Scott, Herbert, Dlagnev weigh in and get draws for Olympic freestyle wrestling on Aug. 11
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
08/10/2012
LONDON, England – Three U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers who will compete in the 2012 Olympic Games have weighed in and received their draws for their competition on Saturday, August 11: Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Jake Herbert (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs. and Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Scott drew the No. 2 spot, and will face 2010 Asian bronze medalist Seung-Chul Lee of Korea.
Should Scott win, he will face the winner of the match between Malkhaz Zarkua of Georgia and Vasyl Fedoryshin of Ukraine. Fedoryshin was a 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2010 World silver medalist. Zarkua was fifth at the 2011 World Championships.
“The guy with the most improvement the last four to six months has been Coleman Scott. That confidence out of winning the World Cup means a lot. He hot. He had a tough path to make the team. He is ready. We’ve seen the Korean quite a bit. He’s wrestled a long time and has competed for a medal. But the momentum Coleman has right now, that Korean will have a hard time with Coleman,†said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones.
Herbert drew the No. 10 spot, and will face Humberto Arencibia of Cuba. Herbert defeated Arencibia in the finals of the 2011 Pan American Games. Arencibia won the 2012 Pan American Olympic Qualifier.
Should Herbert win, he will face the winner of the match between Ibrahim Bolukbasi of Turkey and 2011 World champion Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan. Bolukbasi was fifth in the 2011 European Championships.
“He has a Cuban in the first round, a guy he wrestled in the Pan American Games. We are very familiar with him. Jake has had great preparation. We had him wrestle a lot of foreigners last week. That will make a big difference. He needed to get that foreign feel in competition. That will pay off at the end,†said Jones.
Dlagnev drew the No. 1 spot, and will face Eldesoky Shaban of Egypt, who won the 2012 Olympic Qualification Tournament for Africa and Oceania.
Should Dlagnev win, he will face the winner of the match between 2011 World champion Aleksei Shemarov of Belarus and Daniel Ligety of Hungary. Shemarov defeated Dlagnev in the semifinals at the 2011 World Championships. Ligety was fifth in the 2009 and 2010 World Championships.
Also in Dlagnev's half-bracket is 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan, who is a potential semifinal opponent.
“He’s on track. He is a wrestling genius. He understands everything that is about to occur tomorrow. He’s been through the process. He knows what to expect. He knows he has to go out there, be tough and be ready for a fight from the beginning. He is ready to roll,†said Jones.
Scott is competing in his first Olympic Games. He has had a great 2012 season, winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa, the World Cup in Azerbaijan and the 60 kg Olympic Team Wrestle-off in Times Square in New York City. Scott was third in the U.S. World Team Trials for three straight years (2009-11). He was second in the 2008 U.S. Open and third in 2009 and 2010.
Scott is a native of Wayneburg, Pa., where he won three state high school titles for Waynesburg Central High School. He attended Oklahoma State, where he was a 2008 NCAA champion and a four-time All-American for the Cowboys. He currently trains at Oklahoma State.
Herbert is competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a 2009 World silver medalist, and a member of the 2010 U.S. World Team. He was a U.S. Open national champion for three straight years (2009-11). Herbert won a pair of University World medals, with bronze medals in 2006 and 2008.
Herbert is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., where he won a state high school title for North Allegheny High School. He attended Northwestern Univ., where he was a two-time NCAA champion (2007 and 2009) and a four-time All-American. He won the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 2009. He currently trains with the Cliff Keen WC at the University of Michigan.
Dlagnev is competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a 2009 World bronze medalist and placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships. Dlagnev won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games, and added Pan American Championships titles in 2010 and 2012. He was a University World champion in 2008.
Dlagnev was born in Bulgaria, and raised in Arlington, Texas, where he was a state placewinner for Arlington High School in only his second year wrestling. He attended the Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney, where he was a two-time NCAA Div. II national champion and a four-time All-American. He currently trains at the Ohio Regional Training Center at Ohio State University.
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