Logan Stieber Makes 61kg World Finals

Logan Stieber Makes 61kg World Finals

Logan Stieber will wrestle Beka Lomtadze for gold in Budapest at 61kg

Dec 10, 2016 by Wrestling Nomad
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Logan Stieber has made the finals at the non-Olympic weight world championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday. In his first senior-level world tournament, Stieber will face Beka Lomtadze (GEO) in the 61kg finals at noon ET. The finals will be streamed here.

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The four-time NCAA champion had two incredible matches to make the finals. His gunslinging mentality paid off in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals, both of which he won on buzzer-beating takedowns.

Starting off the day against 2015 world bronze medalist Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, Stieber dominated with two takedowns and a trap arm for a 10-0 tech. But Stieber's next two matches would not be so easy.

In a rematch of a 2012 Beat the Streets matchup, Stieber and Russia's Akhmed Chakaev staged a 13-11 barnburner in the quarters that was likely the best match of the morning session. In true Stieber fashion, the shootout did not faze him. After head coach Bill Zadick waived off a challenge brick, Stieber trailed 11-10 with only eight second remaining. The former Buckeye hit a slide-by just before time expired to advance, as the Russian coaches protested the lack of review. Russia threw in a challenge brick, but the stream went out, leaving no video tape to be reviewed. As a result, Russia lost the challenge, making the final score 13-11.

Stieber vs Chakaev


Stieber's semifinal match against Behnam Ehsanpoor of Iran was just as good. Ehsanpoor tried to slow down Stieber's wide-open style with a low stance and keeping him tied up with underhooks. Stieber struck first by scoring a takedown in the opening minute of the match, but the Asian championships runner-up from Iran countered with six unanswered points to lead 6-2 heading into the break.

The Titan Mercury star opened the second period guns blazing with a takedown and a turn to make it 6-6 but leading on criteria. However, Ehsanpoor again responded with a go-ahead takedown with 30 seconds left to make it 8-6.



After a restart with 15 second left, Stieber chased Ehsanpoor down and ran through a takedown. Under pressure, Stieber stuck to the gameplan and made the Iranian bite on a fake leg attack. Stieber then snapped Ehsanpoor down, started to go behind him, and then pancaked him to his elbow. The replay clearly showed the points were scored at 5:59, and with the challenge, Stieber won 9-8 to make the finals. This is the second time Stieber has made a World final. In 2011, he took bronze at the Junior World Championships, dropping a 7-5 match to Azerbaijan's Tagrul Asgarov, who would win the Olympics 13 months later.



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There were two other Americans in action on Saturday. Chris Gonzalez went 1-1 in his first appearance at Worlds, starting with an 8-0 tech over the Czech Republic in the first round. He lost 2-2 on criteria to Romania's Ilie Cojocari in the second round and was not pulled back into repechage after Cojocari lost in the semifinals.

Sarah Hildebrandt lost 13-2 to junior world champion Mayu Mukaida in the first round. Hildebrandt was pulled back into repechage when Mukaida made the finals but lost her repechage match 7-4 to Ramona Galambos of Hungary.

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