BUCHAREST, Romania – Two Americans placed fifth in their weight class in men’s freestyle on the final day of the Junior World Championships on Sunday: Mark Grey (Rockaway, N.J./Blair Academy) at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Josh Kindig (Auburn, Pa. (Cowboy WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs.

Grey was defeated in a controversial bronze-medal bout against Vitaliy Hurskyy of Ukraine, 7-8, 3-5. Both periods included many scoring actions for both wrestlers, and had wild flurries at the end of the periods. In the closing seconds of the second period, the U.S. coaches protested the final scoring exchange and the final points were never put on the clock, but Hurskyy’s hand was raised as the winner.

Grey won his first three matches, stopping Sander Orion of Estonia,Yervand Tadevosyan of Armenia and Steven Takahashi of Canada. Grey was defeated in the semifinals by eventual champion Vladimer Khinchegashvili of Georgia, 0-2, 0-4. 

Grey is a star for prep powerhouse Blair Academy.

“It was good. I got a lot of experience. I made it to the semifinals of the Worlds. I lost, but I got three wins. It’s all about experience. I felt I learned a lot. Even when I lost, I learn I have got to keep wrestling. You can’t get a lead and defend. You have to keep attacking. You can’t stop at all. That’s when they get you, when you stop attacking,” said Grey.

Kindig was edged in his bronze-medal bout by Rana Parveen of India, 1-1, 1-3. Parveen won the first period by scoring a duckunder late in the match, getting the last point of the period. In the second period, a takedown and two ankle laces gave Parveen a 3-0 lead, and he held off Kindig’s aggressive attack for the 3-1 win.

Kindig opened with a loss to Ebrahim Nasiriafrachali of Iran. When the Iranian made the finals, Kindig qualified for the repechage rounds. He won two straight matches to reach the bronze-medal round, stopping Dae-Ho Lee of Korea by pin in 52 seconds and Ibrokhim Nuriddinov of Uzbekistan with a second-period pin, 2-3, 0:54.

Kindig competes for Oklahoma State.

“It was a great learning experience. It took a lot of hard work to get here, but it shows that there’s always that much more work that can be done. A lot of things I did were little mistakes, staying in position, not getting caught in leg laces, staying in my stance. Those are the most important. There are tough guys all over the world. It will only make me better for folkstyle and, coming back, make me better for Olympic Trials and things like that,” said Kindig.

At 120 kg/264.5 lbs., Daniel Miller (Berlin, Md./U.S. Naval Academy) finished seventh with a 2-2 record. He won his first two bouts, stopping Victor Svetlitskin of Greece and Vadzim Shvedau of Belarus. He lost in the quarterfinals to Teodore Evanoidze of Georgia, who went on to make the finals. That drew Miller back into the repechage, where he lost to Richard Csercsics of Hungary, 0-4, 0-6.

Dropping his only bout at 84 kg/185 lbs. was Lee Munster (Fox Lake, Ill./Wildcat WC), who had a close three-period battle with Ilya Khamikoyev of Azerbaijan, 1-0, 0-2, 1-4. He did not qualify for the repechage rounds when Khamikoyev failed to reach the finals. Munster wrestles for Northwestern University.

The United States finished in eighth place with 25 points. Russia won the team title with 56 points, followed by Georgia with 50 points and Iran with 46 points.

“We did not do what we are capable of doing,” said National Freestyle Developmental Coach Bill Zadick. “We have got to put a lot of hard work in. We have to work in wrestling positions, not just put in hard work in the wrestling room. We have to really analyze details and wrestle in those positions in practice every day. When we get to competition, we have to wrestle our tail off in those positions. We want gold medals and we have a lot of work to do.”

NOTE: The rest of the freestyle videos will be posted upon return to the United States on Tuesday, when reliable internet can be established.

JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bucharest, Romania, July 31

55 kg/121 lbs.
1 Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia)
2 Rassul Kaliyev (Kazakhstan)
3 Vitaliy Hurskyy (Ukraine)
3 Arash Mostafa Dangesaraki (Iran)
5 Mark Grey (USA)
5 Bekhbayar Erdenebat (Mongolia)
7 Samat Nadyrbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan)
8 Azamat Tuskaev (Russia)
9 Fumitaka Morishita (Japan)
10 Steven Takahashi (Canada)

66 kg/145.5 lbs.
1 Khetik Tsabolov (Russia)
2 Ebrahim Nasiriafrachali (Iran)
3 Davit Galegashvili (Georgia)
3 Rana Parveen (India) 
5 Mustafa Kaya (Turkey)
5 Josh Kindig (USA)
7 Igor Moroi (Moldova)
8 Magomed Muslimov (Azerbaijan)
9 Ibrokhim Nuriddinov (Uzbekistan)
10 Aslan Azizov (Kazakhstan)

84 kg/185 lbs.
1 Dato Masagishvili (Georgia)
2 Georgy Rubaev (Russia)
3 Timofei Xenidia (Greece)
3 Islam Azizov (Kazakhstan) 
5 Subkhonjon Toshpulatov (Uzbekistan)
5 Ville Tapani Heino (Finland)
7 Ilya Khamikoyev (Azerbaijan)
8 Michael Bodnar (Slovakia)
9 Evgheni Eremeiv (Moldova)
10 Aliaksandr Hushtyn (Belarus)

120 kg/264.5 lbs
1 Jaber Taghi Sadehzadehnoukolaei (Iran)
2 Tedore Ebanoidze (Georgia)
3 Hamza Ozkaradeniz (Turkey)
3 Muradyn Kushkhov (Ukraine) 
5 Gyuray Hamdiev (Bulgaria)
5 Richárd Cserczics (Hungary)
7 Daniel Miller (USA)
8 Byung-Ho Byun (Korea) 
9 Vadzim Shvedau (Belarus)
10 Alibi Nurmakhanbetov (Kazakhstan)

U.S. freestyle performances

55 kg/121 lbs. – Mark Grey, Rockaway, N.J. (Blair Academy), 5th
WIN Sander Orion (Estonia), 4-3, 8-0
WIN Yervand Tadevosyan (Armenia), 1-0, 6-0
WIN Steven Takahashi (Canada), 6-0, 1-2, 8-5
LOSS Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia), 0-2, 0-4
LOSS Vitally Hurskyy (Ukraine), 7-8, 3-5

66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Josh Kindig, Auburn, Pa. (Cowboy WC), 5th
LOSS Ebrahim Nasiriafrachali (Iran), 0-1, 0-2
WIN Dae-Ho Lee (Korea), pin 0:52
WIN Ibrokhim Nuriddinov (Uzbekistan), 2-3, 0:54
LOSS Rana Parveen (India), 1-1, 1-3

84 kg/185 lbs. – Lee Munster, Fox Lake, Ill. (Wildcat WC), dnp/16th
LOSS Ilya Khamikoyev (Azerbaijan), 1-0, 0-2, 1-4

120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Daniel Miller, Berlin, Md. (U.S. Naval Academy), 7th
WIN Victor Svetlitskin (Greece), pin 1:13
WIN Vadzim Shvedau (Belarus), 1-0, 2-0
LOSS Teodore Evanoidze (Georgia), 1-1, 0-2
LOSS Richard Csercsics (Hungary), 0-4, 0-6

Team Standings
1 Russia, 56
2 Georgia, 50
3 Iran, 46
4 Turkey, 41
5 Azerbaijan, 37
6 Bulgaria, 32
7 Kazakhstan, 28
8 United States, 25
9 Moldova, 23
10 Ukraine, 18
11 Hungary, 16
12 India, 14
13 Uzbekistan, 11
14 Greece, 8
14 Germany 8
14 Japan, 8
17 Korea, 7
18 Finland, 6
18 Mongolia, 6
20 Kyrgysztan, 4
21 Armenia, 3
21 Slovakia, 3
21 Belarus, 3
24 Poland, 2
25 Canada, 1