Junior World’s Notebook
Willie Saylor, Editor
 
 
The Junior World Championships began last Tuesday in Pattaya, Thailand. Action crested with a Freestyle finale on the final two days.

But it wasn't so rosy for Team USA. Our FS team went a collective 8-9 and earned just one medal; Pat Downey took Silver at 84kgs.

For the Greco athlete's and the Women, things weren't much better. Eight wrestlers competed in each style. Out of our 24-person delegation the U.S. came back with just four medals.

Here's a breakdown of results for each of the styles:

Freestyle: 14th place; 8-9, 1 medal (Pat Downey, Silver)
Women: 7th place; 10-10, 2 medals (Alli Ragan, Bronze; Erin Golston, Bronze)
Greco-Roman: 12th place; 9-10 1 medal (Jesse Thielke, Bronze)

Below is a running notebook for the three days of competition.
Sunday:  Freestyle

55kg: Joey Dance (VA)- Dance was the Fargo JR Champ in 2011.

Round 1: Dance dropped his opening bout 1-5, 0-1 to the 2010 JR World Silver medalist, Lasha Talakshadze (GEO). Talakshadze woulf go on to make the finals, bringing Dance back in to contention.

Repechage I: Dance posted a 5-0, 6-0 win over Alexei Baskakov of Eastonia.

Repechage II: Artak Hovhannisyan (ARM) ended Dance's tournament. The final tally was 5-4, 0-1, 2-3.



66kg: Destin McCauley (SD)- Fargo Champ at 152 in 2010.

Round 1: McCauley took out Muzzafar Rizaev (UZB), 1-0, 3-1. Rizaev was 5th last year at Cadet World's.

Round 2: Destin fell to Ali Jabali (IRI), this year's Asian Champ, 5-2, 0-2, 2-3. Jabali lost his next bout.



84kg: Pat Downey (MD)- Fargo Champ in 2011.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Downey beat Evgheni Eremeiv of Moldova, 1-1, 0-1, 3-0. Eremeiv was 3rd in Euro's this year.

Quarterfinals: Hyeok Gwon (KOR) was 3rd in the Asian Championships. Downey bested him in two straight sets, 3-1, 3-1.

Semifinals: Downey dominated last year's European Runner-Up, Vahe Tamrazyan (ARM) to the tune of 5-2, 6-0.

Gold Medal Bout: Downey fell to Iran's Mohammed Ebrahimi in three periods, 2-1, 0-1, 0-4. Ebrahimi was this year's Asian Champ.


120kg: Austin Marsden (IL)- NCAA Qualifier for OK St.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Marsden lost to Iranian, Abdollah Avili, 0-5, 4-2, 0-1. Avili lost in his next bout to the eventual champ from Russia, but didn't medal.
Saturday:  Freestyle
50kg: Adrian Cordova (CO)-

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Cordova lost to Iran's Alireza Hatami. Cordova was eliminated when Hatami lost in the semi's.


60kg: Earl Hall (FL)- Olympic Team Trials Qualifier

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Hall opened up with 2-2, 2-2, 1-0 win over Chang Su Kim of Korea.

Round 3: Hall fell to Euro JR Bronze medalist, Valodya Frangulyan of Armenia, 0-7, 1-8. Frangulyan would lose in the semi's.


74kg: Alex Dierenger (WI)- 2011 Fargo Double Champ

Round 1: Dierenger got the job done quickly with a :24 pin of Psawang Tadaspol of Thailand.

Round 2: Abdulkalir Ozmen (TUR), who was Silver at last year's JR World's, beat Dierenger 5-0, 3-2. Ozmen lost in semi's, ending Alex's day.


96kg: Tanner Hall (ID)–  Returning JR World Team Member.

Round 1: Hall registered a :36 fall over Poland's Robert Baran in the first round. Baran was 7th at European Junior's in June.

Round 2: Hall lost to Nurov of Russia 0-1, 2-1, 1-1. Nurov lost his next bout.


Friday:  Women’s Freestyle
48kg: Kristi Garr (MI)- Will face Emilia Vuc of Romania in the opening round. Vuc is the returning Bronze medalist from JR World's last year.

Round 1: Garr dropped her first match 1-6, 0-7. She was eliminated when Vuc lost in the Quarterfinals.


55kg: Sarah Hildebrandt (IN)- Elana Turcan (MLD) is Hildebrandt's first round foe. Turcan was 12th at JR World's last year and 3rd at European JR's in June.

Round 1: Hildebrandt won 2-0, 1-0.

Round 2: Yarina Dubrovska (AZE) took out Hildebrandt in three periods, 1-0, 1-3, 2-1. Hildebrandt was eliminated when Dubrovska lost her next bout.


63kg: Alli Ragan (IL) – Ragan is a returning JR World Bronze performer. She's matched up with Laura Gavruliuc of Romania in her first bout. Gavruliuc was 5th at last year's World's and 3rd at Euro JR's.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Ragan won 1-1, 3-3, 4-0.

Quarterfinals: Ragan fell to Anastasia Huchok of Belarus. Huchok would go on to win Gold, pulling Ragan back into medal contention.

Repechage I: Ragan dominated German opponent Nadine Wienauge 4-0, 6-0.

Bronze Match: Winning her second straight JR World Bronze, Ragan beat Ukrainian, Tetyana Lavrenchuk 1-0, 4-0. Lavrenchuk was 3rd at Euro's this summer.


76kg: Julia Salata (MI)- Salata will have Asian JR Champ, Elmira Syzdykova (KAZ) in the opening round. 

Round 1: Salata earned a 3-0, 1-3, 3-1 victory.

Round 2: Helena Leuchanka (BLR) pinned Salata. Leuchanka lost her next bout, eliminating Salata from competition.



Thursday:  Women’s Freestyle

44kg: Erin Golston (IL) – Golston is a returning JR World Team member. Last year she was 3-1, winning Bronze.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Golston opened with a win 1-0, 3-0, over China's Liquong Xie.

Quarterfinals: In a three period bout, Golston downed Madalina Linguraru of Romania 0-1, 1-0, 1-0. Linguraru has previously been 5th at World's on both the Cadet and Junior levels.

Semifinals: Ilona Semkiv (UKR) took out Golston in two periods, 5-1, 4-0. Semkiv was a Runner-Up at Cadets in 2011, and would go on to take Silver here as well.

Bronze Match: Golston earned her second straight JR World Bronze by defeating Kazakhstan's Aidana Utegalova 3-0, 3-0.



51kg: Haley Augello (IL) - Augello won a World Title as a Cadet last year.

Round 1: Augello dropped her opening round match to Mongolia's Davaachimeg Erkhembayar 0-2, 0-1. Erkehmbayar went on to win the tournament.

Repechage I : Augello lost to Nina Hemmer (GER) in her first wrestleback match 0-3, 0-3.


59kg: Jenna Burkert (NY) – Burkert was 2-2 and finished 8th at JR World’s last year.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Burkert lost to China's Jiamin Feng 3-3, 2-2, 1:16. Feng lost her following bout, ending Burkert's day.



67kg: Jennifer Page (CA) - Page finished 3rd at the Sr. level in the U.S. this year, losing only to last year's JR World Silver medalist, Adeline Gray.

Round 1: Page pinned Han Bit Lee of Korea in 1:14. 

Quarterfinals: Dorothy Yeats (CAN) downed Page 6-0, 3-0. Yeats would go on to win Gold, pulling Page back in to medal contention.

Repechage I:  Page pinned Martina Kuenz of Austria in 1:52. Kuenz was 3rd at Cadet World's last year.

Bronze Match: Sarah Dosho of Japan upended Page 7-1, 1-0. Page's final place is 5th.

 

Wednesday:  Greco Roman
55kg: Mike Fuenffinger (MN)- Fuenffinger placed 12th at last year's JR World's.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: His first round bout came against South Africa's Marco Coetzee in a 6-0, 1-3, 6-0 win.

Quarterfinals: Fuenffinger fell to Serif Kilic of Turkey 0-4, 1-3. He was eliminated from the tournament when Kilic lost in the semi's.


66kg: Nick Alvarez (FL)- Alvarez has had a great season, winning both Fila JR's and the JR World Team Trials. Just for good measure, he won Univeristy WTT's three weeks ago as well. 

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Alvarez posted a 2-0, 2-0 win over Matous Morbitzer (CZE).

Quarterfinals: Wrestling Oblo Khsurav (TJK), Alvarez fell 0-1, 0-1. Khsarav was beaten in the semi's, ending a U.S. medal bid at 66.


84kg: Luke Sheridan (CA)- Prior to winning the spot on this year's World Team, Sheridan was a Fila Cadet Runner-Up in 2010 and Fargo Junior Champ in 2011.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Sheridan has a first round match up with an incredibly experienced wrestler. Fuad Aliyev (AZE) most recently placed 3rd at the European JR Championships. Sheridan took him out 0-1, 3-0, 3-0.

Quarterfinal: Sheridan fell to Baris Gungor of Turkey 1-5, 0-3. Gungor was 7th at Euro's this summer. Gungor would go on to reach the finals, pulling Sheridan into repechage.

Repechage: Kiyas Esenov (TKM), a Silver medalist at this year's Asian Games, eliminated Sheridan 2-0, 1-0.


120kg: Wyatt Baker (CA)- Baker avenged his only loss from a 3rd place Fila JR showing in the finals of the World Team Trials against Parker Betts.

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Baker fell to Ukrainian Mykola Kuchmii, who was 7th at Euro Juniors. Kumchii lost his next bout, eliminating Baker from the tournament.



Tuesday:   Greco Roman 
50kg: Isaiah Varona (FL)–Varona won Fargo in 2011 and was 3rd there this year. He also won Fila JR’s this year at 55kgs.

Round 1: Varona lost out to his Korean opponent Hyeok Jeon, 0-2, 2-3. Jeon was 5th in the JR Asian Games earlier this year.

Round 2: Jeon lost to Bazarov of Azerbaijan, ending Varona's tournament. Bazarov was 2nd at Cadet World's last year, and Bronze this year at European JR's. 



60kg: Jesse Thielke (WI)– Incredibly, this is Thielke’s fourth trip to JR World’s. He’s been dominant on the JR level in America, but that hasn’t translated to success internationally. He went 0-1 last year and finished 19th. But this could be his year. He has a great draw and should be favored in his first two bouts. His first round opponent is China’s Lixin Tai.

Round 1: Thielke advanced with a 1-0, 1-0 win over Tai.

Round 2: In the second round, Thielke beat Croatia's Kristijan Simatic who was 8th at Euro's earlier this summer, 1-0, 1-0.

Quarterfinals: Maxim Mumalat (Moldova) was game, but "The Honeybadger" took him out in two straight, 3-3, 1-1. Mumalat was 3rd at European JR's this year, and finished 5th at last year's Junior World's. The win guaranteed Thielke will wrestle for a medal.

Semifinals: Ramin Taherisartang ended Thielke's bid for Gold. The Iranian took the semi in two periods, 3-2, 1-0. Thielke will now wrestle for Bronze.

Bronze Match:  Thielke claimed Bronze with a win over Ramanus Dagys (LTU). Dagys won Bronze at the JR European Championships earlier this summer. Thielke took it in two periods, 1-0, 1-0.



74kg: Geordan Speiller (FL)– Speiller is one of America’s premier GR youngsters, capturing two straight Fargo titles in addition to his JR WTT crown. He’ll face a stiff test in his opening match as he drew 2x European Junior Champ, Islam Charaev of Russia.

Round 1: Speiller knocked off the favorite in the opening round of the tournament. In addition to his two JR Euro titles, Charaev also won Cadet Euro's in 2009. Speiller took Charaev out in three periods, 3-1, 0-1, 1-1. 

Round 2: Speiller defeated Doryan Yaylymov of Turkmenistan 0-1, 1-1, DQ. Yaylymov was 12th in the Asian Senior Games in February. According to updates from USAWrestling, Speiller was winning 4-0 in the 3rd period when Yaylymov was disqualified for continually backing up.

Quarterfinals: Belurusian, Kazbek Kilov knocked Speiller from the championship bracket. Kilov was runner-up to Chareav at European JR's this year, and 3rd at European JR's in 2011. Should Kilov win his next bout, Speiller will be drawn back in to repechage and medal contention. Kilov's semifinal opponent will be Azamat Kustabaev (KAZ), this year's Asian JR Champion.

Repechage II: Speiller was drawn back in to medal contention when Kilov reached the finals. In the repechage, Speiller was defeated by Iranian Payani Bouyeri 0-6, 0-1, ultimately placing 7th. 



96kg: Marcus Finau (HI)-  Finau is a returning JR World Team Member. He went 0-1 last year and finished 14th. He won both Fila JR’s and the JR trials for two straight years. He’s also been to Runner-Up at the University level in both 2011 and 2012. 

Round 1:  For his opening bout, Finau drew Ukrainian, Samir Voloshanin, a 2010 European Cadet Champ. Finau dropped that bout 0-1, 0-1. 

Semifinal: Voloshanin was defeated in the semi's, ending Finau's tournament.



Recent History
The JR Greco team finished just 15th last year in Bucharest, Romania. Ellis Coleman (IL), with his “Flying Squirrel” brought home Bronze. Heavyweight Toby Erickson (MT) finished 5th.

The JR Women brought home a team Bronze last year and features a wealth of experience. They return to Bronze medalists in Golston and Ragan, as well as 8th place finisher Burkert. But they also lost two JR World Silver Medalists in Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray, and 5th place finisher, Victoria Anthony.

The U.S. Junior Freestyle Team finished 8th last year in Bucharest. Logan Steiber (OH) won a Silver, losing only to this year’s Olympic Champion, Toghrul Asgarov (AZE) 1-1, 4-6.

Just missing out on medals were Mark Grey (NJ) and Josh Kindig (PA), who were both 5th, and Daniel Miller (MD) who finished 7th.

2010
Freestyle: 6th
50kg Nick Roberts (PA), 5th
55kg Ryak Finch (AZ), 27th
60kg Matt McDonough (IA), 19th
66kg Jason Chamberlain (WA), 5th
74kg Conrad Polz (IL), 15th
84kg Chris Perry (OK), Bronze
96kg Tyler Lehman (ND), 14th
120kg Jeremy Johnson (OH), 5th

Women: 6th
44kg Erin Golston (IL), 13th
48kg Victoria Anthony (CA), Junior World Champion
51kg Amy Whitbeck (NY), Bronze
55kg Helen Maroulis (MD) Bronze
59kg Tatiana Padilla (CO), 10th
63kg Lauren Louive (OH), 14th
69kg Erin Clodgo (CO), 12th
72kg Brittany Delgado (SC), 5th

Greco Roman: 9th
50kg Max Nowry (IL), 5th
55kg Jesse Thielke (WI), 20th
60kg Jimmy Chase (IL), 13th
66kg Ellis Coleman (IL), Bronze
74kg Alec Ortiz (OR), 20th
84kg Ben Provisor (WI), 12th
96kg Robert Barbour (CO), 15th
120kg Steve Andrus (MI), 25th