BUCHAREST, Romania – Logan Stieber (Monroeville, Ohio/New York AC) won a silver medal at 60 kg/132 lbs. in men’s freestyle at the Junior World Championships on Saturday. FILA Juniors are athletes who are 17-20 years old.

Stieber was beaten in the championship finals by Toghrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan, 1-1, 4-6. 

Stieber scored the first takedown of the bout, but Asgarov answered with a takedown to tie it at 1-1 and won the period with the last point scored. Asgarov took an early lead in the second period, and was leading 5-4 after a scramble where both athletes scored points. Asgarov closed out the victory with another takedown later in the second period for the 6-4 margin.

Stieber won four matches in dominant fashion to reach the finals. His closest bout came in the opening round, a three-period win over Sayatbek Okassov of Kazakhstan, 7-1, 0-1, 1-0. He pinned Antranik Ovsepian of Greece in the second round, then defeated Maxim Perpelita of Moldova in two periods in the quarterfinals. Stieber reached the finals with a solid semifinal victory over Stefan Ivanov of Bulgaria, 5-0, 7-1.

“I started off slow in the first match, a tough three period match. After I got the first match in me, I started to roll. I got a pin, a tech fall and I scored a lot of points. In the final I made some mistakes. He got me a couple of times on that slide-by thing he does. I have got a lot of things to work on. But, overall, it was a pretty good tournament,” said Stieber.

It was Stieber’s first Junior World Championships appearance. He competes for Ohio State, and was nationally ranked in freestyle on the Senior level while still in high school.

“He wrestled a great tournament, very offensive and aggressive,” said National Freestyle Developmental Coach Bill Zadick. “He has a great shot and a great heart. He stays after it. He wrestles through positions and follows though situations. That’s what put him in the finals. In that final, he won the silver. It’s not what he wanted. I think he will make adjustments and get better. I am confident in his ability. He has been a winner his whole life. He will come back strong.”

The other three U.S. wrestlers competing on Saturday lost their first match and were eliminated: Nick Roberts (Hooversville, Pa./Young Guns) at 50 kg/110 lbs., Taylor Massa (St. Johns, Mich./Massa’s Maniacs) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Tanner Hall (Meridian, Idaho/New York AC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. All three competed on the high school level this past season.

“They are talented young men,” said Zadick. “We are seeing a situation where they are better than the people they compete against domestically. Freestyle is a bit different experience, a different style, with tactical and strategic differences. It is still about familiarizing ourselves with these positions.”

JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bucharest, Romania, July 30

Men’s freestyle results

50 kg/110 lbs.
1 Magomed Magomedaliev (Russia)
2 Georgi Vangelov (Bulgaria)
3 Anatolii Burian (Moldova)
3 Nursultan Naizabekov (Kazakhstan)
5 Deepak Deepak (India)
5 Burhan Altintas (Turkey)
7 Mirjalal Hasan-Zada (Azerbaijan)
8 Alireza Ghorban Hatami (Iran)
9 Myeong-Seok Oh (Korea)
10 Ievgenii Konariev (Ukraine)

60 kg/132 lbs.
1 Toghrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan)
2 Logan Stieber (USA)
3 Maxim Perpelita (Moldova)
3 Omer Uzan (Turkey)
5 Stefan Ivanov (Bulgaria)
5 Murshid Mutalimov (Russia)
7 József Molnar (Hungary)
8 Maruf Nurilloev (Uzbekistan)
9 Ji-Hoon Yun (Korea)
10 Sayatbek Okassov (Kazakhstan)

74 kg/163 lbs.
1 Tamerlan Akhmedov (Russia)
2  Abdulkadir Ozmen (Turkey)
3 Miroslav Stefanov Kirov (Bulgaria)
3 Ibrahim Yusubov (Azerbaijan)
5 Carsten Kopp (Germany)
5 Amir Kheirollah Shariaty Adl (Iran)
7 Beka Petriashvili (Georgia)
8 Gevorg Hambardzumyan (Armenia)
9 Sebastian Jezierzanski (Poland)
10 Ion Sajin (Moldova)

96 kg/211.5 lbs.
1 Hamed Talebizarrinkamar (Iran)
2 Mamuka Kordzaia (Georgia)
3 Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan)
3 Nuraslov Magomedgazhi (Russia)
5 Takahiro Baba (Japan)
5 Rafael Toth (Hungary)
7 Ismail Can (Turkey)
8 Evtim Evtimov (Bulgaria)
9 Robin Ferdinand (Germany)
10 Hlbe Kutey (Ukraine)

U.S. freestyle performances

50 kg/110 lbs. – Nick Roberts, Hooversville, Pa. (Young Guns), dnp/20th
LOSS Alireza Ghorban Hatami (Iran), 1-1, 1:21

60 kg/132 lbs. – Logan Stieber, Monroeville, Ohio (New York AC), 2nd
WIN Sayatbek Okassov (Kazakhstan), 7-1, 0-1, 1-0
WIN Antranik Ovsepian (Greece), 7-0, pin 0:55
WIN Maxim Perpelita (Moldova), 7-0, 4-2
WIN Stefan Ivanov (Bulgaria), 5-0, 7-1
LOSS Toghrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan), 1-1, 4-6

74 kg/163 lbs. – Taylor Massa, St. Johns, Mich. (Massa’s Maniacs), dnp/18th
LOSS Ibrahim Yusubov (Azerbaijan), 1-5, 1-4

96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Tanner Hall, Meridian, Idaho (New York AC), dnp/20th
LOSS Yudhvir Yudhvir (India), 0-4, 0-3