#WrestleCoralville

World Cup: All-World, Mongolia win bronze

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, Iowa (December 11) -- The All-World team and Mongolia won bronze medals at the freestyle and women's World Cup respectively. The All-World team defeated Georgia 8-2 while Mongolia defeated the USA 7-3.

WATCH

14:30: All over in this dual! The All-World team beats Georgia 8-2 to capture the bronze at this World Cup. Batyrbek TSAKULOV (UWW) won his 97kg bout 7-7 while Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UWW) was injured.

14:15: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (UWW) scores after being put on the clock against Mirani MAISURADZE (GEO). Both are bronze medalists from the World Championships. Nurmagomedov leads the bout 3-0 and it will end that way.

14:00: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (UWW) led 2-1, all three points for passivity, and scores a takedown at the end to win 4-1 against Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) and wins the bronze for the All-World team. This was the sixth win for the team.

13:45: 15th straight loss for Georgia as Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (UWW) beats Giorgi SULAVA (GEO) 10-0 at 74kg. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) vs Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (UWW) at 79kg now. A good start for Gamkrelidze as he slowly builds up his lead. A takedown and two turns as he leads 8-2. A takedown and gut to win 12-2. He ends the drought for Georgia.

13:30: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) was so close to beating Ernazar AKMATALIEV (UWW). He scored a takedown in the second period to make it 4-3 and kept shooting to get that point but Akmataliev with very solid defense to win at 70kg. 

13:10: Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) was up 4-0 but has no gas left in him. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (UWW) uses that to his advantage and wins 14-4 at 65kg. The All-World team now leads 3-0

12:55: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (UWW) and Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) at 57kg. Abakarov gets a takedown after giving up a passivity point. He goes to an easy 4-1 win. At 61kg, Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO) is injured and Georgi VANGELOV (UWW) will get a walkover.

Now it's time for the men's bronze medal bouts between Georgia and All-World team.

12:50: Solin PIEARCY (USA) and Dymond GUILFORD (USA) won their respective bouts but Mongolia claims the bronze medal at the World Cup by winning this dual 7-3. What a weekend for them.  

12:15: Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) and Mallory VELTE (USA) go back and forth with takedowns and Purevdorj holds the criteria 6-6 and adds one more at the end to make it 9-6. That is the sixth win for Mongolia and it is the bronze medal for Mongolia.

12:05: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) with two unorthodox takedowns against Kayla MIRACLE (USA) to lead 8-5. Sukhee caught Miracle in an arm-to-foot bow position. Miracle seems very disturbed by the early injury on her hand. But Sukhee with lace and finishes the bout 16-5.

12:00: Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) is up 2-0 as Lexie BASHAM (USA) was called passive twice. Erkhembayar with a headlock for four but Basham is also awarded two. She does it again and leads 11-2. A takedown to win 13-2. Mongolia leads 4-1 now.  

11:45: That was a crazy bout! Erdenesuvd BAT ERDENE (MGL) scored a suplex for four over Alexandra HEDRICK (USA) but the American kept the pressure and scored two takedowns. Trailing 4-4 on criteria and 31 seconds remaining, she lifts Bat Erdene and gets the stepout with less than one second remaining. Mongolia challenges but the stepout is in time. The USA win its first bout. Mongolia still leads 3-1.

11:25: Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) gives up a stepout against Jenna BURKERT (USA) but then gets a takedown and lace to make it 4-1. Burkert gets her takedown to close the gap to 4-3 and then shoots for the legs and almost got it but Bat Ochir with exposure to win 6-4. The USA challenges the call and it is 6-6 for Burkert but the jury says the challenge lost which means Bat Ochir will win 7-6  

11:10: At 50kg, Erin GLOSTON (USA) will take on world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL). Gloston puts up a fight but Dolgorjav wins via fall. The Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) vs Felicity TAYLOR (USA) bout at 53kg goes the distance but Taylor can't bring the USA back in this. Ganbaatar with a strong game to win 12-1.

10:50: Welcome to day two of the World Cup. It was non-stop action on Saturday and expect nothing less today as the USA takes on Mongolia for the third place in women's before the All-World team takes the mat against Georgia for the same in men's.

#WrestleNoviSad

Mesenbrink takes steady steps to win U23 Worlds gold

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 25) -- Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) remembers his last year's U23 World Championships campaign. He won a bronze medal, left Tirana a little frustrated and missing his training room in Penn State.

With lessons from that tournament and surrounded by his Penn State teammates and coaches, Mesenbrink made sure he did not return home without a medal. The former U20 world champion became U23 world champion after beating Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2, in the 74kg final.

Mesenbrink was a leg-attack machine in the final and Ozmus did little to defend those, giving up the final in 2:59, just on the stroke of the break.

"It's just about constantly getting better, technically, and emotionally, too," Mesenbrink said. "If I'm just running in there, trying to grab onto his head, he can get in. So just being able to constantly improve. I think that's a strong testament to the people around me and to the coaches that I have and the teammates that I have at Penn State."

Seven wrestler out of the 10 on the United States Freestyle team are part of the same training center -- the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, Penn State, which Mesenbrink said made a lot of difference this year.

"It's fun, because last year I came by myself. It was just me at the U23s. So it was fun this year that we had seven out of 10 guys," he said. "Last year, I knew the guys, but it wasn't my teammates, right? Now it's my teammates, the guys that I'm literally in the room with every day. We go over and it's almost like, are we even in Serbia right now? It feels like we're in America, because we got so many guys here."

In Tirana, the American wrestler lost to Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) in the quarterfinals but bounced back to win the bronze medal. But in Novi Sad on Friday, Mesenbrink faced Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) in the semifinals and came out on top 6-4, with a buzzer beating takedown.

The win boasted Mesenbrink's confidence who was close to make the U.S. senior team for World Championships in Zagreb where Takahashi won gold, but lost to David CARR (USA) domestically.

However, that loss made Mesenbrink think about his aims and how he wants to improve his wrestling on the mat.

"I think the big thing of not making the world team, it was just, I got to get better in those specific areas," he said. "That's the most fun part. I thought this is all this is, is a title. This is gonna be fading so quick. So I thought I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work on the things that I've been working on and I've been working really hard since Final X to get those improvements."

Mobin AZIMI (IRI)Mobin AZIMI (IRI) celebrates after winning the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the only other final of Freestyle, Mobin AZIMI (IRI) earned the first gold medal for Iran after beating Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3, in the 92kg final. Azimi broken Khaniev down in the final and scored three stepout points to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2

BRONZE: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. PARVINDER (IND), 8-2
BRONZE: Manuel WAGIN (GER) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 8-4

92kg
GOLD: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) df. Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR), 11-1
BRONZE: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 10-0

Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) df. Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB), 6-1
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 7-1

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Sina KHALILI (IRI)

SF 1: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. PJ DUKE (USA), 14-4
SF 2: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 8-2

79kg
GOLD: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) vs. Levi HAINES (USA)

SF 1: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 5-2
SF 2: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 11-4

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) vs. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW), 5-0
SF 2: Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 12-2