOLD - Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS (BRA)
SILVER- Julian Horta (COL)
BRONZE - Juan Palma (ECU)
BRONZE- Manuel Herrera (MEX)

72 kg
GOLD - Leonard MERKIN (USA)
SILVER - Evaristo HERNANDEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Michael Nascimento (BRA)

77 kg
GOLD - Hector RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
SILVER - Jhonny ARIAS (COL)
BRONZE- Anthony MANTANONA (USA)

82 kg
GOLD - Alfredo DE STEFANO MUNOZ (MEX)
SILVER - Carlos ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER)
BRONZE - Jhon CARMONA ALCANTARA (COL)

87 kg
GOLD - Cameron CAFFEY (USA)
SILVER - Fabio CONCEICAO RODRIGUES (BRA)
BRONZE - Nicolas BAEZ (ARG)

97 kg
GOLD - Austin HARRIS (USA)
SILVER - Bryan CRUZ PALACIOS (PER)
BRONZE - Gabriel ROCHA DE LIRA (BRA)

130 kg
GOLD - Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA)
SILVER - Paul MORALES BOJORQUEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Andrew GUNNING (PER)

 

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0