Braxton Amos (Kadir Caliskan; UWW)The last group of American wrestlers took the mat Saturday morning in Ufa, Russia, during the second day of men's Greco-Roman competition at the Junior World Championships. Day one of the Greco tournament yielded no wins for the US team; however, Kodiak Stephens was pulled into the repechage phase at 87 kgs. Stephens was eliminated from the tournament today as he fell 8-0 to Maksat Sailau (Kazakhstan) in his first repechage bout.
This phase of Greco wrestlers fared better than the opening day, led by Braxton Amos at 97 kg. The Junior world freestyle champion was seeking to double up and win titles in both disciplines. Amos got off to an excellent start towards achieving those goals, as he tore through his first two opponents. In the Round of 16, Amos used a four-point throw to start the match and continued to post points in an 8-0 tech. A match later, he finished strong and scored seven points in the last 92 seconds of the bout to distance himself from Mustafa Olgun (Turkey), 8-1.
The second win earned Amos a place in the semifinals opposite Aleksei Mileshin (Russia). Mileshin proved to be more Greco-savvy and blew the match open after a passivity call. Already ahead 3-0, Mileshin was able to expose Amos twice to bring his lead to 7-0. That forced Amos to push even harder for a score and Mileshin was able to avoid Amos' overtures and secure another first period takedown. The final takedown brought the match into the criteria for technical superiority.
Since Amos advanced to the semifinals he'll automatically drop down into a bronze medal match. Tomorrow's repechage round will determine his opponent, but it will be the winner of Antti Henrik Haanpaeae (Finland) and Arkyt Orozbekov (Kyrgyzstan). Both fell via tech to Mileshin.
The other American to post a victory on Saturday was one of the top recruits in the Class of 2022, Nic Bouzakis. Despite starting with an early two-point deficit, Bouzakis was able to pour on the scoring and down Spain's Miguel Loureiro dos Santos during an 11-2 tech. In his second bout, Bouzakis got down early again. This time it was to Arslanbek Salimov (Poland). Bouzakis couldn't replicate the comeback feat of his first bout and fell 12-5. He would get eliminated when Salimov lost in the semifinals.
American Results
60 kg
Nic Bouzakis (USA) over Miguel Loureiro dos Santos (Spain) 11-2
Arslanbek Salimov (Poland) over Nic Bouzakis (USA) 12-5
67 kg
Muslim Imadaev (Russia) over Domenic Damon (USA) 10-0
72 kg
Omer Dogan (Turkey) over Justus Scott (USA) 8-0
82 kg
Mikhail Khachaturau (Belarus) over Jonathon Fagen (USA) 7-2
87 kg
Repechage
Maksat Sailau (Kazakhstan) over Kodiak Stephens (USA) 8-0
97 kg
Braxton Amos (USA) over Yerzat Yerlanov (Kazakhstan) 8-0
Braxton Amos (USA) over Mustafa Olgun (Turkey) 8-1
Aleksei Mileshin (Russia) over Braxton Amos (USA) 9-0
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