Turkey Trot
/USA sent their A squad for Men's Freestyle to the Yasur Dogu tournament in Turkey this weekend for a tune-up and seeding points potential. Gilman, Dake, and Taylor all won titles further showing the depth and firepower that the Americans are sending to Budapest in October for the World Championships.
The panic button on Gilman dropping a couple matches in April at the World Cup was pre-mature at the time and should seem silly now. His losses then were to the defending World Champion and this year's European Champion. Getting through a tournament of this caliber bodes well for another trip to the medal stand in 2018.
Despite the talent, there can be some worry that Dake & Taylor have been stuck a step out of the lineup in the senior careers perhaps leaving them without the proper experience. Dake & Taylor don't seem have any of those concerns. None of their seven matches went the distance and only one wasn't a pin. This kind of dominance in senior level wrestling is unheard of, plus Taylor is doing it in an Olympic weight class.
Burroughs appeared to be cruising against Chamizo (Italy) in another meeting of the World Champions. However, late after a Burroughs takedown Chamizo scrambled them out of bounds. Somehow a review gave Chamizo four that gave him a 10-10 criteria win.
Snyder also dropped a criteria match to Alborov (Azerbaijan) who beat Cox on criteria down at 92 kg at the World Cup. It has been an impressive year for Alborov with wins over another Olympic Gold to add to the Americans, but this isn't the first time we have seen Snyder drop a low scoring match overseas before the main event. Snyder would rebound for bronze.
Gwiazdowski added a bronze medal to Team USA's haul. He dropped a semi-final 4-3, but won a thriller for bronze with a nifty late exposure off a low single leg.
Overall, it was some mixed results of highs and lows but Team USA has not given any reason to doubt their ability to repeat as team champions in 2018.
U.S. men’s freestyle performances (Group 1)
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), gold medal
WIN Berdakh Primbayev (Kazakhstan), 11-3
WIN Suleyman Atli (Turkey), 7-5
WIN Taras Markovych (Ukraine), 6-6
WIN Dzimchyk Rynchynau (Belarus), 10-5
65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC), dnp/11th
LOSS Daulet Niyazbekov (Kazakhstan), 6-4
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC), silver medal
WIN Saeed Zervanatareq (Iraq), 10-0
WIN Nurykan Azamat (Belarus), win by cautions
WIN Bolat Sakayev (Kazakhstan), 9-5
LOSS Frank Chamizo (Italy), 10-10
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC), gold medal
WIN Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan), pin 4:37
WIN Boris Makoev (Slovakia), pin 3:50
WIN Ahmet Bilici (Turkey), pin 4:05
WIN Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), pin 1:22
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC)
WIN Alireza Goodarzi (Iran), 10-0
LOSS Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan), 3-3
WIN Riza Yilidrim (Turkey), tech. fall 11-0
U.S. men’s freestyle performance (Group 2)
61 kg/134 lbs. – Nahshon Garrett, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
LOSS Hasanzada Mircalal (Azerbaijan), 14-7
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC)
LOSS Sefa Aksoy (Turkey), 5-4
79 kg/174 lbs. – Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/New York RTC), gold medal
WIN Jabrail Hasanov (Azerbaijan), fall 5:37
WIN Ayhan Sucu (Turkey), 1:01
WIN Ibrahim Yusubov (Azerbaijan), tech. fall 11-0
92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J’den Cox, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC)
LOSS Serdar Boke (Turkey), 2-2
125 kg/275 lbs. - Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC), bronze medal
WIN Sumit (India), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Duman Bultrikov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (Ukraine), 4-3
WIN Nick Matuhin (Germany), 6-4
