Welcome to Bloodround Wrestling! We are a website for all things wrestling including news, features, results, and a weekly podcast. Thanks for visiting!

Junior World's, Lee wins Gold

/

One year after USA impressed in Croatia with taking home the Junior Freestyle team title and 6 medals, Team USA went to Rio

Let's start with the positive. 16 year-old Spencer Lee dominated his way through the 50kg bracket winning five matches by tech fall and claiming a gold medal for Uncle Sam. Last year, he was busy winning a Cadet World Championship as his trophy display is rapidly growing. 

USA added three bronze medals on day 2 for a respectable medal count. The newest Wolverine Stevan Micic plus Nathan Butler & Aaron Pico were able to medal in the always competitive tournament. 

Joey McKenna missed weight and the story has produced some controversy. He apparently made weight on the "check scale" but when he stepped on the official scale, which was for some reason unavailable to competitors before weigh-ins. I (obviously) wasn't there so I don't want to really comment on Team USA & McKenna. I do think administratively on UWW that this sounds like another example of non-wrestlers running wrestling events. The scale(s) are important and it should be available for everyone to get the task of making weight out of the way so wrestling can begin. It makes zero sense that official scales aren't available. 

USA finishes 4th in Junior Freestyle as a team which the goal and expectation was for a team title. 

50 kg/110 lbs. – Spencer Lee, Murraysville, Pa. (Young Guns), gold medal
WIN Roman Gutsalyak (Ukraine), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Darkhan Kalkenov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall 12-2
WIN Roberti Dingashvili (Georgia), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Bhart Datil (India), tech. fall 12-2
WIN Ali Reza Goodarzi (Iran), tech fall 10-0

74 kg163 lbs. – Mark Hall, Apple Valley, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 9th
WIN Yayuro Yamasaki (Japan), 6-2
WIN Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), pin 5:34
LOSS Peter Nagy (Hungary), 4-2

96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Anthony Cassar, Bridgewater, N.J. (Nittany Lion WC), 8th
WIN Kristoff Wittmann (Hungary), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Roubel Singh (India), pin 1:33

55 kg/121 lbs. – Stevan Micic, Cedar Lake, Ind. (Chicago RTC), bronze medal
LOSS Ravi Kumar (India), 8-12
WIN Samuel Jagas (Canada), 10-0
WIN Zanzabar Zandanbud (Mongolia), 6-0

66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Aaron Pico, Whittier, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC), bronze medal
WIN Kalman Balasz (Hungary), 11-0
WIN Ilyas Zhumay (Kazakhstan), 10-0
LOSS Teymur Mammadov (Azerbaijan), 7-7
WIN Enus Uslu (Turkey), 13-4

84 kg/185 lbs. – Zahid Valencia, Pico Rivera, Calif. (Sunkist Kids), 10th
WIN Benjamin Optiz (Germany), tech. fall, 10-0
LOSS Arsen Musalaliev (Russia), 7-4

120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Nathan Butler, Leavenworth, Kan. (California RTC), bronze medal
WIN Beka Kandelaki (Georgia), 6-2
LOSS Said Gamidov (Azerbaijan), 1-5
WIN Kamil Kosciulek (Poland), 2-1

1. Iran, 62 pts.
2. Azerbaijan, 58 pts.
3. Russia, 49 pts.
4. United States, 40 pts.
5. India, 30 pts.
6. Belarus, 21
7. Kazakhstan, 20
8. Georgia, 18
9. Japan, 18
10. Turkey, 18