Van Stokes, the U.S. Team Leader for the freestyle trip to Iran this past week, gives his perspective of the unique tour. Stokes has been a team leader on a past U.S. tour to Iran.

Monday, August 2

We have been in transit from the end of the awards ceremony yesterday until walking in the door a few minutes ago.  It was a long trip, but well worth the effort. Attached below are some details that may be of interest from the final day of competition in Iran on Sunday.

Notes on Sunday's competition in Iran: 

Tervel Dlagnev, 120 kg, and Raymond Jordan, 84 kg, set the pace for the United States on Sunday, winning silver medals in the final day of the Habibi & Movahhed Tournament in Qaemshahr, Iran on Sunday. Both compete for the Sunkist Kids.

Jordan began his day with a win over Pirouz Roudpodhti of Iran, 3-0, 1-1, scoring the deciding point in the final 15 seconds of the second period.  In his quarterfinal match against Mohammad Javad Ebrahimi of Iran, they traded clinches in the first two periods before Jordan’s conditioning proved to be the difference in the third period. Jordan won the match 1-0, 0-1, 5-0 with an aggressive attack in a convincing third period.

In the semi-finals against Omar Magomadov of Georgia, Jordan lost the first period off of the clinch, 0-1.  Jordan won the second period, 1-0, with a takedown in the final six seconds.  Jordan scored on two takedowns in the final 15 seconds of the final period for the 2-1 win. Again, Jordan's action in the final minute was too much for Magomadov. 

In the championship match against Asghar Basri of Iran, Jordan lost the first period 0-3 on a Basri takedown and a high gut wrench. In the second period, Basri attacked with a high single and had a 2-0 lead before Jordan scored a takedown near the end of the period.  Jordan lost the period 1-2 and which put him on the medal stand in second place.

In his opening match of the tournament, Dlagnev defeated Giorgi Nikuradze of Georgia 1-0, 2-0 with two takedowns and a counter. In the quarterfinals he beat Khashayar Dehestani of Iran, 4-2, 4-2, scoring on a takedown and a leg lace in the first period, before trading takedowns in the second period. Dehestani was one of 11 Iranian wrestlers out of 15 in this weight class.

In his semi-final match, Dlagnev beat Hadi Pouralijan of Iran, 1-0, 2-0.  Dlagnev won the first period on a the clinch.  In the second period, two takedowns in the final 30 seconds provided the margin.

Dlagnev, World Bronze Medalist in 2009, was beaten in the finals by World silver medalist Fardin Masoumi of Iran, 1-0, 3-2. Dlagnev’s well ran dry against Iranian opponents. Masoumi won the first period on the clinch and scored first in the second period with a takedown and an exposure from a gut wrench. A takedown and a leg lace by Dlagnev was not enough as Masoumi got his last point when Dlagnev appeared to have stepped out in action near the edge of the mat.

Masoumi was a clear crowd favorite in Habibi Stadium which was filled with approximately 3,000 rabid and appreciative fans. The cheering section was in full force for this one as Masoumi claimed the gold.
 
At 60 kg, Coleman Scott of the Gator Wrestling Club won a bronze medal, winning three matches and losing one on the day. In his opener, Scott beat Mehdi Ghorban of Iran, 1-0, 1-2, 1-0. Scott won the first period with a single leg takedown, but was caught in a leg wrap during the second period. He won the match with a last second takedown in the final period.

In the quarterfinals, Scott lost to Ebrahim Nairi of Iran, 0-1, 0-1.  Scott lost the first period on the clinch, and gave up a takedown with three seconds remaining in the second period.  In the repechage,  Scott downed Abbas Dabaghi of Iran, 1-1, 0-4, 2-1. Dabaghi's father was a six-time National Champion for Iran. In his bronze medal match, Scott was the aggressor beating Aref Alizadeh of Iran, 1-0, 2-0.   Scott drove Alizadeh out of bounds in the first period, and scrambled for two takedowns in the second period.  Scott won bronze in the U.S. Open and World Team Trials earlier this year.

At 74 kg, Trent Paulson of the Sunkist Kids finished with a bronze medal.  Paulson, a 2009 World Team member, looked strong in beating Kiril Terziev of Bulgaria, 7-0, 0-1, 3-2.  The first period was over in 44 seconds as Paulson locked Terziev's arm and rolled him three consecutive times. Terziev scored on the clinch to end the second period, while Paulson used a push-out and a turn for two points and the needed margin in the 3-2 win.

Paulson lost in the quarterfinals to Iman Mohammadian of Iran, losing the first period 0-1 off of the clinch by Mahammadian. In the second period, Paulson was taken down and turned before he could score a takedown, losing the period 1-3.  In the repechage, Paulson stunned Marad Zoidze of Georgia when he dumped him from his feet to his shoulders for an instantaneous fall. Paulson was leading 3-0 at that point.

In his bronze medal match against two-time World medalist Hasan Tahmasebi of Iran. Paulson won the first period on the clinch and stayed active throughout the second period winning it 5-0 finishing in third place.

Also at 120 kg, Tommy Rowlands of the Sunkist Kids, won his first match against Mohsen Dalili of Iran, 1-0, 1-0. Rowlands was relentless for his first period takedown, and scored the only point in the second period with a takedown in the first 15 seconds. Rowlands lost in the quarterfinals to Mohammad Pouralijan, Iran, 0-1, 1-3. Pouralijan won the first period with the clinch, and turned Rowlands after taking him down in the second period.

The United States finished third in the team standings behind Iran and Russia. The competition drew world-class wrestlers from several countries to include Belarus, Georgia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. While some countries had incomplete teams, with one or two wrestlers per weight class, Iran had several in each category.  For instance, at 66 kg, 13 of the 18 wrestlers were from Iran.

The tournament was named after two legends in the history of Iranian wrestling, Imamali Habibi and Abdollah Movahhed. Both were Olympic Champions and together won eleven World Championships. Understandably, they are revered in Iran for their wrestling accomplishments. Only Habibi was able to be present for the tournament and he was treated like royalty, as you might expect.

Like the competition, the hospitality was outstanding. The American wrestlers gained a highly valuable experience in the heartland of wrestling in Iran. They left for home immediately following the competition and arrived home today.