Greco wrestlers Davis, Betts, Johnson receive draws for Saturday’s Greco-Roman competition at 2009 World Championships

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Jason Bryant (USA Wrestling)
09/25/2009


With the conclusion of all freestyle weights on Friday, the mats will be clear Saturday and Sunday for the last six weights of Greco-Roman at the 2009 World Championships at the Messecenter Herning in Herning, Denmark.

Jeremiah Davis, Chas Betts and R.C. Johnson all made weight and received their draws for competition at 60, 84, and 96kg, respectively.

Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) represents the United States on his first World Team after knocking off incumbent Joe Betterman at the World Team Trials back in May. Davis will wrestle Sebastien Hidalgo of France, a rapidly improving country in Greco.

Davis' first go on the U.S. team netted a 16th place finish at the Golden Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan last month. He'll face Hidalgo, who was an Olympic qualifier in 2008 and fifth in the 2008 European championships.

Davis will wrestle one of four qualification matches before getting to the "first round" of competition, as 36 nations are entered. 

Olympic Champion Islam-beka Albiev of Russia is in the top half of the bracket with Kazakhstan's Nurbakyt Tengysbaev, the bronze medalist from Beijing.

Betts (St. Michael, Minn./Minnesota Storm), a 2008 Pan Am Championships runner-up, makes his first U.S. World Team and will face Antti Hakala of Finland in the opening round. Halaka has represented Finland at the European Junior Championships previously and is making his first appearance at the Senior World Championships. 

Up top with Betts is Russian Alexej Mishin, the 2007 World Champion and 2004 Olympic Champion.

R.C. Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will face Turkey's Serkan Ozden in the opening round. Johnson has twice represented the U.S. at the World University Games. He has one of the two qualification matches and will face either Li Ren of China or Rami Heitaniemi should he beat the Turk to start the tournament. 

Notable names in the bottom half of the bracket with Johnson are Georgia's Ramaz Nozadze, a former World Champion, and Russian Aslanbek Khushtov, the reigning Olympic Champion.

In the top half, Jimmy Lidberg of Greco-tough Sweden and David Saladze of Uzbekistan  are ones to keep an eye on.