Lara places fifth on last day of Vantaa Cup in Finland.

<< Back to Articles
Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
11/22/2010


VANTAA, Finland – Marco Lara (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) placed fifth at 60 kg/132 lbs., the top U.S. performance on the final day of the Vantaa Cup of Greco-Roman wrestling.

Lara finished the tournament with a 2-2 record. He was defeated in a bronze-medal match by Mykola Prokofyev of Ukraine, 0-1, 0-3.

He opened the tournament with a strong win over Jani Haapamaki of Finland, 0-2, 1-0, 2-0, but was defeated by Asker Orshokdugov of Russia, 0-8, 0-3. When Orshokdugov made the finals, Lara was drawn back into the repechage, where he won his first bout over Juho Portti of Finland, 2-0, 1-0.

"Marco beat Jani Haapamaki, the European champion from Finland, in the first round, which was a good win for him. He wrestled extremely well against Haapamaki, showing great fight and superior par terre defense. His second match he lost to the two-time defending Junior World champion and lost a hard fought battle for third to a tough Ukranian. He gained a lot of experience here and I think it will help advance his wrestling skills,” said U.S. coach Dale Oliver.

Lara was the only American to earn a spot in the repechage rounds. 

Two other U.S. wrestler won a match during the day, Chad Vandiver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), who finished seventh at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Jordan Dewald, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marines), who finished eighth at 74 kg/163 lbs. 

The USA finished sixth in the team standings with 24 points. Russia won the team title, followed by the St. Petersburg, Russia club in second.

The only U.S. medalist during the weekend was Paul Tellgren (Anoka, Minn./Minnesota Storm), who won a bronze medal 55 kg/121 lbs. on Saturday.

The U.S. team travels to Ilmajoki, Finland for the Haavisto Cup this coming weekend.

VANTAA CUP
At Vantaa, Finland, Nov. 21

Greco-Roman results

60 kg/132 lbs.
1 Ibragim Labazanov (St. Petersburg, Russia)
2 Asker Orshokdugov (Russia)
3 Gamzat Ibragimov (Russia)
3 Mykola Prokofyev (Ukraine)
5 Niko Ohukainen (Finland)
5 Marco Lara (USA)
7 Chad Vandiver (USA)
8 Jani Haapamaki (Finland)
9 Fazel Ahmadi (Finland)
10 Donovan DePatto (USA)

74 kg/163 lbs.
1 Ruslan Belkhoroev (Russia)
2 Andrey Solovyev (Russia)
3 Christoffer Nilsson (Finland)
3 V. Venckaitis (Lithuania)
5 Olexandr Khvoshch (Ukraine)
5 Eldar Botashev (St. Petersburg, Russia)
7 Ruslan Isakov (St. Petersburg, Russia)
8 Jordan DeWald (USA)
9 Jarno Alander (Finland)
10 Ruslan Oleksenko (Ukraine)

96 kg/211.5 lbs.
1 Ardo Arusaar (Estonia)
2 Maxim Safaryan (St. Peterburg, Russia)
3 Sergiy Yeroshkin (Ukraine)
3 Ismo Pietilainen (Finland)
5 Tuomas Lahti (Finland)
5 Volodymyr Vasyliev (Ukraine)
7 C. Johansson (Sweden)
8  Jonne Jokela (Finland)
9 Zachary Nielsen (USA)
10 Juha-Pekka Haapala (Finland)

U.S. Greco-Roman performances

60 kg/132 lbs. - Marco Lara, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 5th
WIN Jani Haapamaki (Finland), 0-2, 1-0, 2-0
LOSS Asker Orshokdugov (Russia), 0-8, 0-3
WIN Juho Portti (Finland), 2-0, 1-0
LOSS Mykola Prokofyev (Ukraine), 0-1, 0-3

60 kg/132 lbs. - Chad Vandiver, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 7th
WIN Ville Kaki (Finland), 2-0, 3-1
LOSS Mykola Prokofyev (Ukraine), 0-1, 0-2

60 kg/132 lbs. - Donavan Depatto, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marines), 10th
LOSS Gamzat Ibragimov (Russia), pin

74 kg/163 lbs. - Joel Ahern, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marines), dnp/13th
LOSS Olexandr Khvoshch (Ukraine), 2-5, 3-0

74 kg/163 lbs. - Steven Forrest, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marines), dnp/14th
LOSS Jarno Alander (Finland), 0-1, 1-0, 0-2

74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Dewald, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marines), 8th
WIN Ardo Lehmets (Estonia), 0-1, pin
LOSS Olexandr Khvoshch (Ukraine), 0-1, 0-1

96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Zac Nielsen, Zimmerman, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 9th
LOSS C. Johansson (Sweden), 0-2, 4-0, 0-1

Team Standings
1 Russia, 85
2 St. Petersburg club, Russia. 49
3 Ukraine, 45
4 Finland, 30
5 Sweden, 30
6 USA, 27
7 Norway, 18
8 Lithuania, 18
9 Estonia, 11
10 OP club, Finland, 3
(of 26 teams)