InterMat Staff

LAS VEGAS -- Jordan Burroughs delivered the grand finale of the World Wrestling Championships on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The 27-year-old Burroughs crushed Mongolia's Unurbat Purevjav 10-0 in the gold-medal match at 74 kilos in front of a sold-out crowd at the Orleans Arena. It was the final match on the final day of the six-day event held in Sin City. "You really can't put this moment into perspective because this is what we dream of," said Burroughs, who outscored his opposition 45-5. Jordan Burroughs jumps into the arms of his coach Mark Manning following his gold-medal victory on Saturday night (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Burroughs used his trademark double leg for a takedown midway through the first period to gain a 2-0 advantage. In the second period Burroughs fired off a shot and the Mongolian attempted to counter by exposing the American. Purevjav was initially awarded four points for the move, while Burroughs was given two points, resulting in a score of 4-4. USA challenged the call, and it was overturned, resulting in four points for Burroughs and none for the Mongolian to bring the score to 6-0. Burroughs continued the offensive assault, picking up two more takedowns and ending the match by technical superiority with just a few seconds left on the clock. "I really wanted that tech fall," said Burroughs. "I think I got the last takedown with two or three seconds left. It was the sprinkles on the sundae. It was nice." It's Burroughs' third World title to go along with his Olympic gold medal in 2012, and fifth World or Olympic medal in five years. He is now one of four American men's freestyle wrestlers to win three World titles, joining John Smith, Bruce Baumgartner and Lee Kemp. "It never gets easier," said Burroughs. "I'll tell you that much. It's always tough. We're always finding new ways to evolve." Jordan Burroughs finishes for a takedown on Mongolia's Unurbat Purevjav in the gold-medal match at 74 kilos on Saturday (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)With the victory, Burroughs finishes the year with a perfect 22-0 record. He has compiled an international career record of 114-2. "He doesn't want to just keep winning," said Burroughs' coach Mark Manning. "He wants to win and keep getting better. That's what sets him apart." Burroughs, who won two NCAA titles at Nebraska, had a message for the NCAA. "If anyone from the NCAA is watching this, change college wrestling to freestyle wrestling," said Burroughs. "That would be ideal. I love freestyle." Burroughs wasn't the only American to win a medal on Saturday night. James Green, competing in his first World Championships, captured a bronze medal at 70 kilos with a first-period fall over world No. 9 Muroslav Kirov of Bulgaria. It was his first match after losing in the semifinals to Iran's Hassan Yazdani in Saturday's first session. The 22-year-old Green was dominant from the start in the bronze-medal match, getting a takedown off a double leg 26 seconds into the match to go up 2-0. He built his lead to 4-0 after countering a Kirov attack for a takedown. Midway through the opening period Green hit a clean single let attack, and the Bulgarian tried to counter it, but ended up getting put to his back and pinned. "I knew I got that guy as soon as I stepped on the mat," said Green. "My head was in the match. My head was in the moment. Coming off that loss it kind of put fuel in the flames. I was ready to go." The two U.S. medalists on Saturday, Burroughs and Green, are both former Nebraska wrestlers who are still training in Lincoln under Manning. Both are from New Jersey. "We're young African Americans from South Jersey," said Burroughs. "We didn't really have much growing up. James' dad passed away when he was kid. Now he's gone from never winning an NCAA championship and being third at the NCAAs to being third in the world, and really creating a lot of opportunities for himself financially and just figuratively. I think he's got a bright future ahead." James Green celebrates after winning a World bronze medal at 70 kilos (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Green had high praise for his coach after his bronze-medal victory. "He's seen all types of different wrestlers, different styles," Green said of Mark Manning. "He knows how to make us better in the positions that we need a little help with, keeping our hands in front, not just trying to use our speed but use our hands and speed together, moving guys and getting them out of position. He's just a great coach. He gives you inspiration. He keeps your head up and keeps you wanting to work hard." Green's weight class, 70 kilos, is not one of the six men's freestyle weight class contested in the Olympic Games. He has already made the decision that we will drop to 65 kilos for his Olympic run. "It's a cut, but it's doable," Green said of making 65 kilos. "We've got a great plan, a great system. I'll be down quicker, still the same strength and looking to dominate guys." Green has a win this year over Italy's Frank Chamizo, who became a World champion at 65 kilos this week in Las Vegas. "With Chamizo winning, that just gives me confidence looking forward to 2016," said Green. Russia won the men's freestyle team title with 61 points, followed by Iran with 48 points and Georgia with 44. Team USA finished seventh in the team standings. "We've really got to get better as a country both technically and mentally, understanding that, listen, if you really want to be the bet you have to dedicate yourself. It's not about what you want, or what your family needs. If you want to wrestle, wrestle and listen to Bruce." Also winning World titles on Saturday night were Georgia's Vladimer Khinchegashvili (57 kilos), Russia's Magomedras Gazimagomedov (70 kilos) and Turkey's Taha Akgul (125 kilos). Vladimer Khinchegashvili came back to defeat Iran's Hassan Rahimi in the gold-medal match at 57 kilos (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Khinchegashvili won his first World title in dramatic fashion, beating Iran's Hassan Rahimi 5-4 in the gold-medal match at 57 kilos. Rahimi seemed to be in control of the match leading 4-1 in the second period. But the Georgian, a World silver medalist last year, kept attacking and picked up two late takedowns -- the final one coming off a duckunder in the last 15 seconds -- to pull out the victory. World No. 1 Gazimagomedov of Russia handled Iran's Hassan Yazdani 10-3 in the gold-medal match at 70 kilos. Akgul repeated as World champion at 125 kilos with a 10-0 technical superiority victory over Jamaladdin Magomedov of Azerbaijan in just over 60 seconds. He picked up a takedown and went to his lace and turned Magomedov four times to put the match away. Russia's Bilyal Makhov became the first wrestler in 42 years to win a medal in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the same Worlds. He took home a bronze medal in both styles. Day 6 (Saturday) Medalists Men's freestyle: 57 kilos: Gold: Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia) Silver: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) Bronze: Bekhbayar Erdenebat (Mongolia) Bronze: Viktor Lebedev (Russia) 70 kilos: Gold: Magomedras Gazimagomedov (Russia) Silver: Hassan Yazdani (Iran) Bronze: James Green (USA) Bronze: Yakup Gor (Turkey) 125 kilos: Gold: Taha Akgul (Turkey) Silver: Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) Bronze: Bilyal Makhov (Russia) 74 kilos: Gold: Jordan Burroughs (USA) Silver: Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia) Bronze: Narsingh Yadav (India) Bronze: Aniuar Geduev (Russia)

LAS VEGAS -- With the clock ticking to under a minute remaining, Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs found himself trailing in his semifinal match at the World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. Jordan Burroughs celebrates after his semifinal win at the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Burroughs, ranked No. 1 in the world, was battling world No. 2 Aniuar Geduev of Russia. Burroughs had taken an early lead, but Geduev battled back to take the lead on criteria after a takedown in the second period. With USA chants drowning out Russia chants in the Orelans Arena, Burroughs delivered with his trademark double leg for a takedown with 50 seconds remaining in the match to take a 4-2 lead. The Russian would add a step-out point in the final 20 seconds, but Burroughs held on for 4-3 victory and a spot in the gold-medal match tonight. "It's really a battle of wills," said Burroughs. "I may not be the best wrestler technically, but I think have the biggest heart in the entire world." Burroughs won World titles in 2011 and 2013, with his Olympic title sandwiched between. Last year he lost in the World semifinals to Russia's Denis Tsargush, a three-time World champion, before coming back and winning bronze. "Unfortunately for me I always have a Russian on my side, but it made for a very exciting match," said Burroughs, who improved his season record to 21-0. Burroughs' finals opponent will be Mongolia's Unurbat Purevjav. "I really want to enjoy this moment," said Burroughs. "My family is here. My son gets to see me compete. I'm in Vegas. The crowd is chanting USA. I'm wrestling well. I'm feeling good. What else could I ask for right now? I'm in a great position to be a four-time World champion tonight. I'm excited." Burroughs blanked Iran's Alireza Gasemi 5-0 in the quarterfinals. Burroughs scored a takedown 35 seconds into the match. In the final minute of the opening period Burroughs scored a point off the shot clock, and then a takedown off a double leg to lead 5-0 at the break. The second period saw a lot of action but no more scoring. Burroughs hammered his round of 16 opponent Mihaly Nagy of Hungary 11-0. A minute into the match Burroughs scored a takedown off a double leg and transitioned to a lace and scored two more points to go up 4-0. Burroughs kept the pressure on, earning a step-out point and then a takedown with another turn off a lace to go up 9-0. He put the match away in the second with another takedown to win by technical superiority. Burroughs was dominant in his second match, earning a 10-0 technical superiority over Oleg Zakharevych of Ukraine. Burroughs scored two points off penalty points early in the first period to go up 2-0. Late in the first period Burroughs pulled away, picking up a takedown and two turns off a lace to lead 8-0 at the break. Burroughs put the match away in the second period with a takedown off a double leg. He was pushed in his first match against Poland's Krystian Brzozwski, but came out on top 5-2. Brzozwski struck first, earning a takedown midway through the first period to go up 2-0. Burroughs picked up a late first-period takedown to make the score 2-2 at the break. Midway through the second period Burroughs scored a takedown off his double leg to go up 4-2. Burroughs would add a step-out point with 45 seconds left to win by three. James Green reached the semifinals before losing to Iran's Hassan Yazdani (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)James Green will wrestle for a bronze medal tonight at 70 kilos. The 22-year-old Green was dominant in his first three matches before losing to Iran's Hassan Yazdani, a 2014 Junior World champion, in the semifinals 9-4. Against Yazdani, Green kept the match competitive and trailed just 5-4 in the second period. Yazadani turned it up late, picking up a takedown with 1:23 left, and then a short time later earned another takedown to go up five, which essentially put the match away. He will wrestle Muroslav Kirov of Bulgaria in the bronze-medal match. Green trains with Burroughs at Nebraska. "A lot of people didn't even expect him to get him that far coming into this tournament," Burroughs said of Green. "So the fact that he was able to rattle off three straight and make it to the semifinals and wrestle for a bronze tonight is I say outstanding on his behalf." Green cruised to a 10-0 technical superiority over India's Kumar Arun in the quarterfinals. The former Nebraska wrestler jumped out to a 6-0 lead after a takedown and two trapped-arm gut wrenches in the first period. Two more Green takedowns in the second period ended the match. Green was untested in the round of 16 as he beat Robert Olle of Slovakia 10-0. Green had four takedowns in the opening period to lead 8-0 at the break. After giving up a point in the second period, Green scored with a takedown and turn to end the match. Green put on a takedown clinic in his opening match against Johnathan Scott Duque of Costa Rica. Green scored three takedown in the first two minutes of the match, and then added two more takedowns in the final 30 seconds to earn the 10-0 technical superiority. Tony Ramos won two matches before losing a tight match in the round of 16 to 2013 World champion Hassan Rahimi of Iran. With the score 1-1 and Ramos leading on criteria, Rahimi secured a late takedown and held on for a 3-1 victory. Ramos was put in repechage after Rahimi advanced to the gold-medal match, but the former Hawkeye fell to Asadulla Lachinau of Belarus 7-1 in his repechage match, which ended his day. Lachinau led 1-0 after the first period and built on his lead in the second period with two takedowns and two step-out points. "I didn't get what I wanted, but I won a few matches," said Ramos. "I got back on that backside. I battled hard with the guy who I think is going to win the tournament. I've got to get over that hump and win that match." Tony Ramos celebrates after winning his second match at the Worlds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)In the second round Ramos won a hard-fought match over Makhmudjon Shavkatov of Uzbekistan 3-3 on criteria. Shavkatov scored first off the shot clock to go up 1-0. In the second period Ramos scored off the shot clock, which made the score 1-1. Shavkatov took a one-point lead after getting a step-out point with a minute remaining. Ramos kept the pressure on, and with 25 seconds picked up a takedown to go up 3-2. Shavkatov would get a late point off a step-out, but it wasn't enough as Ramos took the match on criteria. Ramos opened with a convincing 10-1 victory over Wber Euclides Cuero Munoz. The Colombian scored first after Ramos was called for fleeing the hold. Ramos picked up a takedown in the final minute of the first period to lead 2-1 at the break. Ramos then broke the match open in the second period, picking up three takedowns and scoring with a lace. Zack Rey went 0-1 in his first trip to the World Championships at 125 kilos. The New Jersey native faced 2013 World silver medalist Alan Zasieiev of Ukraine in his first match, and fell 6-1. The Ukranian led 2-1 at the break, and then opened up the scoring in the second period, picking up two takedowns and winning the match by five points. Rey was eliminated from the competition when Zakharevych surrendered an eight-point lead in his next match, losing 16-8 to Geno Petriashvili of Georgia. "I've wrestled him in the past," said Rey. "I've lost to him in the past. I'm not here for the experience. I'm here to get a medal. I didn't get that done." Rey was a late addition to Team USA after World Team Trials champion Tervel Dlganev was unable to compete because of an injury. He said he felt ready. "I was in great shape," said Rey. "I felt good. My strength was there. I just didn't get it done today." Tonight's final session begins at 6:30 p.m. PT.

MITCHELL, S.D. -- The Dakota Wesleyan University wrestling program has a new head coach and it is a familiar face in the Tiger wrestling family. Graduate Assistant Coach Nick Hutcheson has been promoted to interim head coach of the Tiger wrestling program for the 2015-16 year, it was announced by DWU Athletic Director Curt Hart on Friday. "Nick knows the program, and he knows DWU," DWU Associate Athletic Director Jon Hart said. "After serving as an assistant, he is already well respected by the current team and we are confident he can lead the program in the right direction." The move was made after former coach Boomer Fechko resigned over the summer. The Tigers finished 1-15 in duals last season after a program-best finish of 9-7 in 2013-14. Hutcheson is entering his seventh consecutive year as a member of the DWU wrestling team. He joined the Tiger coaching staff after graduating from DWU in 2014. "First of all, I am very excited about the opportunity to step in as the head coach," Hutcheson said. "We have a great group of young men on the team and I will have the support of an amazing coaching staff. I am looking forward to the season and I am excited about the future of Dakota Wesleyan wrestling. I have been involved with this program in one way or another for the past six years and it means a lot that the administration has given me the opportunity to continue contributing." Hutcheson wrestled at 157 and 165 pounds for DWU and had a successful career on and off the mat for the Tigers. The Elk Point, S.D., native qualified for the NAIA National Championships three times, and earned All-Great Plains Athletic Conference Second Team honors at 165 pounds in 2012. He took second at the North Region Qualifying Tournament in 2013, and placed fifth in 2011. Hutcheson finished his career 10th on the school's all-time wins list with a 65-47 record. Hutcheson also earned several honors for his work in the classroom for DWU. He was a part of the Tiger team that finished with the highest GPA in the NAIA and was an NAIA Scholar Athlete in 2014 as a senior. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in educational policy and administration at DWU.

A ring that had been worn by a former University of Nebraska-Omaha wrestler who died in a kayaking accident just over a decade ago has been found by a jeweler in Plattsmouth, Neb. and returned to the late wrestler's parents, the Lincoln-Journal Star reported Friday. Jewelry store owners Kim and Russ Kathol frequently purchase costume and vintage jewelry to offer for sale in their Main Street Jewelers store in Plattsmouth, a community just south of Omaha. Among the treasures they acquired in a recent purchase was a UNO wrestling team ring with the name Greise engraved on it. With the help of the Internet, they traced the ring to Jesse Greise, who drowned while kayaking near his home in 2004. The Kathols found that Jesse's parents, Pat and Cindy Greise, still lived in the Omaha area. After the Kathols left a couple voicemail messages, the Greises responded ... and, just last week, were reunited with their late son's ring from his days as a Maverick wrestler. Jesse Greise drowned while kayaking with a friend in West Papio Creek in Papillion, Neb. in July 2004. According to his obituary, the kayak was upended when it went over a small waterfall; the friend was able to jump out of the watercraft just before it hit the drop, but Greise didn't see the drop, and disappeared under the water. After extensive searches conducted by first responders and friends, his body was discovered about a day-and-a-half after his disappearance. Greise was 21 years old. According to his UNO bio, Jesse Greise launched his collegiate career in 2001. During the 2001-02 season, Greise was a redshirt freshman, building an 8-7 record by wrestling unattached in tournaments at 157 pounds. Injuries cut short his mat career in 2003. At the time, the UNO wrestling program, led by Mike Denney, was an NCAA Division II powerhouse, claiming a number of individual and team titles. However, the night the Mavericks won the 2010 NCAA D2 team championship, administrators called Denney to tell him the program had been eliminated, effective immediately. Denney and a number of his wrestlers moved on to Maryville University in the St. Louis area. Prior to enrolling at Nebraska-Omaha, Greise wrestled at Omaha Skutt High School, where he was a three-time Nebraska state finalist, winning the state title in Feb. 2001. To honor their son and his love of the outdoors, in 2004 the Greises established the Jesse Greise Do-It-Right Foundation. In the bio at the Foundation's website, the 21-year-old environmental science major was described as "living life in high gear. The great outdoors was his passion. He had a great understanding for nature and an appreciation for it ... He chose to share those values every day with all that crossed his path. He would extend a hand like he would cast a line, with great enthusiasm and desire to embrace the fullness of life that God had provided him. He was a 'fisher of men'." The website goes on to state, "Funds that are donated to this non-profit organization will be used to help children by providing scholarships, introductions to the stars, the weather, the environment and sports. All to spark interest for future careers as well as providing resources and avenues to achieve them."

For the Kyrgyzstan wrestling team, the road to the 2015 United World Wrestling Championships being held in Las Vegas this week included an important stop in Norman, Okla., at the University of Oklahoma. For the week prior to the Worlds, the Sooners hosted the Kyrgyzstan wrestling team, who held its pre-competition training camp in Norman at Oklahoma's practice facility, SoonerSports.com reported Thursday. The Kyrgyzstan wrestlers didn't choose Norman by throwing a dart on a map. Kyrgyzstan coach Ruslan Madzhinov had served as an assistant for three seasons to current Sooner coach Mark Cody when Cody was at the helm at American University in Washington, D.C. "A month ago I talked to Mark and told him we were going to Las Vegas for the World Championships and we needed a camp," Madzhinov said. "I asked if it was possible that we could have camp with his team and he told me it was no problem. This is a very nice school and he has a very good team, and I'm so happy to be here." What's more, the Oklahoma wrestling facility is home to one of USA Wrestling's Olympic practice facilities. That proved to be a win-win situation for both the host and visitors. The Kyrgyzstan team gained a training facility to use to prepare for the World Championships here in the U.S., while Sooner wrestlers who have a USA Wrestling Card were allowed to get into the facility to practice and learn from the visiting team. It wasn't all wrestling, all the time for the Kyrgyzstan mat squad. Their Sooner hosts served up a taste of America by treating their guests to dinner in Norman, then introduced them to American college football at the Oklahoma home opener against University of Akron.

Former Bucknell coach Bob Ferraro, King's College coach Ned McGinley, and former Penn State wrestlers Sam Markle and Galen Dreibelbis will be among the individuals to be inducted into the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, it was announced this week. Other honorees to be welcomed next spring include retired referees Wayne Hershey and Tom Ott, business leader and Hall of Fame board member Joe Stabilito, retired Tunkhannock coach Frank Wadas and the late William Holland Jr., a graduate of both Lock Haven High School and Lock Haven University and a longtime District 6 wrestling chairman and PIAA president. Ferraro made a name for himself as an athlete and coach at Bucknell University. He was the school's only two-time NCAA Division I All-American, compiling an 118-21-1 career record in the 1990s… then went on to take the helm of the program. Ferraro is also founder and CEO of the National High School Coaches Association, which started as an organization to provide high school wrestlers with the opportunity to test themselves against the best grapplers from beyond their state borders in folkstyle competition. McGinley has served as long-time head wrestling coach at King's College, the NCAA Division III program in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. A 1961 graduate of Kingston High School (now Wyoming Valley West), McGinley where he was a three-year starter and a two-time District 2 champion and Northeast Regional Tournament runner-up at 98-pounds. He continued his wrestling career at Wilkes where he went 21-3-1 in dual meets over his three-year varsity career, and was a NAIA All-American in 1963. Markle wrestled at both Bellefonte Area High School and Penn State. He returned to his high school alma mater as an instructor and coach for the wrestling, football and golf teams. Markle then became a PIAA official and worked along the mats for 25 years. Since retiring as an official he became an evaluator of officials. Dreibelbis was a three-year starter for State College Area High School (class of 1952) who went on to wrestle at Penn State. He was also the first president of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. His philanthropic efforts over the years have assisted a number of causes, including Penn State's Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. The induction ceremony for the 23rd class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Pennsylvania chapter will take place April 24, 2016 at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa.

LAS VEGAS -- For the past five years Kyle Snyder has prepared every day for the moment that came on Friday night in Las Vegas. Kyle Snyder runs around the mat with the American flag draped around him (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The precocious 19-year-old was wrestling for a World championship in his home country, and he believed it was his time to be a World champion. It didn't matter that he came up short of winning an NCAA title in March, or that no U.S. wrestler under the age of 21 had ever won a World championship in freestyle wrestling. In front of a sellout crowd at the Orleans Arena, with the crowd chanting USA, Snyder toppled defending World champion Abdusalam Gadisov from Russia in the gold-medal match at 97 kilos to become the youngest American to ever win a World title in freestyle wrestling. "I like making history," said Snyder. "I want to be known as one of the greatest wrestlers ever to live. That's what I plan on doing." Gadisov scored the first point of the match off the shot clock to go up 1-0 just over two minutes into the match. At the end of the period Snyder drove Gadisov out of bounds for a point, and the match was tied 1-1 at the break. Snyder picked up a takedown 19 seconds into the second period to go up 3-1. But the Russian quickly responded with a takedown of his own to make it 3-3. Gadisov then was able to get a step-out point to go up 4-3. With just over 20 seconds left in the match Snyder converted a leg attack into a takedown to go up 5-4. Gadisov kept the pressure on and was able to get another step-out point late in the match, which made the score 5-5. Snyder led on the criteria of having more two-point moves. Gadisov kept attacking, but Snyder held on for the victory. Kyle Snyder gets in on a shot against Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"A lot of time goes into something like this," said Snyder. "Guys like Gadisov and the other guys in my bracket are a big reason why I'm where I'm at today. I appreciate them and I know that without them pushing me to become a wrestler I never would have done this." Before enrolling at Ohio State, Snyder spent his senior year of high school in 2013-14 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs training freestyle exclusively. "I tell people all the time, if you have the opportunity to do that, that's what you should do," said Snyder of the experience. "I got the chance to wrestle overseas a couple times, get a couple foreign feels, along with wrestling some of the best Americans that we have to offer and getting some of the best coaches." Snyder is a multiple-time Junior World medalist. He was a Junior World champion in 2013. Snyder was eligible to wrestle at the Junior World Championships this year, but instead chose to focus on the senior level. "Focusing strictly on the seniors was just as fun because I love the training," said Snyder. "I love the process of becoming a better wrestler. It was a great summer of wrestling. It felt good to cap it off with a win." Snyder, who finished as an NCAA runner-up as a true freshman at Ohio State, will take an Olympic redshirt in 2015-16. He plans to return to Ohio State after the Olympic Games. "If I can wrestle the best guys in the world then I should be able to go to class a couple times a day," said Snyder. Leigh Jaynes-Provisor gets her hand raised after winning a World bronze medal (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Leigh Jaynes-Provisor claimed the bronze medal at 60 kilos in women's freestyle wrestling with a 4-2 victory over Irina Petr Netreba of Azerbaijan. Netreba scored first, getting a two-point exposure in the first period and led 2-0 at the break. Jaynes-Provisor picked up a takedown just under 30 seconds into the second period to make the score 2-2. In the final 30 seconds, Netreba was able to get a takedown off a shot and for a moment take a 4-2 lead until Jaynes-Provisor used a crotch lift to gain two exposure points, which made the score 4-4, but gave the American the victory on criteria. Jaynes-Provisor talked about the support of her family, specifically her husband Ben Provisor, a 2012 Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling. "I know that Ben will never lie to me, and he told me that I had the ability to do this," Jaynes-Provisor said. "I believed him because he is brutally honest sometimes." Jaynes-Provisor's lone loss in Las Vegas came in the semifinals when she lost by fall in 18 seconds to eventual gold medalist Oksana Herhel of Ukraine. She knew she had to let the loss go immediately. "If I held on to that loss too long I wasn't going to be able to go back out there and win this medal that I have right now," said Jaynes-Provisor. Jaynes-Provisor is a captain of the U.S. Army, a wife and a mother. The Provisor's daughter Evelyn is 2 years old. "She gives me a ton of perspective," Jaynes-Provisor said of her daughter. "She loves me no matter what. That allows me to find joy in what I'm doing. Every moment that I'm away from her it gives me a purpose to go out there and make everybody count." Jaynes-Provisor was the final U.S. women's freestyle wrestler to compete in Las Vegas and becomes the third U.S. woman to earn a medal at this year's World Championships, joining World champions Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray. Her bronze-medal victory put Team USA in third place in the final team standings for women's freestyle. Japan finished first with 51 points, followed by China. The U.S. finished with 31 points, edging Azerbaijan by two points for the bronze medal. "For us to be third in our country at the World Championships I think is very important," said U.S. women's freestyle coach Steiner. "It's very important for our people to see that we have a program that can compete and can be in that mix. To do that at home is special." Nineteen-year-old Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia won his second straight World title (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia (86 kilos) and Haji Aliyev (61 kilos) of Azerbaijan both repeated as World champions on Friday night. The 19-year-old Sadulaev blanked Selim Yasar of Turkey 6-0 in the gold-medal match. Aliyev won by 10-0 technical superiorty over Nomin Batbold of Mongolia. In women's freestyle, Oksana Herhel of Ukraine defeated Tserenchim Sukhee of Mongolia 10-7 in the gold-medal match at 60 kilos. Sukhee was looking to win a second consecutive World title. U.S. freestyle wrestlers Tony Ramos (57 kilos), James Green (70 kilos), Jordan Burroughs (74 kilos) and Zack Rey (125 kilos) are scheduled to compete on Saturday, which is the final day of the World Championships in Las Vegas. Day 5 (Friday) Medalists Men's freestyle: 61 kilos: Gold: Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan) Silver: Nomin Batbold (Mongolia) Bronze: Vladimir Dubov (Bulgaria) Bronze: Vasyl Shuptar (Ukraine) 86 kilos: Gold: Abdulrashid Sadulaev (Russia) Silver: Selim Yasar (Turkey) Bronze: Sandro Aminashvili (Georgia) Bronze: Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran) 97 kilos: Gold: Kyle Snyder (USA) Silver: Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia) Bronze: Khetag Gazumov (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Pablo Oliinyk (Ukraine) Women's freestyle: 60 kilos: Gold: Oksana Herhel (Ukraine) Silver: Tserenchim Sukhee (Mongolia) Bronze: Dzhanan Manolova (Bulgaria) Bronze: Leigh Jaynes-Provisor (USA)

LAS VEGAS -- Two years ago Kyle Snyder won a World title at the junior level. Tonight, at the age of 19 years old, Snyder he will have a chance to win his first World title at the senior level. Kyle Snyder flexes after winning his semifinal match at the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"Before the tournament started I was expecting to win," said Snyder. "That was my goal. That's still the plan. I've got one more match to wrestle against obviously a really tough guy." Snyder will now face returning World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia in the gold-medal match tonight. "I've been watching him wrestle since I was in probably seventh, eighth grade, watching him win a lot of tournaments, win a lot of matches," said Snyder, who becomes America's youngest World medalist in freestyle ever. "He's got some slick stuff, but I'm ready for it. So it should be a good match." Snyder advanced to the gold-medal match by defeating Iran's Abbas Tahan 6-3. The Maryland native started quickly, picking up two takedowns in the first 30 seconds of the match to lead 4-0. Tahan would get on the scoreboard with a step-out point, and the first period ended 4-1 in favor of Snyder. The Iranian battled back with a takedown in the first minute of the second period to make it 4-3. With less than a minute left in the match Snyder scored a point off the shot clock to go up two points. Then in the closing seconds -- with the crowd chanting USA -- Snyder scored another point off a step-out to win by three and advance to the gold-medal match. Snyder called the pro-American crowd "amazing." "When you start hearing that USA chat, especially on a day like today, September 11, it's important to come out here and represent your country to the best of your ability," said Snyder. Brandon Slay, who has has been working with Snyder since he was in high school training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, believes there are many reasons why Snyder has reached such a high level at such a young age. "I'm so proud of Kyle Snyder for his character, his discipline to work hard, his coachability ... all the attributes that you want in an athlete, he exhibits those," said Slay, an Olympic gold medalist in 2000. "That's why he's in the World finals." Snyder won easily in the quarterfinals, beating Jose Danie Diaz Robertti of Venezuela 11-1 by technical superiority. In the first period Snyder scored with two takedowns and a step-out to lead 5-0 at the break. The Venezuelan wrestler found his first point in the second period with a step-out. Snyder responded with three more takedowns to put the match away. In the round of 16 Snyder blanked Poland's Radoslaw Baran of Poland 8-0. Snyder led 2-0 after the first period, and then picked up three takedowns in the final period, with the last one coming with six seconds left. Snyder started his tournament by defeating Ukraine's Pavlo Oliinyk, a 2013 World bronze medalist. Snyder scored the first point of the match off the shot clock, and added another shot-clock point in the second period to go up 2-0. Oliinyk would score a point off a step-out with 1:20 remaining. The Ukrainian had some late attacks, but Snyder was able to fend them off and earn a tough, hard-fought one-point victory. Leigh Jaynes-Provisor advanced to the bronze-medal match in women's freestyle at 60 kilos. Aside from Snyder, she is the only other American wrestling for a medal tonight. U.S. men's freestyle wrestlers Reece Humphrey (61 kilos) and Jake Herbert (86 kilos) were eliminated from the competition in the first session. After winning her first two matches, Jaynes-Provisor was headlocked and pinned in 18 seconds in her semifinal match against Oksana Herhel of Ukraine. Her opponent tonight in the bronze-medal match is Irina Petr Netreba of Azerbaijan. Leigh Jaynes-Provisor advanced to the bronze-medal match in women's freestyle at 60 kilos (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Jaynes-Provisor was pushed hard in her quarterfinal match, but came out on top 8-5 against Emese Barka of Hungary. Jaynes-Provisor jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a takedown and turn with a lace. Barka inched closer with a takedown just over a minute into the match, and the first period ended 4-2 in favor of Jaynes-Provisor. Barka picked up another takedown 30 seconds into the second period to make the score 4-4. Then in the final 30 seconds Jaynes-Provisor scored a takedown to go up 6-4. Barka would score on a step-out to make it 6-5, but Jaynes-Provisor was able to get a late takedown to win by three. She dominated first-round opponent Madina Bakergenova of Kazakhstan, earning a 10-0 technical superiority. Humphrey, competing in his third World Championships, was eliminated after losing by fall in the repechage to India's Bajrang Bajrang. The Indian wrestler was close to a technical superiority in the second period before earning the fall. Aftter a first-round win, Humphrey was blanked 6-0 in his second match by Mongolia's Nomin Batbold. The Mongolian was able to get to his attacks and tie up Humphrey. All of Batbold's points came from takedowns, one in the first period, and two more in the final period, with the last one coming with 20 seconds remaining in the match. Humphrey was pulled back into repechage when Batbold reached the gold-medal match. Reece Humphrey defeated Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan in his first match (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Humphrey opened his tournament with a wild, narrow victory over Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan. Niyazbekov raced out to a 3-0 lead with a takedown and a step-out point. Humphrey, though, battled back, earning a takedown and scoring with a gut wrench to lead 4-3 at the break. Niyazbekov started the scoring in the second period with a step-out point. Then Humphrey broke the match wide open with a four-point throw he executed while fending off Niyazbekov's attack. The call was challenged by Kazakhstan and upheld, which gave Humphrey a 9-4 lead after the failed challenge. Niyazbekov then mounted a comeback, first earning a step-out point, and then two takedowns to make it 9-9 on the scoreboard with just under a minute remaining. Humphrey responded with a takedown of his own to go up 11-9. The Kazakhstan wrestler would add two late pushouts, but Humphrey held on for the 11-11 win on criteria. "It's a little bit of a tough draw," Humphrey said of his tournament. "It's really disappointing. A lot of people's hard work and sacrifice. A lot of months cutting weight and just hard work. With 61 kilos not an Olympic weight class, Humphrey will compete at the Olympic weight class of 65 kilos in 2016. "I have to go up," Humphrey said. "There's no way I can make this weight ever again. It's miserable." Jake Herbert, a 2009 World silver medalist, was one and done at 86 kilos. He was defeated in his first match by Sandro Aminashvili of Georgia 6-1. Aminashvili struck first, picking up a takedown to go up 2-0, which were the only points of the first period. A takedown by the Georgian just over a minute into the second period made the score 4-0. Herbert would get a step-out point to make it 4-1. Aminashvili responded with a takedown to make the score 6-1, which is how it would end. Herbert was knocked out of the tournament when the Georgian lost his next match to Selim Yasar of Turkey. Jake Herbert after losing his first-round match at the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"I feel like I let my family down," said Herbert as he fought his emotions. "I feel like I let the fans down. It's good because if I wasn't emotional about it, then what the hell am I doing out here? Being the best in America, that's not hard for me. But I want to take that next step." Herbert, a 2012 Olympian, will now shift his focus to 2016 and the Olympic Games. "I want to win an Olympic gold medal," said Herbert. "I believe I'm capable. I know I am. I know I can beat these guys. I've beaten studs like that before. There's no reason that I can't still do it." Tonight's final sessions begins at 6:30 p.m. PT.

LAS VEGAS -- Helen Maroulis entered the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas with World silver and bronze medals already in her collection. The one color missing was gold. Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray with their World gold medals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Adeline Gray entered the World Championships looking to become just the second U.S. women's freestyle wrestler to win three or more World titles. Both U.S. women won gold medals on Thursday night and did so in dominant fashion. Maroulis, a Maryland native, went unscored upon throughout the entire event. Gray outscored her opposition 49-4. It's the first time since 2012 that multiple U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers became World champions in the same year. "Any time you have two World champions crowned, it's a great day," said U.S. women's freestyle coach Terry Steiner. The 23-year-old Maroulis was firing on all cylinders in the gold-medal match against Russia's Irina Ologonova. Maroulis was offensive-minded -- scoring three takedowns in the first period -- and stingy defensively, not allowing Ologonova to get to her strongest positions. Maroulis led 7-0 at the break. In the second period she picked up right where she left off in the first period, scoring two more takedowns to win the match 11-0 by technical superiority. "Helen's a champion, and we knew it," said Steiner. "She's a rising star. Today she rose." Helen Maroulis and her coach Valentin Kalika embrace after the gold-medal match (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)After her win she ran into the arms of her coach Valentin Kalika and gave her a hug. Maroulis started working with Maroulis after last year's World Championships. "As a technical coach he's the greatest technical coach I've ever seen," Maroulis said of Kalika, who also works with Aaron Pico, Elena Pirozhkova and Victoria Anthony. "He's just a genius, the way he thinks. He's not the kind of coach that you can just go up to and say, 'Hey, show me a move. He has a philosophy and he has a system in the way he shows you, you really have to trust him and believe in it." With 55 kilos not included among the six women's freestyle weight classes in the Olympic Games, Maroulis said she plans on moving down to the Olympic weight class of 53 kilos for 2016. The 24-year-old Gray faced China's Qian Zhou in the gold-medal match, and for most of the match it appeared that one score might decide the outcome. Zhou took down Gray in the first period. Grey put a point on the scoreboard when Zhou was unable to score when on the shot clock, and the first period ended 2-1 in favor of Zhou. Then with around two minutes remaining in the match things changed in a hurry. Gray scored a takedown off a double leg and used a turn to go up 5-2, and then another broke the match open with another turn to make it 7-2. A short time later Gray locked up a lace and rolled to a 13-2 technical superiority. Adeline Gray gets in on a shot against Qian Zhou in the gold-medal match (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"I don't think that there's a girl out there that can beat me," said Gray. "It's just about stepping on that mat and making sure that I'm disciplined enough to get my job done that day." The U.S. has never had an Olympic champion in women's freestyle wrestling. "We have a couple World champs here," said Gray. "There are some amazing wrestlers out there from the USA that have been on that podium, gotten their hand raised and had their national anthem, but we don't have that Olympic gold medalist. That is something Team USA needs. We need that Olympic gold medalist, and I hope to be that first one for Team USA." Japan's Kaori Icho won her 10th World title, defeating Petra Maarit Olli of Finland by 10-0 technical superiority in the gold-medal match. Icho also has three Olympic gold medals. She becomes the third Japanese women's freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal in Las Vegas, joining Eri Tosaka and Saori Yoshida, who won World titles on Wednesday. Japan was denied a fourth gold medal in women's freestyle when Battsetseg Soronzonbold of Mongolia won by fall in 37 seconds over Risako Kawai of Japan in the gold-medal match at 63 kilos. Frank Chamizo became Italy's first World champion in men's freestyle (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Frank Chamizo became Italy's first World champion ever in freestyle wrestling when he claimed the title at 65 kilos with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Ikhtiyor Navruzov of Uzbekistan. Men's freestyle wrestlers Reece Humphrey (61 kilos), Jake Herbert (86 kilos) and Kyle Snyder (97 kilos) will compete for the U.S. on Friday at the World Championships. Leigh Jaynes-Provisor will also compete for the U.S. in women's freestyle. Wrestling gets underway on Friday at 10 a.m. PT. Day 4 (Thursday) Medalists 55 kilos: Gold: Helen Maroulis (USA) Silver: Irina Ologonova (Russia) Bronze: Evelina Nikolova (Bulgaria) Bronze: Tetyana Kit (Ukraine) 58 kilos: Gold: Kaori Icho (Japan) Silver: Petra Olli (Finland) Bronze: Elif Yeslirmak (Turkey) Bronze: Yuliya Ratkevich (Azerbaijan) 63 kilos: Gold: Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) Silver: Risako Kawai (Japan) Bronze: Yulia Tkach (Ukraine) Bronze: Taybe Yusein (Bulgaria) 75 kilos: Gold: Adeline Gray (USA) Silver: Qian Zhou (China) Bronze: Mae Epp (Estonia) Bronze: Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus) 65 kilos: Gold: Frank Chamizo (Italy) Silver: Ikhtiyor Navruzov (Uzbekistan) Bronze: Soslan Ramonov (Russia) Bronze: Sayed Mohammadi (Iran)

Matt Hamill, college wrestling champ and mixed martial arts star, is among ten honorees who will be welcomed into the Ohio chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on October 18, 2015. Hamill will be presented with the Ohio chapter's Medal of Courage award. Others who will be honored that day include Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award recipients Tony DiGiovanni, Jamie Milkovich, Michael Papouras, Melvin Peters, Robin Rayfield, Dave Riggs, John Storey and Mary Terbay. In addition, Paul Palivoda will receive Outstanding American in the State of Ohio honors. Hamill, a Loveland, Ohio native, was born deaf, yet found success in wrestling and in Ultimate Fighting Championships. At Loveland High School, he set school records in eight categories, including career victories. After one year at Purdue University, Hamill transferred to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to take advantage of the strong support of deaf students. At RIT, Hamill won three NCAA Division III wrestling titles at three different weight classes, and earned Outstanding Wrestler honors in 1998 and 1999. Hamill launched his MMA career as a contestant on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter TV series in 2006. After three wins, Hamill made a successful debut at UFC 98 in March 2007, retiring from the Octagon in August 2011 with an overall MMA record of 10-4. He was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in June 2013 as Medal of Courage recipient. Tony DiGiovanni, a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at Cleveland State, is being recognized for his lifetime service to wrestling most notably as a head coach at Solon High School. While at Solon, DiGiovanni led his teams to well over 300 wins along with an Ohio state championship in 1990. He was named Ohio Division II Coach of the Year in 1991. He retired from coaching at the end of the 2014-15 season. Jamie Milkovich is being honored for his lifetime service to wrestling as an athlete and as a coach. Milkovich attended Auburn University where he was a back-to-back NCAA Division I All-American at 167 pounds in 1980 and 1981. Launching his coaching career at Maple Heights High School in 1981, Milkovich's teams have recorded 434 wins, the most of any Division I coach in Ohio history. Milkovich also led Maple Heights to 18 conference championships including 13 sectional tournament championships. He coached nine individual state champions and 21 state finalists. He was inducted into the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named Ohio Coach of the Year in 2001. Michael Papouras is being recognized for his lifetime service to wrestling most notably for his work with Richmond Heights High School at the program he founded. He led the suburban Cleveland school to a dual meet record of 211-78-3 along with four state titles in 1979, 1980, 1983, and 1984. Richmond Heights also won 13 East Suburban Conference titles during his 23-year span as head coach. Melvin Peters is receiving this lifetime service award primarily for his coaching career at Claymont High School. Peters served as the head coach from 1983-1997 leading Claymont to a dual meet record of 115-45-3 during that span. Peters graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1965 where he was later inducted into the Hall of Fame for football and track. He was awarded the Wrestling State Media Award for Ohio in 2008. Robin Rayfield is being recognized for his lifetime service to wrestling most notably for his career as head coach at Delta High School from 1985-2000, leading that school to four Division III Ohio state team titles in 1989, 1996, 1998, and 1999, with 11 of his wrestlers becoming state champions. Rayfield is currently a part of the Team Ohio junior and Cadet Freestyle/Greco coaching staff. Dave Riggs is being honored primarily as a head coach at Massillon Perry High School where he has served for 28 years, garnering a 272-46-1 record in dual meets. Sixteen of his wrestlers went on to earn NCAA All-American honors. Prior to coaching at Massillon Perry, Riggs attended the University of Arizona where he was a PAC-10 runner up and a NCAA national qualifier. John Storey is being recognized for his lifetime service to wrestling most notably as the head coach at Saint Joseph High School in Lake County. During his tenure from 1965-1991, he coached 11 individual state champions and led his teams to two state titles. Before coaching at St. Joseph, Storey attended the University of Dayton, graduating in 1963. Mary Terbay is being recognized for her lifetime service to wrestling, having involved with USA Wrestling-Ohio for over 20 years. Terbay first became involved in the sport in 1987, serving in various capacities, including as a pairer and the secretary for USA Wrestling-Ohio since 1992. She has also been a part of Carroll High School wrestling, serving as the meal and travel co-coordinator from 1996 to 2002. Receiving Outstanding American in the State of Ohio honors is Paul Palivoda, who wrestled at North Royalton High School, then at Cleveland State. He then served in the Air Force earning four commendation medals and three achievement medals. Palivoda served two terms in Desert Storm and one term on Southern Watch before earning a National Defense Service medal. After retiring from the military, Palivoda launched his high school wrestling coaching career which has included Marysville High School, Central Crossing, and Dublin Coffman. The induction ceremony will take place at the Hall of Fame Day Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Dublin, Ohio. The social hour begins at 2 p.m. that day followed by the awards dinner at 3 p.m. Dinner reservations must be made by October 7, 2015 and tickets per person are $50. Tickets can be obtained by filling out a registration form or purchased

LAS VEGAS -- U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray entered the World Championships ranked No. 1 in the world. Both will wrestle for the gold medal tonight. The duo surrendered only two points between them over seven matches. Helen Maroulis gets her hand raised after a victory at the Worlds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Maroulis and Gray were the only two U.S. wrestlers to reach a medal match on Thursday. The two other U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers competing on Thursday, Alli Ragan and Erin Clodgo, lost before the quarterfinals and were not pulled into repechage. Brent Metcalf, the lone U.S. freestyle wrestler competing on Thursday, advanced to the round of 16 before losing to world No. 1 Seyedahmad Mohammadi of Iran. Metcalf was eliminated from the competition when Mohammadi lost in the semifinals to Italy's Frank Chamizo. Maroulis reached the gold-medal match at 55 kilos by taking out China's Qianyu Pang 5-0. She scored a takedown in each of the two periods, and also scored off the shot clock in the second period. Maroulis won in the quarterfinals with a second-period fall over Evelina Georgieva Nikolova of Bulgaria. Maroulis picked up three takedowns in the first period, with the last once coming as the period came to a close. She ended the match in the second period, picking up a takedown and then turning Nikolova and earning the fall. She cruised to an easy 10-0 technical superiority over Brenda Fernandez Salazar of Mexico in her first match. Maroulis scored two takedowns in the first minute of the match. Then a short time later scored another takedown and then used two turns to finish the match. Maroulis has fed off the crowd's energy all day. "I normally don't pay attention to the crowd, but it's just so cool because I've never been to a World Championships where you have USA fans cheering this loudly," said Maroulis. "It's cool. Everyone is really enthusiastic. The stands are filled up. It's awesome." Maroulis will meet returning World silver medalist Irina Ologonova of Russia in the gold-medal match. She credited her coach Valentin Kalika for helping to get her to the finals. "I'm just going to wrestle hard," Maroulis said when asked about her gold-medal match. "I'm just putting the stuff Valentin taught me to practice. It's making a huge difference. I have so much confidence with him, my coach, the team, USA behind me. It's been an incredible journey." Adeline Gray battles Aline da Silva of Brazil in the semifinals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine).Gray, a two-time World champion, was pitted against Brazil's Aline da Silva in the semifinals at 75 kilos. The two met last year in the gold-medal match, with Gray coming out on top. Gray jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a first-period takedown. In the second period Silva secured a takedown and put Gray in danger, nearly earning a fall. Gray quickly responded with a takedown and then went back to her lace to get two turns and go up 6-2. She added another takedown and turn late to win 10-2. Gray talked about the moment of danger in the second period against Silva. "I had a little moment where I was like, 'I am not getting pinned out here.' I think that little moment is kind of good for you sometimes to keep it real and make sure you understand that you've got to go out there and fight for every moment and every position." Gray made quick work of her quarterfinal opponent Daria Osocka of Poland, earning another 10-0 technical superiority in the first period. Grey went up 4-0 early with a takedown and lace. She made it 6-0 with another takedown two minutes into the match, and then locked up her lace and ended the match with multiple turns. Gray earned shutout victory in her second match, beating multiple-time World medalist Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus 6-0. Midway through the first period Gray scored a takedown and transitioned to a lace for a turn to go up 4-0. She added a second-period takedown and controlled the match throughout. She started her day by hammering Naranchimeg Gelegjamts of Mongolia 10-0. Gray scored early and often, picking up a takedown and transitioning to a lace, which she scored twice with to go up 6-0. Another Gray takedown and lace ended the match in the first period. Gray will meet China's Qian Zhou in the gold medal match. Last year the two met first round at the World Championships, with Gray coming from behind to win 11-10. It's a match she has been looking forward to. "This should have been the finals last year," said Gray. "I'm kind of excited that we kind of get our due time because last year this was a first-round match. I knew that we were the best two girls in the world, so I'm excited to go out there and just prove that I deserve to be here." Metcalf fell in the round of 16 to top-ranked Mohammadi. The Iranian scored a point off the shot clock, and then added a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Metcalf tightened the score with a takedown in the second period to make it 3-2. With less than 40 seconds left Mohammadi counter attacked and scored a takedown to go up 5-2. Metcalf, though, kept pressing forward and eventually picked up a late takedown to go down one, and nearly had a turn in the closing seconds of the match. "You lose to good opponent, and you've got to put that on me to get better and figure it out," said Metcalf. Brent Metcalf won two matches but failed to earn a medal (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine).Metcalf won his second match in dramatic fashion over China's Katai Yeerlanbieke. Metcalf scored the match's first takedown when he was put on the shot clock to go up 2-0. Then after a flurry that resulted in two points scored for each wrestler, Metcalf led 4-2 at the break. With a minute left in the match the wrestler from China scored a point off the shot clock to make it 4-3. Then in the closing seconds Yeerlanbieke was able to get behind Metcalf and nearly take him down for the victory, but was unable to get Metcalf's knees to touch the mat for the takedown. The call was challenged by China, but unsuccessful, which gave Metcalf the 5-3 win. "That was a battle," Metcalf said. He opened with a dominating 11-0 technical fall over Norbert Lukacs of Hungary. Metcalf scored his first point off the shot clock, and then added three takedown in the opening period, with the last one coming in the final three seconds of the period. He put the match away early in the second period after two more takedowns. Ragan was blanked 5-0 in her second match against Colombia's Jackeline Renteria, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist. Renteria scored a point off a step out and then picked up a takedown to go up 3-0 at the break. Renteria added a second-period takedown while shutting down Ragan. She was eliminated from the competition when Japanese wrestling legend Kaori Icho won by technical superiority over Renteria in the semifinals. Prior to her loss to Renteria, Ragan started her tournament with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Shoovdor Baatarjav of Mongolia. The Mongolian went up 2-0 in the first after a takedown. Ragan inched closer in the second period after scoring on the shot clock. Then with under 30 seconds left Ragan scored with a crotch lift and held on for the one-point victory. Clodgo, competing in her first World Championships on the senior level, fell in her first match to Katerina Vidiaux Lopez of Cuba 11-6. Clodgo struck first with a takedown to go up 2-0. The Cuban would get a step-out point to make it 2-1, which is how the first period ended. In the second period Lopez broke the match open with a takedown and then a four-point throw to go up 7-2. Another takedown for Lopez made it 9-2. Clodgo had a later rally, scoring off a takedown and gut wrench turn to make it 9-6. Then in the closing seconds Clodgo tried a desperation thrown and was taken down to lose by five. Clodgo was knocked out of the tournament when Lopez fell in her next match to Japan's Risako Kawai. "It was an honor to be able to represent the U.S at our home tournament," said the 25-year-old Clodgo. "I do wish I did better and I do have higher expectations for myself. Luckily I have plenty of things to work on and know what I need to do for the future and 2016, but was definitely an honor to be representing the U.S." Thursday's final session begins at 6:30 p.m. PT.

If the Americans hope to overcome some long odds, they'll almost certainly do so because of the support of the home crowd, and missing the distractions other teams must endure. Parked in the middle of Las Vegas, the Orleans Arena is a hornets nest of misdirection, and the Americans have so far ignored temptation and outperformed expectations. The American freestylers are lining up for a big weekend, but their success, much like the city hosting the event, will be rooted in luck. 57 kilos: Tony Ramos Gold: 20 percent Medal: 50 percent One of the most improved wrestlers on the American roster, Tony Ramos will be the wrestler most likely to be re-energized by the local crowd. A longtime fan-favorite, Ramos will need to ensure that he stays out of four-point scrambles that cost him a run in Tashkent last year, and be more active on the mat. He has the tools to make a solid run at the World Championships, but like everything else, the draw will predict his fate. He's probably still a distant second to the likes of Viktor Lebedev and Hassan Rahimi, but with improved match management he's likely to make the medal round. Top wrestlers: Vladimir Khinchegashvili (Georgia), Hassan Rahimi (Mongolia), Viktor Lebedev (Russia) 61 kilos: Reece Humphrey Gold: 5 percent Medal: 30 percent Reece Humphrey is without question the most gifted athlete in the world at 61 kilos, but standing in the way of his gold medal is a field that includes the impossible to beat Aleksander Bogomoev. The Russian star has had to fend off the likes of Djamal Otarsultanov just about every week, a sharpening tool that makes him razor wire on the mat. Humphrey will also have to wrestle past some previous mental hiccups including a pair of meltdowns at the World Championships and the World Cup. Top wrestlers: Aleksander Bogomoev (Russia), Volodya Frangulyan (Armenia), Beka Lomtadze (Georgia) 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf Gold: 40 percent Medal: 75 percent The only reason that Tony Ramos isn't the most improved wrestler on the American roster is that Brent Metcalf has reached the next level in his approach and execution within freestyle. Once too rigid to adapt to Russian and Iranian trickery, the Yarygin runner-up has managed scrambles with more efficacy in 2015. To make the gold-medal round will be very difficult for Metcalf who has to make his way through a bracket loaded with top talent from around the globe, including Olympic gold medalist Togrul Asgarov. That might be too tall an order, but with the home crowd at his back he might be the wrestler that the much celebrated opponents don't wish to see. In summation, he is the bad draw. Top wrestlers: Soslan Romanov (Russia), Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico), Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan) 70 kilos: James Green Gold: 30 percent Medal: 50 percent At a weight class that many of the top wrestlers around the world have left in order to prepare for the Olympic year, James Green seems poised to make noise at 70 kilos. Green got over a mental hurdle in beating Nick Marable during their impromptu wrestle-off, and his gold at the Spanish Grand Prix included knocking off the talented Frank Chamizo of Italy. There will be stumbling blocks along the way, but Green is a competitor who can make the medal round and earn hardware for the United States. Top wrestlers: Hassan Yazdani (Iran), Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (Russia), Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (Turkey), Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Uzbekistan) 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs Gold: 95 percent Medal: 95 percent He'll have his hands full with Aniuar Geduev of Russia, but Burroughs has beaten him in the past, scouted him well for the tourney and has a style that matches up well. Top wrestlers: Aniuar Geduev (Russia), Yabrail Hasanov (Azerbaijan), Ali Shabanov (Belarus) 86 kilos: Jake Herbert Gold: 5 percent Medal: 30 percent Back in the driver's seat at 86 kilos for the first time in a few years, Jake Herbert has looked nails in his last matches. He was thrown around at the Yarygin in January, but has been preparing his body (and mind) for this tournament. A traditional slow starter, Herbert will need to attack early and often and use his superior conditioning to wear down opponents. There is a great opportunity for Herbert to medal if he stays healthy, active and in shape. However, Abdulrashid Sadualev will ultimately stand between Jake and gold. Top wrestlers: Abdul Rashid Sadulaev (Russia), Ibragim Aldatov (Ukraine), Reineris Salas Perez (Cuba), 97 kilos: Kyle Snyder Gold: 10 percent Medal: 25 percent After beating Olympic champion Jake Varner to make his first World team, it's believable that Kyle Snyder is capable of beating some of the world's best. He's dynamic in his attacks and after a successful opening performance at the World Cup, he may be able to translate youth and talent into heavy medals. The same cast of characters that have ruled 97 kilos for the past few years will certainly pose a challenge, but none are insurmountable. Gadsov of Russia and Olympic champion Sharif Sharifov seem to be the early leaders to take gold, but if you leave Snyder out of consideration (even the remote kind) you'd be fooling yourself. Top wrestlers: Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia), Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan) 125 kilos: Zack Rey Gold: 5 percent Medal: 15 percent Taha Akghul has locked down 125 kilos for two years and there is no indication that the European Games champion will loosen his grip in 2015. Bilyal Mkahov, a three time World champion, will be looking to gather another medal in freestyle after a bronze in Greco-Roman. Rey looked great at the Pan American Championships but he'll need the next level if he's to get by the international competition lining up for gold in Vegas. Top wrestlers: Taha Akgul (Turkey), Parviz Hadi (Iran), Bilyal Makhov (Russia)

LAS VEGAS -- For the first time this week Team USA failed to advance a wrestler through the first session to a medal match at the World Championships. Alyssa Lampe defeated Thi Vu of Vietnam in her first match on Wednesday (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)In Wednesday's first session, three U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers went a combined 4-3, while a U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler went 0-1. None of the four U.S. wrestlers advanced to the semifinals or had a repechage match. Two-time bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe (48 kilos) had the most productive day of any U.S. wrestler as she won two matches to reach the quarterfinals before losing. The two other U.S. women competing, Whitney Conder (53 kilos) and Elena Pirozhkova (69 kilos), each won a match. The lone U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler competing on Wednesday, Jordan Holm (85 kilos), lost his opening match and did not have the opportunity to wrestle back. Lampe had to dig deep to defeat Thi Vu of Vietnam in her first match. Vu led 5-4 after an action-filled first period, and then extended her lead to 7-4 in the second period after a slick duckunder takedown. Lampe battled back with a four-point feet-to-back takedown, which she followed up with a turn and pinned Vu. In the second round Lampe faced a game Hyon Kim of Korea and prevailed in a barnburner. Kim looked to be in control early, scoring with a takedown and pushout to go up 3-0. Lampe would take the lead after a double leg takedown to the back for four points before nearly securing the pin. Kim retook the lead with a takedown that occurred with just over a minute remaining in the match. Lampe continued to press forward, and with 15 seconds left Kim was called for fleeing the mat, giving Lampe a point to make it 5-5 on the scoreboard. Lampe won on criteria. "I didn't know that I had won that match," said Lampe. "The last time I looked at the score I needed to score, so it was a surprise to me that I had actually won that match." Lampe's run through the championship bracket came to an end in the quarterfinals against China's Hui Li, a 2003 World bronze medalist. Li was dominant from start to finish, picking up a takedown and two gut wrenches to go up 6-0. Then Li put the match away with another takedown and turn to earn the 10-0 technical fall in the first period. Alyssa Lampe gets her hand raised after her victory over Hyon Gyong Kim of Korea (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Lampe, a two-time World bronze medalist, expected much different results in Las Vegas. "I definitely imagined it a different way," Lampe said of her tournament. "I imagined myself standing at the top of the podium with a gold medal around my neck. So I'm just disappointed." Lampe said she had a tough weight cut, but still felt great. "I didn't even feel the effects," Lampe said of her weight cut. "In fact, usually my legs are the first to tire out. Today my arms did. I just felt great. I didn't wrestle the best I've ever wrestled, but I definitely kept pushing the pace." U.S. women's freestyle coach Terry Steiner believes it came down to fight. "She had some good effort in earlier matches, but when she got to China … I just don't believe that someone is 10 points better than us," said Steiner. "It's one thing getting beat 5-4 or something like that. I can handle that. I can't handle getting beat 10-0. Somewhere we're laying down and not fighting. That's not the American way." Elena Pirozhkova earned a 59-second pin in her first match of the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Elena Pirozhkova, ranked No. 8 in the world, started her day by making quick work of her first opponent Llania Keju, picking up a pin in 59 seconds. After an early takedown Pirozhkova locked up an arm bar and drove over her opponent over for a pin. In the second round Pirozhkova struggled to find her offense in a 5-3 loss to Sweden's Anna Fransson, who entered the event ranked No. 9 in the world. Fransson, a World champion in 2012, went up 1-0 after Pirozhkova was put on the shot clock and failed to score. Fransson added a takedown to go up 3-0 shortly before the end of the first period. The wrestler from Sweden added to her lead in the second period with a takedown to go up 5-0. Pirozhkova tightened the match to 5-3 after a takedown and unsuccessful challenge by the Sweden coaches. But that's how the match would end. "This is probably the best I've ever felt," Pirozhkova said. "The results don't show, but I feel really good because I don't really cut weight for this weight class. I know a lot of the girls do. I just felt great. I've had great training. It's just like the little things that kind of got away from me in the match." Pirozhkova is a four-time World medalist, with all four of her medals coming at 63 kilos. This year she made the decision to move up to 69 kilos. She said she felt a little "out-powered" in the new weight class, especially in her loss. She has not decided whether she will stay at 69 kilos or move back down to 63 kilos in 2016. Steiner believes the right weight class for Pirozhkova is 63 kilos. "If I stay in this weight class I'm just going to have to get a little bigger to compete with some of these girls," said Pirozhkova. Whitney Conder opened her day with a pin over Isabelle Sambou of Senegal (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Conder, a Junior World champion in 2007, started her tournament with bang as she pinned Isabelle Sambou of Senegal in the first period. The match was scoreless midway through the first period until Conder used a headlock to throw Sambou and record the pin. In the second round Conder faced China's Zhong Xuechun, who is ranked No. 3 in the world, and lost 6-2. Conder struck first, picking up a takedown midway through the first period to go up 2-0. Late in the first period Xuechun scored with a takedown and turn to grab a 4-2 lead. Xuechun added a takedown in the final period to win by four. Conder, a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program, was visibly distraught after her exit from the competition. "I just didn't give myself enough chances, I guess," Conder said. "I made a few mistakes against China that I definitely know I need to go back fix. Just come back next year and hopefully fix the mistakes I made." Holm, the final American Greco-Roman wrestler competing in Las Vegas, dropped his opening match to Javid Hamzatau of Belarus 3-1 at 85 kilos. Holm was able to get on the scoreboard first, scoring a point off a second passivity call just over two minutes into the match. In the second period Hamzatau scored with a pushout just over a minute into the period, and then with 45 seconds left was able to turn Holm with a gut wrench. Holm was eliminated from the competition after Hamzatau lost his next match to Iran's Habibollah Akhlaghi. Jordan Holm dropped his opening match to Javid Hamzatau of Belarus (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement," said Holm, who trains at the Minnesota Training Center. "I'm very disappointed." It's the second straight year that Holm has lost his opening match at the World Championships. Holm put together his best season, winning some international events and earning a No. 13 ranking in the world. "I'm confident in my ability to beat anybody in the weight class," said Holm. "I've beaten a number of medalists. I've had better days than guys. Today I didn't have my best day." U.S. women's wrestlers Helen Maroulis (55 kilos), Alli Ragan (58 kilos), Erin Clodgo (63 kilos) and Adeline Gray (75 kilos) will compete on Thursday, along with U.S. freestyle wrestler Brent Metcalf (65 kilos). Japan crowned two World champions on Wednesday night in women's freestyle: Saori Yoshida (53 kilos) and Eri Tosaka (48 kilos). For Yoshida, a Japanese wrestling legend, it was her 13th World title. She was pushed in her gold-medal match by Sofia Mattsson of Sweden, but prevailed 2-1. Tosaka edged Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan 3-2 for her third World title. Olympic champion Natalia Vorobieva claimed her first World title at 69 kilos. Zhan Beleniuk of Ukraine won the final gold medal in Greco Roman, shutting out Rustam Assakalov of Uzbekistan 6-0 in the gold-medal match. Day 3 (Wednesday) Medalists 85 kilos: Gold: Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) Silver: Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) Bronze: Habibollah Akhlaghi (Iran) Bronze: Saman Tahmasebi (Azerbaijan) 5th: Rami Hietaniemi (Finland) 5th: Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) 48 kilos: Gold: Eri Tosaka (Japan) Silver: Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands) Bronze: Genevieve Morrison (Canada) 5th: Hui Li (China) 5th: Valentina Islamova (Russia) 53 kilos: Gold: Saori Yoshida (Japan) Silver: Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) Bronze: Myong Jong (North Korea) Bronze: Odunayo Adekuoroye (Nigeria) 5th: Anzhela Dorogan (Azerbaijan) 5th: Xuechun Zhong (China) 69 kilos: Gold: Natalia Vorobieva (Russia) Silver: Feng Zhou (China) Bronze: Sara Dosho (Japan) Bronze: Aline Focken (Germany) 5th: Nasanburmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia) 5th: Jenny Fransson (Sweden)

Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) became the second top 100 verbal commit for Virginia Tech in their 2016 recruiting class, when he did so in an interview on Wednesday evening with Takedown Wrestling. Moore is ranked No. 63 overall, projects to be a 149 pound wrestler in college, and joins No. 18 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) in the Hokies' recruiting class. Moore is a three-time state placer for the Falcons, placing third and second his first two years of high school, before winning state this past year at 145 pounds. He also placed seventh at the Super 32 Challenge last fall, and is a two-time Flo Nationals placer, including his championship in the spring of 2014.

Nick and Joe Lee, brothers from Evansville Mater Dei in Indiana, verbally committed to Penn State on Tuesday afternoon. The pair of wrestlers are highly ranked within the junior and sophomore class respectively. Nick is 68-1 in his high school career, and was a state champion this past season at 132 pounds, after finishing third at 126 as a freshman. He is also ranked No. 5 overall at present in the Class of 2017. Nick was a Cadet National freestyle champion in 2014, when he was also the Outstanding Wrestler of that tournament, and he was a UWW Cadet National freestyle runner-up in 2013 and 2014. Joe finished state runner-up as a freshman, competing at 138 pounds. This summer he was a Cadet National freestyle champion in Fargo, and is presently ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2018. Nick projects as a 149 in college, while Joe projects as a 157 pound wrestler.

LAS VEGAS -- It was a bizarre scene on Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. After the conclusion of the second bronze-medal match in Greco-Roman at 130 kilos, the losing wrestler was waving to the crowd as the fans gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name. The winning wrestler struggled to get up from the mat and was completely exhausted, looking defeated. Robby Smith battles for position against Bilyal Makhov (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)American Greco-Roman heavyweight Robby Smith lost on the scoreboard, 10-8, to Russian Bilyal Makhov for the bronze medal, but earned the admiration of fans watching. "I'm proud to be an American," Smith said following the match as he fought back the tears. "Very proud. Felt loved. That's probably the biggest thing that hurts. I wanted to win for the USA. Plain and simple." U.S. Greco-Roman coach Matt Lindland, a 2000 Olympic silver medalist, has wrestled and coached all over the world for three decades and has never seen anything like it. "I have not seen the guy that got the bronze crawl off the mat while the guy that got the fifth got the standing ovation," said Lindland. Mokhov, a three-time World champion in freestyle and now a two-time World bronze medalist in Greco-Roman, appeared to be on his way to an easy technical fall over Smith. In the first period Mokhov scored a takeown, four-point throw and pushout to jump out to a 7-0, one point shy of a technical fall. In the closing seconds of the opening period it appeared that Mokhov might finish the match with a pushout until Smith launched the giant Russian on the edge of the mat. Even though the move was only worth two points, it changed the momentum of the match. Robby Smith acknowledges the crowd after losing in the bronze-medal match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Smith inched closer with a takedown in the second period before Makhov earned a reversal and an additional point for a failed challenge by the U.S. coaches. With the score 9-4 in favor of Makhov, Smith remained offensive, pushing the action and eventually locking up a throw and tossing Makhov for four points to make the score 9-8 with 1:20 remaining. Smith, down a point, continued to press forward. With 40 seconds on the clock Makhov scored a pushout point to make it 10-8. Smith remained the aggressor the rest of the match but was unable to score as time ran out. "I was the one still standing on my feet at the end," said Smith. "I was better conditioned. It was a great match." Smith said he fed off the crowd. "This crowd today was awesome," said Smith. "They had me rolling, man. They had me rolling." It marks the second time Smith has been fifth in the world, but the first time he has wrestled in the bronze-medal match. In 2013, Smith placed seventh at the World Championships, but moved up to fifth place after the champion Amir Aziz Ali Akbari of Iran tested positive for anabolic steroids. Seven of eight U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers competed on Monday and Tuesday. The U.S. compiled a 7-8 record on Tuesday with no medalists. Andy Bisek, who won a bronze medal at 74 kilos on Monday, remains the only medalist for Team USA in 2015. Jordan Holm (85 kilos) will compete on Wednesday and is the final U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to compete in Las Vegas. Matt Lindland (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Lindland believes the future is bright for the U.S. Greco-Roman program. "We're just getting started," said Lindland, who became the U.S. Greco-Roman coach in June of 2014. "We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of building to do. But we're putting one foot in front of the other … getting some momentum going." Medalists were crowned in four Greco-Roman weight classes on Tuesday night: 59 kilos, 71 kilos, 80 kilos and 130 kilos. The biggest upset of this year's event so far came in the gold-medal match at 130 kilos, where Riza Kayaalp of Turkey edged Mijain Lopez of Cuba, 1-0. Lopez, a two-time Olympic champion and five-time World champion, had not lost a match since 2011 when Kayaalp beat him in the gold-medal match at the World Championships in Istanbul. Medalists at 130 kilos (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Kayaalp's lone point -- which proved to be the difference -- came from a second passivity call against Lopez in the second period. "I prepared to wrestle non-stop for six minutes and push the pace throughout that time," said Kayaalp. The other gold medalists crowned on Tuesday were Ismael Borrero of Cuba (59 kilos), Rasul Chunayev of Azerbaijan (71 kilos) and Selcuk Cebi of Turkey (80 kilos). It was Cebi's third World title, and the first for both Borrero and Chunayev. In addition to Jordan Holm, Alyssa Lampe, Whitney Conder and Elena Pirozhkova will compete for Team USA on Wednesday at the World Championships. Day 2 (Tuesday) Medalists 59 kilos: Gold: Ismael Borrero (Cuba) Silver: Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Won Chol Yun (North Korea) Bronze: Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan) 71 kilos: Gold: Rasul Chunayev (Azerbaijan) Silver: Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine) Bronze: Adam Kurak (Russia) Bronze: Zakarias Tallroth (Sweden) 80 kilos: Gold: Selcuk Cebi (Turkey) Silver: Viktor Sasunkouski (Belarus) Bronze: Yousef Ghaderian (Iran) Bronze: Lasha Gobadze (Georgia) 130 kilos: Gold: Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) Silver: Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Bronze: Oleksandr Chernetskyy (Ukraine) Bronze: Bilyal Makhov (Russia)

Fallout from the U..S denying a visa to the president of the Russian Wrestling Federation continued as the 2015 United World Wrestling Championships continued into their second day in Las Vegas Tuesday. Mikhail MamiashviliRussia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed his upset over Mikhail Mamiashvili being refused a visa to enter the United States for the Championships ... while Mamiashvili said the decision may result in the U.S. never hosting another international wrestling event. "I believe that United World Wrestling is going to ban the United States from hosting any event of this level in future," Mamiashvili, told the Russian TASS news agency on Monday. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted the following at its website Tuesday (and included in an article in The Moscow Times): "We were forced to take note that Washington's line of trying to cause problems for our country in the international arena has now even affecting the sporting sphere." "We have serious concerns about the refusal to let the Olympic champion and the president of the Wrestling Federation of Russia Mikhail Mamiashvili into the United States." (In addition to those duties, Mamiashvili is also vice-president of United World Wrestling and the head of the organization's judging committee. As a wrestler, Mamiashvili won a gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and a total of five medals -- three gold, two silver -- at World Championships from 1983-1990. He was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008.) "We would like the American powers that be to remember that sport is separate from politics. We would like to wish our wrestlers the best of luck in the championships and there will be no repeat of the unfair practices that have unfortunately been carried out by the U.S. administration on the wrestling mat." If all this weren't enough, event organizers played the wrong anthem when Russia's Roman Vlasov won his second world championship gold medal in Greco-Roman competition at 75 kilos/165 pounds. As the website Russia Beyond The Headlines reported Tuesday, "When Vlasov rose on the podium, 'The Patriotic Song' by Mikhail Glinka, which was the Russian national anthem from 1990 to 2000, was played. But now the music of the Soviet national anthem composed by Alexander Alexandrov is being used once again ..." "I do not know what anthem was played, and at first did not even pay any attention to it. But after a while, I realized that this was not our anthem," said Vlasov. "When this foreign anthem ended and some fuss started, I said that I would not come down from the pedestal until the Russian anthem is played! It is for that moment on the pedestal that we toil all year, and they play some other anthem at the award ceremony for some reason." Event organizers later made a formal apology to the Russian squad for the national anthem mix-up.

Derek White, sophomore wrestler at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was arrested Saturday for driving while intoxicated, then fleeing from school police before turning himself in hours later, the Daily Nebraskan student paper reported Tuesday. Derek WhiteOn Saturday at approximately 2:15 p.m., a University of Nebraska-Lincoln police officer pulled White, 20, over for failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. The officer noted the smell of alcohol on White and in his car, and ordered a preliminary breath test. During that test, White fled on foot from the officer, and refused to stop despite being ordered to do so. The officer lost sight of White. Campus police then had White's vehicle towed. Hours later, White turned himself into campus police, and was arrested. Last season, White wrestled at 197 pounds for the Huskers, compiling a 14-5 record as a freshman, and placing in three of five tournaments he entered. He also earned a place on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll for spring 2015. Prior to coming to Nebraska, White wrestled at Edmond North High School where he was a three-time Oklahoma state finalist, winning back-to-back titles at 195 in 2013 and 2014. Beyond his native Oklahoma, White won the Walsh Ironman, finished third at the 2013 Junior National Freestyle Championships in Fargo, N.D., and earned runner-up honors at the 2013 Super 32 Challenge. He had been ranked fifth nationally among recruits at 195 pounds by InterMat.

LAS VEGAS -- Two years ago Robby Smith placed fifth at the World Championships. Tonight he will have a chance to improve upon that finish when he wrestles for the bronze medal at 130 kilos in Greco-Roman. Robby Smith (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Smith, who is ranked No. 18 in the world, won his first three matches to advance to the semifinals where he faced Greco-Roman wrestling great Mijain Lopez of Cuba, a two-time Olympic champion and five-time World champion. Lopez showed why he's one of the world's best, hammering Smith 8-0, with all of his points coming off gut wrenches. "I made a decision to try to stand up and he wrapped his arms around me, and my hips were up," said Smith. "Once he gets going it's hard to stop. But other than, come back tonight and get a bronze medal. That's what it's all about now." Smith's opponent in the bronze-medal match is three-time World freestyle champion Bilyal Makhov of Russia. By reaching a medal match, Smith qualified the United States for the Olympic Games at 130 kilos. "My first job was to qualify the weight class for the Olympics," said Smith. "I did that. Now just get my medal, and me and the Cowboy can hang out later, have those things around our neck." Smith overcame a slow start to beat Muminjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in his first match. Smith was thrown for points and trailed 4-0 after the opening period. Smith inched closer at 4-2 in the second period before hitting three consecutive front headlock rolls to go up 8-4. He added a pushout point to make it 9-4. Then in the closing 15 seconds Abdullaev attempted a desperation throw, and Smith countered and picked up the fall with 10 seconds remaining in the match. Smith advanced to the quarterfinals with a controlled 6-2 victory over Germany's Eduard Popp. Smith scored an early takedown to go up 2-0. An attempted throw by Smith resulted in Popp getting a takedown and tying the match at 2-2. After a passivity warning against Popp, Smith tried a front headlock roll and Popp was called for a defensive leg foul, which resulted in Smith getting two points at the end of the first period to take a 4-2 lead. Smith built on his lead with a takedown just over a minute into the second period to make the score 6-2, which is how the match would finish. In the quarterfinals, Smith edged Murat Ramonov of Kazakhstan 1-1, in a match that saw no offensive points scored. Both points scored in the match came in the second period from passivity calls, with Smith's point coming last, giving him the criteria victory. The three other U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers competing on Tuesday, Spenser Mango (59 kilos), Justin Lester (71 kilos) and Patrick Martinez (80 kilos) all qualified for repechage matches, but Smith was the lone U.S. wrestler to earn a spot in a medal match. "We've got a great group of guys that could show the world … do big things," said Smith. Mango, competing at 59 kilos, went 1-2 on the day. Spenser Mango (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)He started his day with a 4-2 loss to Cuba's Ismael Borrero 4-2. All four of Borrero's points came in the first period from a takedown and turn, which put him up 4-0. Mango came out aggressively in the second period and pushed the action, which resulted in Borrero being called twice for passivity, giving Mango his only two points of the match. Mango was pulled back into repechage when the Cuban reached the gold-medal match. Mango, who wrestled his first match just after 10 a.m. PT, had to watch and wait for over five hours to see whether he would compete in repechage. "It's tough sitting around on the edge of the seat in the back watching the guy who beat me compete all day, just sitting there waiting and then getting back brought in," said Mango. "But it's a situation that we've trained. We have a match in the morning, and then you come back in the evening and wrestle, so it's something we prepared for." Mango came out on top in his first repechage match over Germany's Deniz Menekse 4-4 on criteria. In the first period Mango scored with a two-point turn before Menekse picked up a point off a reversal. In the second period Menekse picked up a takedown -- and earned another point off an unsuccessful challenge -- to go up 4-2. However, Mango would respond with a takedown of his own to make the score 4-4, and earned the criteria victory by scoring last. Mango was knocked out of the tournament in his next match when he was blanked 8-0 against Soslan Daurov of Belarus in his second repechage match. "I kind of got caught flat-footed out there in my last match," said Mango. "Again, with the Cuban I gave up some big points early. Having to come back every match isn't the way to go out there. You want to be competitive from the first whistle to the last whistle." Justin Lester (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Lester had a strong start to his tournament, winning his first two matches, but ultimately fell just short of earning a spot in a medal match at 71 kilos. "I just wanted to have fun," said Lester. "I put a lot of pressure on my back in other World championships to make sure I get on that medal stand. Today I just came out and just wanted to have fun wrestling. I have usually done my best when I just go out and wrestle and try to put points on the board." Lester, who will turn 32 years old later this month, was dominant in his first match, earning a technical fall over Hungary's Balint Korpasi, who entered the event ranked No. 3 in the world. Lester used a headlock in the first period to jump out to a 4-0 lead. In the second period he executed another four-point throw to seal the victory. Next Lester faced returning World silver medalist Yanus Ozel of Turkey, and overcame a 4-0 deficit to win 8-6. Ozel hit a four-point throw in the first period, and Lester responded with a four-point throw of his own in the second period to knot the score at 4-4. Lester then took the lead with a pushout and added a takedown, which the Turkey coaches challenged. The call was upheld, giving Lester an additional point to make it 8-4. Ozel would inch closer on the strength of pushout and passivity point, but Lester held on for the victory. In the quarterfinals Lester was paired with Azerbaijan's Rasul Chunayev, who is ranked No. 1 in the world. Chumanyez proved to be too much for Lester. After a scoreless first period, Chunayez broke the match open, using five-point throw, followed up by a couple two-point moves to earn a 9-0 technical fall. In the repechage, Lester faced Russia's Adam Kurak and lost a wild 10-9 match. All 19 points were scored in the first period. Lester hit two four-point moves, while Kurak had one. Lester competes at a non-Olympic weight class, so if he wants to compete for an Olympic spot next year he will have to either move down to 66 kilos or up to 74 kilos. "It's going to suck either way," Lester said of the decision. "You have Andy Bisek, who is a two-time medalist now. Then you have 66, which has been like my nemesis my whole life, cutting weight. Either or it's going to be a real bad situation, but we're going to sit down and talk with the coaches and figure out what's going to be best." Martinez, making his World Championships debut, fell in his first match to Belarus' Viktar Sasunouski, who is ranked No. 5 in the world. Sasunouski hit a headlock in the first minute of the match and nearly pinned Martinez, but the American wrestler fought hard to get off his back and eventually earned a one-point reversal. Martinez added a pushout with seven seconds remaining in the match, but it wasn't enough. Martinez was pulled back into repechage when Sasunouski came through to reach the finals. Martinez earned a 5-0 shutout in his first repechage match over Lithuania's Julius Matuzevicius. He used a four-point throw in the second period to help propel him to victory. "The victory felt good," said Martinez. "I've wrestled that guy in practice before ... a couple months back and he was kind of kicking my butt. I'm improving, so that's good." He was then knocked out of the tournament after losing 4-0 to Askhat Dilmukhamedov of Kazakhstan. "I wanted to leave with a medal," said Martinez. "I was pretty set on leaving with a medal. Not accomplishing that goal is just going to drive me more for next year and years to come." Tonight's medal matches are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Three college wrestling programs at schools in the southeast -- Brewton-Parker College, St. Andrews University, and Southeastern University -- are now affiliated members of the Mid-South Conference this fall, the conference announced Friday. The mat programs at these three NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools will join existing Mid-South members Campbellsville University, Cumberland University, University of the Cumberlands, Life University, Lindsey Wilson College, St. Catharine College and Truett-McConnell to become a ten-school wrestling conference effective in the upcoming 2015-16 season. The newly expanded Mid-South wrestling conference will be divided into two equal geographic units. The East Division will include all three of the new members -- Brewton-Parker of Mt. Vernon, Ga., St. Andrews of Laurinburg, N.C., and Southeastern of Lakeland, Fla. -- along with two Georgia-based schools, Life University and Truett-McConnell. The West Division will be made up of Campbellsville (Ky.), Cumberland University (Tenn.), University of the Cumberlands (Ky.), Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.), and St. Catharine College (Ky.). According to the Southeastern wrestling website, each program will have at one dual meet with the other teams within its division, along with at least two duals with schools in the other division. In addition to wrestling, the conference is also welcoming a number of new swimming programs. "The Mid-South Conference is very excited to expand the conference's footprint with like-minded institutions," said conference commission Eric Ward. "These additions strengthen our conference while providing the student-athletes and coaches with a platform to compete for conference championships. "We look forward to working with their coaches and administrators in these respective sports, and expect their teams to be very competitive."