Andrew Howe receives his silver medal at 74 kg at the Outstanding Ukrainian Athletes and Coaches Memorial. Andy Hrovat photo

KIEV, Ukraine – Andrew Howe (Cedar Lake, Ind./New York AC) won a silver medal at 74 kg/163 lbs. on the final day of the Outstanding Ukrainian Athletes and Coaches Memorial on Thursday.

Howe was defeated in the finals by Aleksandr Gostiyev of Azerbaijan, 0-1, 0-1.

Gostiev scored an ankle pick takedown in the first period, and escaped with the period when Howe could not break Gostiev’s tripod to secure a takedown. Gostiev also scored a spin behind takedown in the second period for the victory.

He won four straight matches to qualify for the finals. Howe opened with victories over Dmytro Komisar of Ukraine, 2-0, 2-1 and Roman Dermnji of Moldova, 3-1, 2-0. In the quarterfinals, he stopped Oleg Belotserkovskyy of Ukraine, 1-3, 3-0, 1-0. His semifinal victory was against 2008 Olympic silver medalist Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan, 1-1, 3-0.

“He had a big bracket. On his side of the bracket, there were two Olympic medalists. He wrestled well and scored a lot of points and was stingy on defense. His offense was great. His shot finishes were unbelievable. They allowed him to score and not waste opportunities when he was in on the leg. In the finals, he had a good wrestler and it went back and forth. He didn’t do anything wrong, just gave up a takedown in each period. Andrew is right where he needs to be for the Olympic Trials,” said U.S. coach Andy Hrovat.

Howe was a 2010 U.S. Open champion and has been second at the U.S. World Team Trials the last two years. He is taking an Olympic redshirt year from the Univ. of Wisconsin. He trains full-time with the Cliff Keen WC in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I wrestled pretty well. I had five matches. I got my offense going. I have a few technical things to correct, and if I had done them I would have won the finals,” said Howe. “I’m right there. I had a tough guy in the semifinals. I am close to where I need to be. I made big gains this year. I plan to keep improving and work on the small things, and to become Olympic champion.”

Placing fifth with a 3-2 record at 60 kg/132 lbs. was Matt Valenti (Philadelphia, Pa./Lehigh Valley AC).

Valenti opened with three impressive wins, stopping Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, 2-0, 3-1, Malkaz Zarkua of Georgia, 1-0, 0-4, 4-0 and Lubomir Symak of Ukraine, 4-3, 0-2, 1-1. In the semifinals, he was defeated by Yevgen Khavilov of Ukraine, 0-3, 0-4. Khavilov, a 2008 World Military silver medalist, went on to win the gold medal.

Valenti lost a close bronze-medal match to Aghahuseyn Mustafayev of Azerbaijan, 0-1, 1-0, 0-1. Mustafayev was a 2010 World Military champion.

Valenti was a two-time NCAA champion at Penn, and is currently a coach there.

“He wrestled a good, quality tournament. He found that if he wrestles to his capabilities, he can be successful at this level. His losses were against strong competitors who are among the top in the world. In both matches, there were technical things that were the difference, things that he can correct moving forward,” said U.S. coach Jamill Kelly.

The U.S. had two medalists during the two-day event, which is considered one of the most competitive international freestyle events in the world each year. Winning a silver medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. on Wednesday was Chad Hanke (Dayton, Ore./NWRTC). Hanke is on an Olympic redshirt year from Oregon State.

OUTSTANDING UKRANIAN ATHLETES AND COACHES MEMORIAL
At Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 15

Men's freestyle results

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold – Yevgen Khavilov (Ukraine)
Silver – Vasyl Fedoryshyn (Ukraine)
Bronze - Aghahuseyn Mustafayev (Azerbaijan)
Bronze –Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
5th – Matt Valenti (USA)
6th – Aliaksander Kontoev (Belarus)

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold - Aleksandr Gostiyev (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Andrew Howe (USA)
Bronze – Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan)
Bronze – Davit Khutsishvili (Georgia)
5th – Oleg Belotserkovskyy (Ukraine)
5th – Andriy Shalyuta (Ukraine)

96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold – Valerii Andriitsev (Ukraine)
Silver – Alen Zaseyev (Ukraine)
Bronze - Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia)
Bronze – Nauruz Temrezov (Azerbaijan)
5th – Chinchuluun Batchuluun (Mongolia)
5th – Taras Danko (Ukraine)

U.S. men’s freestyle results on Thursday

60 kg/132 lbs. – Shawn Bunch, Columbus, Ohio (Gator WC)
WIN Vadim Dzboev (Russia), 1-0, 3-0
WIN Andrei Preleilia (Moldova), 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan), 0-1, 1-0, 0-1

60 kg/132 lbs. – Matt Valenti, Philadelphia, Pa. (Lehigh Valley AC), 5th
WIN Vasyl Shuptar (Ukraine), 2-0, 3-1
WIN Malkaz Zarkua (Georgia), 1-0, 0-4, 4-0
WIN Lubomir Symak (Ukraine), 4-3, 0-2, 1-1
LOSS Yevgen Khavilov (Ukraine), 0-3, 0-4
LOSS Aghahuseyn Mustafayev (Azerbaijan), 0-1, 1-0, 0-1

60 kg/132 lbs. – James Kennedy, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC)
WIN Pavel Negru (Moldova), 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Tital Dzhafaryan (Ukraine), pin

74 kg/163 lbs. – Andrew Howe, Cedar Lake, Ind. (New York AC), 2nd
WIN Dmytro Komisar (Ukraine), 2-0, 2-1
WIN Roman Dermnji (Moldova), 3-1, 2-0
WIN Oleg Belotserkovskyy (Ukraine), 1-3, 3-0, 1-0
WIN Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan), 1-1, 3-0
LOSS Aleksandr Gostiyev (Azerbaijan), 0-1, 0-1

96 kg/211.5 lbs. – J.D. Bergman, Columbus, Ohio (New York AC)
WIN Batradz Gazzaev (Russia), 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Alen Zaseyev (Ukraine), 0-1, 1-2
WIN Wynn Michalak (USA), 2-0, 3-1
LOSS Taras Danko (Ukraine), 0-3, 1-0, 0-2

96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Wynn Michalak, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
LOSS Alen Zaseyev (Ukraine), 0-1, 0-3
LOSS J.D. Bergman (USA), 0-2, 1-3