Calkins Earns Bronze and Turner Advances to Finals at U17 World Championships

Wednesday in Athens saw the final medals awarded in Greco-Roman at the U17 World Championships, along with the first set of women’s freestyle bouts. Only one American was still active in the Greco tournament; however, he won both of his matches and came away with a bronze medal. 

David Calkins needed to win a repechage bout this morning just to have the opportunity to compete for a bronze medal at 92 kg. He did that with relative ease. His opponent, Brazil’s Raphael Rodrigues Duarte, was called for passivity, giving Calkins the advantage in par terre. Calkins seized the opportunity and locked up a gut-wrench and turned the Brazilian four times for a quick tech fall victory, 9-0. 

In the bronze medal bout, Calkins also got on the board early via a passivity call against his opponent, Ionut Patru of Romania. Calkins didn’t score on the ensuing par terre restart, but did late in the first period as he hustled into a takedown at the edge. In the second period, Calkins added a step-out point to win, 4-0. 

The women’s freestyle team started their tournament on a high note with four of their five wrestlers in action on Wednesday, opening with a win. Madison Healey (43 kg), Morgan Turner (49 kg), and Ella Poalillo (73 kg) all advanced to the semifinal after posting two wins apiece. The veteran of the bunch, Turner, was able to push through to the world finals. Healey and Poalillo will wrestle for bronze medals tomorrow. 

In making the finals, Turner locked up her third straight world medal at the U17 World Championships. Last year, she earned a bronze medal and, in 2023, Turner won a world title. 

To win her second gold medal, Turner will need to go through Japan’s Yu Kataoka. Kataoka has yet to surrender a point in this tournament and has two techs and a fall. Turner won’t be intimidated by an opponent from the traditional powerhouse nation, as she earned her previous world title at the expense of a Japanese foe. 

Turner’s pre-finals results are very similar to Kataoka’s - if not better. She has two falls and a tech and hasn’t been out of the first period. In the semifinals, Turner used a double leg and a sucker drag for takedowns and a 4-0 advantage. Later in the first period, Turner and her opponent, Anhelina Burkina, simultaneously shot, and Turner was able to get the better position and was in on a front headlock. She spun and nearly had a takedown, but instead, locked up a cradle and quickly picked up the fall. 

The other two Americans to start their tournament on Wednesday, Emma Bacon and Violett Lasure,  were both eliminated from medal contention. 

The remainder of the American women’s freestyle contingent will hit the mat on Thursday with Maisie Elliott (40 kg), Jaclyn Bouzakis (46 kg), Epenesa Elison (53 kg), Taina Fernandez (61 kg), and Cassandra Gonzales (69 kg) getting their tournaments underway. 
 

American Results

Women’s Freestyle

43 kg

Round of 16: Madison Healey over Mukhlisa Masharipova (Uzbekistan)  Fall :45

Quarterfinals: Madison Healey over Sayuki Hibarino (Japan)  Fall 3:29

Semifinals: Rachana (India) over Madison Healey  1-1
 

49 kg

Round of 16: Morgan Turner over Saniya Soltangali (Kazakhstan)  Fall :30

Quarterfinals: Morgan Turner over Komal Verma (India)  10-0

Semifinals: Morgan Turner over Anhelina Burkina (Belarus)  Fall 1:19
 

57 kg 

Round of 16: Sayuki Tanada (Japan) over Emma Bacon  5-3
 

65 kg

Round of 16: Violette Lasure over Vasiliki Karavanou (Greece)  10-2

Quarterfinals: Alexandra Moisei (Moldova) over Violette Lasure  Fall 2:30
 

73 kg

Round of 16: Ella Poalillo over Uranzaya Tserennyam (Mongolia)  Fall 3:06

Quarterfinals: Ella Poalillo over Jolina Healey (Canada)  Fall :50

Semifinals: Kajal (India) over Ella Poalillo  11-0
 

Greco-Roman

92 kg

Repechage: David Calkins over Raphael Rodrigues Duarte (Brazil)  9-0

Bronze Medal Match: David Calkins (USA) over Ionut Patru (Romania)  4-0
 

Thursday’s Gold Medal Matches

43 kg: Xin Huang (China) vs. Rachana (India)

49 kg: Morgan Turner (USA) vs. Yu Kataoka (Japan)

57 kg: Madkhiya Usmanova (Kazakhstan) vs. Moni (India)

65 kg: Mukhayyo Rakhimjonova (Uzbekistan) vs. Ashvini Vishnoi (India)

73 kg: Kajal (India) vs. Wenjin Qiu (China)
 

Final Medal Round Matches

Greco-Roman

45 kg

Gold Medal Match: Kuanyshbek Zhangazhol (Kazakhstan) over Nurkerim Kumarbekov (Kyrgyzstan)  8-7

Bronze Medal Match: Abdurrahman Huseynli (Azerbaijan) over Tymur Maharramov (Ukraine)  9-0

Bronze Medal Match: Vadim Tarelunga (Moldova) over Benyamin Khezli (Iran)  8-3
 

51 kg

Gold Medal Match: Otabek Tursunov (Uzbekistan) over Hikmat Hagverdiyev (Azerbaijan)  4-1

Bronze Medal Match: Marat Atshemyan (Armenia) over Polat Karadeniz (Turkiye)  11-0

Bronze Medal Match: Abu Saga (Norway) over Islam Kurbanov (Kyrgyzstan)  5-3
 

60 kg

Gold Medal Match: Ali Nazarov (Azerbaijan) over Amangeldi Ysakbaev (Kyrgyzstan)  6-1

Bronze Medal Match: Abolfazl Zare Eshaghi (Iran) over Humoyun Erkinov (Uzbekistan)  7-5

Bronze Medal Match: Zaven Mezhlumyan (Armenia) over Denys Seredin (Ukraine)  5-2
 

71 kg

Gold Medal Match: Behruzbek Valiev (Uzbekistan) over Dimitrios Soulis (Greece)  3-1

Bronze Medal Match: Mohammad Kazemi (Iran) over Yusif Ahmadli (Azerbaijan)  4-3

Bronze Medal Match: Marlen Meirbekuly (Kazakhstan) over Imre Kolompar (Hungary)  7-1
 

92 kg

Gold Medal Match: Amirsam Mohammadi (Iran) over Kanstantin Kasyan (Belarus)  8-0

Bronze Medal Match: Ahmet Uzun (Turkiye) over Said Pashayev (Azerbaijan)  5-0

Bronze Medal Match: David Calkins (USA) over Ionut Patru (Romania)  4-0