World Champ Stadnik Bulldozes Poland Open Field

Friday, September 7, 2018 - 18:34 By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (September 7) - The fourth and final women’s wrestling Ranking Series event of the year, the Poland Open kicked off in Warsaw, Poland, and No. 2 ranked Mariya STADNIK (AZE) once again bulldozed the competition for the third tournament in a row.

Stadnik, the seven-time world and Olympic medalist, capped off her Poland Open finals run with four technical superiority victories while outscoring the competition 41-1.

The Azeri has competed three times this season, making the finals of the Klippan Lady Open, the European Championships and now the Poland Open.

In her three competitions, Stadnik has had twelve matches. In those twelve matches, she’s 11-1, with her only loss coming to defending world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Klippan Lady Open finals. Even more impressive, Stadnik has finished all 11 victories by technical superiority, while outscoring her opponents 115-3.

Stadnik will meet Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) in the 50kg finals. Semkiv, the two-time age-level world runner-up scored an impressive 12-2 win over No. 1 Emilia VUC (ROU), sealing her spot in tomorrow’s finals. The Poland Open finals will be Semkiv’s first finals appearance since the 2017 European Championships where she coincidently wrestled Stadnik, who was the victor 10-0.

In freestyle, Olympic champion Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) will meet Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) for the 65kg title. This is a rematch of the 61kg gold-medal bout at the 2017 European Championships. That match, which was a Match of the Year candidate, was won 10-9 by Khinchegashvili.

It was said that the highest placer at this tournament between Chakaev and Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) would represent Russia at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. It is not clear why, but Bekbulatov entered the tournament but did not compete, dropping out of the match against Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL).

With that said, one can only imagine that Akhmed Chakaev will represent Russia at 65kg at the World Championships. In 2016, Chakaev finished with a bronze medal while representing Russia at the World Championships.

In Greco-Roman, the most surprising upset came at 97kg where Tracy HANCOCK (USA) stuck four-time world and Olympic champion, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the semifinals.

Hancock who is wrestling in his first individual international competition since taking tenth place at the U23 World Championships will face Bulgaria’s Nikolay BAYRYAKOV (BUL) for the 97kg gold medal.

The finals will begin tomorrow at 17:00 (local time). The freestyle finals will be on Mat A, the women's wrestling finals will be on Mat B and the Greco-Roman finals will be on Mat C.

RESULTS
Women's Wrestling
50kg
GOLD - Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) vs. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)

Semifinal - Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 11-1
Semifinal - Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) df. Emilia Alina VUC (ROU), 12-2

55kg
GOLD - Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) vs. Tetyana KIT (UKR)

Semifinal - Tetyana KIT (UKR) df. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR), 10-0
Semifinal - Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) df. Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE), 4-3

59kg
GOLD - Marwa AMRI (TUN) vs. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)

Semifinal - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) df. Olena KREMZER (UKR) , 12-1
Semifinal - Marwa AMRI (TUN) df. Lingling BAO (CHN), 7-2

65kg
GOLD - Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN) vs. Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)

Semifinal - Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), 4-1
Semifinal - Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN) df. Moa Lena Maria NYGREN (SWE), 2-0

72kg
GOLD - Kunming WANG (CHN) vs. Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL)

Semifinal - Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) df. Catalina AXENTE (ROU), 3-0
Semifinal - Kunming WANG (CHN) df. Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU), 9-5

Freestyle
57kg

GOLD - Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) vs. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)

Semifinal - Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) df. Frank Vincent PERRELLI IV (USA) , 9-6
Semifinal - Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) df. Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA) (KAZ) , 9-5

65kg
GOLD - Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) vs. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS)

Semifinal - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA) , 9-8
Semifinal - Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) df. Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL) , 11-0

74kg
GOLD - Wei WU (CHN) vs. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)

Semifinal - Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ) , 5-0
Semifinal - Wei WU (CHN) df. Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL), 7-1

86kg
GOLD - Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL) vs. Samuel Joseph BROOKS (USA)

Semifinal - Samuel Joseph BROOKS (USA) df. Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) , 6-2
Semifinal - Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Piotr IANULOV (MDA), 2-2

97kg
GOLD - Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) vs. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)

Semifinal - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df. Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN), via injury.
Semifinal - Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) df. Chaoqiang YANG (CHN), 5-2

Greco-Roman
63kg

GOLD - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) vs. Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL

Semifinal - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Virgil Alexander BICA (SWE), 4-3
Semifinal - Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL) df. Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY), 8-0

72kg
GOLD - Denis HORVATH (SVK) vs. Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)

Semifinal - Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) df. Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), 2-1
Semifinal - Denis HORVATH (SVK) df. Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA), 8-0

82kg
GOLD - Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) vs. Emrah KUS (TUR)

Semifinal - Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL), 7-4
Semifinal - Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) df. Petr NOVAK (CZE), 6-6

97kg
GOLD - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) vs. Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL)

Semifinal - Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL) df. Mathias BAK (DEN), 4-1
Semifinal - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), via fall

#WrestleZagreb

Rising Star Hendrickson Aims to Make Splash in Senior Worlds Debut

Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:23 By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 12) -- Sitting on the opposite end of the dais from the reigning world champion, Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) expressed confidence that they will be meeting again soon, but in much closer quarters.

If all goes according to plan for both wrestlers, Hendrickson will face Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) in the semifinals of freestyle 125kg when the World Championships get started on Saturday in Zagreb.

"This is my first senior-level World Championships and I'm very grateful for that," Hendrickson said at a press conference on Friday that was also attended by Zare. "But I also think that the opportunity presented itself because I have grown as a wrestler. I've risen to the level of my competition, and I'm ready to test myself against the best in the world."

It doesn't get much better than Zare when talk of the heavyweights comes up. The two-time Olympic medalist is gunning for his second straight world title and third overall, all still at the tender age of 24.

Hendrickson, also 24 (in fact, he is three days older than Zare), may lack the experience on the senior level, but in recent years, he has raised his game enough to join the handful of foes with the potential to knock of the great Zare.

The American said his aim is to "continue to not only just wrestle at the highest level, but prove I'm meant to be here. Wrestling is something I've been doing since I was 5 years old and all that wrestling has brought me to be here today in Zagreb."

After placing fifth at the 2021 world juniors (U20), Hendrickson struck gold at the world U23 in 2023. In May this year, he capped his senior-level debut with a victory at the Pan-Am Championships.

But his most impressive triumph, and one that made the world take notice, came in a different format of the sport. In March, he stunned Tokyo Olympic champion Gable STEVESON (USA) in the final of the NCAA Championships, denying him a third title and ending his 70-match winning streak.

Even Zare said he was aware of the upset. "I would like to congratulate you for the win over Gable, he's one of the best in this weight category," Zare said. "Some of the seconds of your match are in my mind, I remember that. But originally, I don't have too much information about this American wrestler."

Hendrickson acknowledges he has been cultivated in the American folkstyle. But he feels confident of the transition he has made to freestyle.

"I've been training to wrestle foreign styles," he said. "The majority of my wrestling has been in [American] folkstyle. But the transition I've been able to make the past couple of months has shown that I'm prepared for this. I'm ready to wrestle the best in the world."

Helping in Hendrickson's preparations has been one of the sport's legends. Hendrickson originally attended and competed collegiately at the Air Force Academy, but transferred last year to Oklahoma State, where he came under the wing of former Olympic and three-time world champion David TAYLOR (USA).

Hendrickson is one of three USA wrestlers who are members of the Cowboy RTC, the wrestling club affiliated with Oklahoma State. (Five others will be wrestling in Zagreb with three of them for other nations.)

"Coach David Taylor is very, very excited to be coaching and share with us the knowledge he has learned in the great sport of wrestling," Hendrickson said. "The knowledge that he has been able to bring to me, it's just day and night. I never understood some parts of wrestling and he filled in all of the gaps. Where I maybe have fallen short in the past at some of these tournaments, those gaps are now filled. And I just have nothing but confidence."

The draw for the freestyle weight classes came out a short time before the press conference, and Hendrickson was asked about a possible clash with Zare in the semifinals.

"I love it," he said. "Zare is an excellent wrestler. But -- I don't want to brag on myself -- but I'm also a pretty great wrestler. That's most likely the match we're going to see tomorrow evening."

Hendrickson, however, is not one to get ahead of himself, and contends that he does not concern himself with such details as his opponents in the draw. Nor does he have a certain foe whom he particularly looks forward to facing.

"I'm excited to go through every single person in this bracket," he said. "Obviously there's no one specific because I don't care what my placement is in the bracket. That's not what I look at.

"What I look at is the next opponent ahead of me. One match at a time, one point at a time, one second at a time on the wrestling mat. I'm prepared, I'm ready and tomorrow I'm going to make a splash at the World Championships."

Zare, who has taken over the leadership mantle of the Iranian team in the absence of injured star Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), has competed just once this year, winning the Tirana Ranking Series title in February.

"I have done my best during the last 13 months to be prepared and I am focused on my goal, which is to be champion of this competition," Zare said.

And should Hendrickson or any of the other top competitors, such as European champion Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) or two-time world medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL), make things difficult, then all the better.

"Finally, I want to say that when the competition is tough, it's going to be more joyful for everyone," Zare said.

World Champ Stadnik Bulldozes Poland Open Field

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Rising Star Hendrickson Aims to Make Splash in Senior Worlds Debut