ANKARA, TURKEY - Two U.S. wrestlers competed on the final day of the Yasar Dogu Tournament in Ankara, Turkey on Sunday, both falling short of winning a medal.

Shawn Bunch (Edinboro, Pa./New York AC) placed fifth at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Kyle Cerminara (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) place seventh at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

"Bunch wrestled real well," said Freestyle Developmental Coach Dave Bennett. "He wrestled three matches after he suffered a head butt and did well. He was very quick. His speed is fun to watch. It was a great experience for him, as he got five matches."

Bunch had a 3-2 record in the tournament. He lost in the bronze medal match to Albert Saritov of Russia, 0-2, 0-1.

The U.S. placed third as a team in the competition, behind host Turkey and runner-up Russia. A total of 20 teams entered the event. On the first day of the tournament, the U.S. had a pair of bronze medalists in Zack Esposito (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Steven Mocco (Stillwater, Okla./New York AC) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

"I thought Esposito wrestled a very good tournament," said Bennett. "He lost to a very talented wrestler. He came back and had a great medal match. Mocco looked extremely good. In his loss, he lost both periods on the clinch and had lost the flip. In the other bouts, he was scoring and getting takedowns."

"Finishing third in this tournament, with the opponents we faced here, was a good finish. All the guys wrestled well. We knew we had to compete hard here in Turkey," he said.

YASAR DOGU TOURNAMENT
At Ankara, Turkey, March 3

U.S. performances

60 kg/132 lbs. - Shawn Bunch, Edinboro, Pa., 5th
WIN Ibragimov, Russia, 4-0, 6-0
LOSS Zelimkhan, Russia, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3
WIN Makharishvili, Georgia, 2-0, 1-0
WIN Hassan Madny, Egypt, 2-0, 1-0
LOSS Saritov, Russia, 0-2, 0-1

96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Kyle Cerminara, Colorado Springs, Colo., 7th
WIN Osman Ozgun, Turkey, 4-0, 1-0
WIN Salihering, Turkey, 3-0, 1-0
LOSS Hakkan Koc, Turkey, 0-3, 0-1