HILL, POWELL, LAWRENCE, ROWLANDS QUALIFY FOR SEMIFINALS AT FILA JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NANTES, FRANCE, JULY 7Four U.S. freestyle wrestlers have qualified for the semifinals in their weight classes at the FILA Junior World Championships in Nantes, France, July 7. The Junior World Teams are made up of men and women ages 17 to 20 years old (born between 1980-1983).
Three of the U.S. semifinalists were placewinners at the 1999 FILA Junior World Championships as well: T.J. Hill (Farmington, Mo./Dave Schultz WC) at 110 pounds, Jared Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho/Minnesota Storm) at 152 pounds and Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio International) at 213.75 pounds. The other U.S. semifinalist is Jason Powell (Lincoln, Neb./Husker WC) at 119 pounds.
Hill, the defending Junior World Champion, scored a pair of 10-0 technical falls over Kumar Maresh of India and Koji Tobe of Japan. Hill will face an opponent from Iran in the semifinals.
Hill was a 1998 Junior World silver medalist and 1999 Junior World Champion at his weight class. He competed for Cal. State-Fullerton in the 2000 NCAA Tournament and placed fourth.
Powell, who wrestles for the Univ. of Nebraska, won three matches to make the semifinals. In the pool competition, he beat Canada's Peter DeJong by technical fall, 14-3, then edged Uzun Muhyettin of Turkey, 9-7, in overtime. He stopped Aliaksandr Kaminski of Belarus, 12-3 in the quarterfinals. Powell will face an opponent from Estonia in the semifinals.
Lawrence, a student at the Univ. of Minnesota, also scored three wins. In the pool competition, he stopped Lauri Parna of Estonia, 9-0 and Krystian Brzozowski of Poland, 4-1. In the quarterfinals, he won an exciting 3-0 decision over Nicolai Paslar of Bulgaria. Lawrence will draw an opponent from Russia in the semifinals. Lawrence placed fifth at 1999 FILA Junior World Championships.
Rowlands, a wrestler for Ohio State, dominated all three of his opponents, scoring technical falls in each match. In the pool competition, Rowlands stopped Sven Kiefer of Germany, 12-2 and Hidetoshi Yoshida of Japan, 11-0. In the semifinals, Rowlands crushed Dayan Tejera Garcia of Cuba, 10-0. He will face an opponent from Georgia in the semifinals.
One other U.S. wrestler won his pool competition and qualified for the quarterfinals, Hector Torres (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 286 pounds. Torres, an Arizona State wrestler, won his first two matches, beating Hiroki Fukada of Japan, 9-4 and Markus Eichin of Germany, 7-0. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Bahman Tayebi Valajozi of Iran, 4-0 and was eliminated from medal contention.
The other four U.S. wrestlers were defeated in the their pool competition, and were eliminated from the tournament. Damion Hahn (Lakewood, N.J./New York AC), who was fourth in the 1999 FILA Junior World Championships, dropped his first match to 1999 Junior World silver medalist Taras Danko of Ukraine, 6-0. Danko also defeated Hahn at the 1999 Junior World event. Although Hahn scored two quick technical falls in his pool, he did not advance.
The men's U.S Junior World freestyle team is coached by Donnie McPherson of Portland, Ore., a coach for the Peninsula Wrestling Club, and Mike Duroe of Colorado Springs, Colo., the National Freestyle Developmental Coach for USA Wrestling. FILA JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS at Nantes, France, July 7
U.S. team performance
50 kg/110 lbs. - T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. (Cal State-Fullerton/Dave Schultz WC) - won by tech. fall over Kumar Maresh (India), 10-0; won by tech. fall over Koji Tobe (Japan), 10-0, 3:10
54 kg/119 lbs. - Jason Powell, Lincoln, Neb. (Univ. of Nebraska/Husker WC) - won by tech. fall over Peter DeJong (Canada), 14-3, 4:20; dec. Uzun Muhyettin (Turkey), 9-7, ot; dec. Aliaksandr Kaminski (Belarus), 12-3
56 kg/127.75 lbs. - Zach Roberson, Overland Park, Kan. (Iowa State/Cyclone WC) - lost by tech. fall to Abil Ibragimov (Kazakhstan), 12-2, 5:50; won by tech. fall over Arturs Mihalevics (Latvia), 13-3, 4:30
63 kg/138.7 lbs. - Clark Forward, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Univ. of Michigan/Cliff Keen) - dec. Ronny Manuel Sauter (Germany), 9-5; lost by tech. fall to Iossif Mamtselidze (Kazakhstan), 12-0
69 kg/152 lbs. - Jared Lawrence, Sandpoint, Idaho (Univ. of Minn./Minn. Storm) - dec. Lauri Parna (Estonia), 9-0; dec. Krystian Brzozowski (Poland), 4-1; dec. Nicolai Paslar (Bulgaria), 3-0
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Matthew Lackey, Moline, Ill. (Univ. of Illinois) - won by tech. fall over Jose Carrasco (Spain), 13-1, 4:04; lost dec. to Mourad Gaidarov (Russia), 4-1
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Damion Hahn, Lakewood, N.J. (Univ. of Minnesota/New York AC) - lost dec. to Taras Danko (Ukraine), 6-0; won by tech. fall over Abrik Mukhammadiyev (Uzbekistan), 10-0, 0:21; won by tech. fall over Oscar Fernandez (Spain), 10-0, 0:58
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Tommy Rowlands, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State/Ohio International WC) - won by tech. fall over Sven Kiefer (Germany), 12-2; won by tech. fall over Hidetoshi Yoshida (Japan), 11-0; won by tech. fall over Dayan Tejera Garcia (Cuba), 10-0, 3:30
130 kg/286.5 lbs - Hector Torres, Tempe, Ariz. (Arizona State/Sunkist Kids) - dec. Hiroki Fukada (Japan), 9-4; dec. Markus Eichin (Germany), 7-0; lost dec. to Bahman Tayebi Valajozi (Iran), 4-0