Freestyle:
Saturday’s Session II did not bring many surprises in freestyle. Two of the three No. 1 seeds, Shawn Bunch (60 kg) and Dustin Schlatter (74 kg), advanced to tonight’s best-of-3 finals. And the other Challenge Tournament champion was 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat, who moved to 96 kg after competing at 84 kg for the U.S. Nationals.
In the Challenge Tournament finals, Bunch defeated Coleman Scott in straight periods, 3-0, 1-0, in a rematch of the 2008 U.S. Nationals finals at 60 kg. Bunch will now face Mike Zadick tonight, which is a rematch of the finals at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and 2009 U.S. Nationals -- both won by Zadick.
Schlatter, who took a redshirt year at the University of Minnesota, blanked Ryan Churella in straight periods, 2-0, 1-0, in the Challenge Tournament finals at 74 kg. Tonight Schlatter will face hometown favorite Travis Paulson, who competed at nearby Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs.
Hrovat needed three periods to defeat J.D. Bergman, 3-0, 0-3, 1-0, to advance to the best-of-3 finals tonight against Jake Varner.
Greco-Roman:
Coming into the 2009 U.S. World Team Trials, the 55 kg weight class in the Greco-Roman competition was one of the most anticipated weight classes in the event. The weight class includes four U.S. Nationals champions, including World bronze medalist Lindsey Durlacher and Olympian Spenser Mango. Both were lower seeds in the semifinals in the semifinals … and both came out victorious.
Durlacher, who retired after the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials before deciding to compete again this season, topped 2009 U.S. Nationals champion Jermaine Hodge in the semifinals, 1-0, 3-0, to advance to tonight’s best-of-3 finals. Mango, who competed at 60 kg at the U.S. Nationals, defeated rival Sam Hazewinkel in a thrilling match. Mango won the first period 2-1 and was leading 5-0 in the second period before Hazewinkel locked up a bear hug and put Mango to his back, nearly picking up the pin. But Mango was able to fight off his back and eventually held on to win the period, 5-4, and take the match in two straight periods.
In the other three Greco-Roman weight classes being contested today, 74 kg, 84 kg, and 120 kg, the U.S. Nationals champions earned automatic berths in tonight’s best-of-3 finals by virtue of placing in the top five in the World Championships. Those wrestlers include Harry Lester (74 kg), T.C. Dantzler (84 kg), and Dremiel Byers (120 kg).
At 74 kg, Jess Hargrave defeated Jake Fisher in the Challenge Tournament finals, 1-0, 0-1, 2-0, to advance to tonight’s best-of-3 finals against Lester. At 84 kg, Chas Betts topped Aaron Sieracki in the Challenge Tournament finals, 1-0, 1-0, and will now face Dantzler. The Challenge Tournament champion at 120 kg in Greco-Roman was Brandon Rupp, who will battle World champion Dremiel Byers tonight.
Women’s Freestyle:
The four women who came out victorious in the Challenge Tournament finals were Jessica Medina (51 kg), Deanna Rix (59 kg), Christen Paysse (67 kg), and Ali Bernard (120 kg).
Saturday’s Finals Matchups:
Freestyle:
60 kg:
Mike Zadick vs. Shawn Bunch
74 kg:
Travis Paulson vs. Dustin Schlatter
96 kg:
Jake Varner vs. Andy Hrovat
Greco-Roman:
55 kg:
Lindsey Durlacher vs. Spenser Mango
74 kg
Harry Lester vs. Jess Hargrave
84 kg
T.C. Dantzler vs. Chas Betts
120 kg:
Dremiel Byers vs. Brandon Rupp
Women’s Freestyle:
51 kg:
Patricia Miranda vs. Jessica Medina
59 kg:
Kelsey Campbell vs. Deanna Rix
67 kg:
Adeline Gray vs. Christen Paysse
72 kg:
Jenna Pavlik vs. Ali Bernard
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now