#WrestleAcapulco

Gray falls as Ecuador wins 2 golds; Dake dominant at Pan-Ams

Saturday, February 24, 2024 - 04:28 By Gaurav Bhatt

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (February 23) -- Day three of the Pan-American Championships saw two wrestling phenoms take the mat in Acapulco. But while four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA) rag-dolled his opponents to win his fourth straight 74kg title at the event, six-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) stumbled against eventual 76kg champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) and had to settle for a bronze.

Nick SURIANO (61kg) and Chance MARSTELLER (86kg) also struck gold to make it three for Team USA, while Macey KILTY (USA) grabbed the 65kg gold. 

Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) blanked her 53kg opponents to take Ecuador's second gold of the day.

Kyle DAKE (USA)Kyle DAKE (USA) dominated his way to the 74kg gold. (Photo: UWW / William Bains)

Dake stayed levels apart in the 74kg field as the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist earned victories via fall over Angel CORTES (PAN) and Anthony MONTERO (VEN).

The 32-year-old, who won his first two world titles at 79kg, is not only strong for the 74kg division but also dazzles the field with his explosiveness. He had Bonilla squirming against a pin attempt in less than 5 seconds. Bonilla's desperation only delayed the inevitable, as Dake flattened him inside the first period.

Montero, a former South American champion, made it a scrappy affair but couldn't stop Dake from racking up points. Up against the clock, the Venezuelan went for a last-gasp shot, only for the American to counter into a four-point throw to complete the victory.

Marsteller defeated Jorge LLANO (ARG) in the quarterfinal but didn't get a chance to test his mettle against four-time champion Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB). The 34-year-old withdrew from the competition, paving the way for Marsteller to take home the 86kg gold. He also received a forfeit win from Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN). 

The title continues the remarkable life turnaround for the 28-year-old, whose childhood dreams of dominating the wrestling world were derailed by substance addiction. Addicted to alcohol and opioids — Marsteller, who amassed a 166-0 record in his Pennsylvania high school —  went into rehab in 2016. He went back to rehab in 2020 after an under-the-influencer bender saw him wreck his and his wife’s cars in one night. The 28-year-old has been clean since July 2020 and the gold in Acapulco would serve to boost both his morale and profile.

Suriano defeated two-time silver medallist Joseph SILVA (PUR) on his way to the 61kg gold. The 26-year-old, who was one of the main contenders to make the American Olympic team in 2021 before testing positive for COVID-19, also beat Jose VASQUEZ (PER) 12-2, Edwin SEGURA (GUA) via forfeit, and Juan LAVAT (MEX) with a fall (10-2).

Genesis REASCO (ECU)Genesis REASCO (ECU) blanked Adeline GRAY (USA) 10-0 at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / William Bain)

Gray was outpowered by Reasco in their meeting which saw the Ecuadorian secure two tremendous double-leg takedowns within the opening few seconds. The explosive 25-year-old, a four-time medallist at the event, completed the superiority victory over the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist in little over a minute.

Joining Reasco on top of the podium for Ecuador was Yepez, who continues her meteoric rise with a successful title defense in the 53kg category.

The stage was set for a rematch from last year's final against Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN), before the five-time medallist pulled out from the gold-medal clash.

Yepez, who also struck gold at the Pan-American Games last November, was the first Ecuadorian woman to win a wrestling world title at the 2021 U23 Worlds, and medalled at last year's senior World Championships.

Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) won the 59kg women's gold. Beauregard — a four-time medallist at the event, including 2019 and 2022 champion — ran roughshod on Friday. The 26-year-old didn't give up a single point over four bouts.

Kilty grabbed the 65kg gold with two dominant wins. Kilty set the tone with a one-sided rout of 2022 silver medallist Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN).

After a tight opening minute, Kilty set up the Canadian with quick feints before securing a single-leg takedown. After netting five points from the sequence, Kilty wasted little time in getting another takedown, this time attacking Rowbottom's left leg, and completed the fall victory shortly thereafter.  

Against Andrea LOPEZ (MEX), Kilty showed both speed and strength. After earning a 7-0 lead in the first period, the 22-year-old overwhelmed the hometown favorite and earned the fall win with more than 2 minutes left on the board.

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RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Arguello BETZABETH (VEN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Gonzalez MARIA (DOM) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), via fall
BRONZE: Katie GOMEZ (USA) df. Laura HERIN (CUB), 10-0

59kg
GOLD: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
SILVER: Michaela BECK (USA)
BRONZE: Ana PEREIRA (BRA)

65kg
GOLD: Macey KILTY (USA)
SILVER: Andrea LOPEZ (MEX)
BRONZE: Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN)

76kg
GOLD: Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) df. Renteria TATIANA (COL), 9-0

BRONZE: Adeline GRAY (USA) df. Shauna KUEBECK (CAN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Linda MACHUCA (ARG) df. Bautista EMELYN (DOM), 11-0

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Nicholas SURIANO (USA)
SILVER: Joseph SILVA (PUR)
BRONZE: Juan LAVAT (MEX)

74kg
GOLD: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Julio RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Jones SHANE (PUR) df. Thomson ADAM (CAN), 16-5
BRONZE: Anthony MONTERO (VEN) df. Angel CORTES (PAN), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) df. Ceballos PEDRO (VEN), via fall

BRONZE: Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) df. Pool AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER), 3-1
BRONZE: Jorge LLANO (ARG) df. Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB), via inj. def.

#WrestleBudapest

Orta, Kusaka win Ranking Series gold; Esmaeili books Paris 2024 spot

Monday, June 10, 2024 - 00:29 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 9) -- The 67kg weight class in Budapest was supposed to offer some interesting match-ups. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) could have avenged his World Championships loss to Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI). Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) could have qualified for the Paris Olympics if he had defeated Geraei in Budapest. Leri ABULADZE (GEO) could have become a contender in Georgia for the weight class.

But none of that happened as Orta dominated, outsmarted and controlled his way to the gold medal at 67kg in the Ranking Series, making him one of the favorites for the gold medal in Paris. The Paris Games will also present Orta a rare opportunity to win two Olympic gold medals in two different weight classes as he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 60kg.

Orta began his day with an 8-0 win over David MANYIK (HUN) before using a four-pointer to beat Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) 7-1 to set up a semifinal against Esmaeili. No one would have expected the Asian champion Esmaeili to challenge the world champion but the Iranian had different ideas.

Esmaeili raced to a 7-0 lead in the first period and was one point away from winning the bout. However, Orta managed to keep himself in the bout and began the second period with a front headlock for four and got one more for a lost challenge from Iran. Still, Esmaeili did well to defend the lead until the last three seconds.

As the bout entered the final 10 seconds left, Orta almost gave up and Esmaeili, thinking that Orta had accepted defeat, turned his back and began walking towards the Iranian corner to celebrate. Just the whole stadium gasped as Orta, realizing there was still time left, ran towards Esmaeili and threw him for four.

Midway through the throw, an air-borne Esmaeili knew he messed up. He pleaded that the time was over. Referees initially did not award points to Orta but Cuba challenged and it was clear that the move was completed with 0.1 seconds left. Orta was awarded four points, helping him win 9-7.

An inconsolable Esmaeili had to be helped to the warm-up area. For he thought his Paris 2024 dream was over. 

Orta, fueled by that unthinkable win and his Cuban teammates including Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) in the stands, went on to beat Abuladze in the final to claim the gold medal. He, however, will remain second in the seeding for the Olympics as Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) has already locked up the top seed.

Jafarov was wrestling in Budapest but was up at 72kg. He may have changed his weight class but had no trouble winning the gold medal at the higher weight as well.

Back to Esmaeili who had his task cut out in the evening session. He needed to beat Geraei in two bouts to earn the Paris 2024 spot on the Iran team. He gathered himself from that loss to Orta and scored a final second takedown against Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) to clinch a 6-5 win while Geraei defeated Andres MONTANO (ECU) 3-3 to claim the other bronze.

The two stepped on the mat for the wrestle-off for the Olympic spot with Geraei holding an advantage that if he won the first match, he would book his spot for Paris but Esmaeili had to do it in a best-of-three format. But Esmaeili did not let it go to that third as he defeated Geraei in two straight bouts in a tennis-like scoreline, 6-0 and 6-4, to earn a spot on the Iran team for the Paris Olympics and maybe a rematch with Orta in the French capital which on Sunday witness Carlos ALCARAZ win his first French Open.

David LOSONCZI (HUN)David LOSONCZI (HUN) celebrates after securing a fall over Ali CENGIZ (TUR). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

There was more drama in Budapest as David LOSONCZI (HUN) made sure he pinned Ali CENGIZ (TUR) when the two met in the 87kg semifinal. The two were awarded a shared World Championships title in September after Cengiz defeated Losonczi but the Hungarian wrestler won an appeal for judges' errors and was also awarded the gold medal.

Losonczi admitted that he was waiting for the rematch and though relieved to get the gold medal in Belgrade, he did not really celebrate it. So when he faced Cengiz this time, Losonczi stepped over when the Turkish wrestler was trying to finish a headlock throw. The local fans in Budapest were ecstatic and so was Losonczi who missed his final against Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) due to an injury, a deep cut on his chin.

Nao KUSAKA (JPN)Nao KUSAKA (JPN) defeated Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) in the 77kg semifinal in Budapest. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) has now beaten World Championships gold and silver medalists at 77kg in the past two months. After his win over world champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) at the Asian Championships in April, Kusaka handed World Championships silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) a 2-1 defeat in the semifinal. Suleymanov was leading 1-1 on criteria but Kusaka managed to score a stepout just in time to claim the win.

In the final, Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) defaulted due to injury and Kusaka won the gold medal that will take him past Suleymanov as the top-ranked wrestler in the world. Suleymanov would have remained the top-ranked wrestler if he had won a bronze medal but pulled out due to injury. Kusaka will now have 67200 points while Suleymanov will have 67100 points.

At 97kg, World Championships bronze medalist Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) had no issues beating whoever tried to challenge him. In the final Alex SZOKE (HUN) led 1-1 on criteria but Saravi scored a takedown.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
SILVER: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
BRONZE: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)

67kg
GOLD: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 4-0

BRONZE: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 6-5
BRONZE: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Andres MONTANO (ECU), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY), 5-2

BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 7-3
BRONZE: Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), 2-1

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Yosvanys PENA FLORESS (CUB) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), via inj. def.

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 3-1

BRONZE: Karlo KODRIC (CRO) df. Spencer WOODS (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Mihail BRADU (MDA) df. Peter DOEMOEK (HUN), 3-0

87kg
GOLD: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Mohammadhossein MAHMOODI (IRI) df. Ali CENGIZ (TUR), 10-4
BRONZE: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) df. Istvan TAKACS (HUN), via forfeit

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Josef RAU (USA), 11-4
BRONZE: Shayan HABIBZARE (IRI) df. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), via inj. def.