PATTAYA, Thailand - All four U.S.  Greco-Roman wrestlers were eliminated from medal contention on Wednesday at the 2012 FILA Junior World Championships at the Eastern Sports Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand. 

Mike Fuenffinger (Hibbing, Minn./Minnesota Storm), Lucas Sheridan (Concord, Calif./Hoosier WC) and Wyatt Baker (Anaheim Hills, Calif./NYAC) all finished in 10th place during the final day of Greco-Roman competition. 

Fuenffinger, Sheridan and Nick Alvarez (Miami, Fla./USOEC) all won matches during the course of the day. 

Only Sheridan at 84 kg/185 lbs. had an opportunity to wrestle back for a medal after being beaten in the championship bracket. 

Sheridan was pulled back into the repechage when Turkey’s Baris Gungor, who Sheridan lost to 5-1, 3-0 in the quarterfinals, reached the championship finals.  Sheridan was defeated in the repechage 2-0, 1-0 by Turkmenistan’s Ylyas Esenov, eliminating Sheridan from medal contention.

Gungor would eventually win the championship over Arkadiy Blyumin of Ukraine.

Fuenffinger opened up with a 6-0, 1-3, 6-0 first-round victory over Marco Coetzee of South Africa before falling to Turkey’s Serif Kilic 4-0, 3-1 in the quarterfinals at 55 kg/121 lbs. He would finish in 10th place. It was Fuenffinger’s second appearance at the Junior World Championships. He’ll hit the collegiate mats this fall for Division III Augsburg College.

Eldaniz Azizli of Azerbaijan won the championship at 55 kg beating Moldova’s Victor Ciobanu. 

Alvarez started off his tournament with a 2-0, 2-0 victory over Matous Morbitzer of the Czech Republic. Alvarezm wrestling at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., dropped his second match in the tournament’s biggest weight (36 entries) to Obloberdiev Khsurav of Tajikistan. When Khsurav lost to Hungary’s David Feher in the quarterfinals, Alvarez’s tournament was finished. He placed 15th.

Ceyxhun Aliyev won the title at 66 kg, topping Magomed Chukhalov of Russia.

Baker, who competes for Columbia University in New York City, lost his opening bout to Mykola Kuchmii of Ukraine 2-0, 2-4, 4-0 at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Baker was eliminated from medal contention when Kuchmii was beaten by China’s Yannan Zhang. Despite going 0-1, Baker finished the tournament in 10th place.
Balit Lam of Hungary captured the heavyweight championship, defeating Shota Goisvanidze of Georgia in the final.

As a team, the United States finished in 12th place, with Jesse Thielke winning the team’s lone medal on Tuesday.  Azerbaijan won the Greco-Roman team title with 40 points. Russia and Turkey both finished with 38 points, but Russia finished second by virtue of having more total gold medals.

Women’s competition begins on Thursday from the Eastern Sports Training Center.

FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Pattaya, Thailand, September 5

Greco-Roman results
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold –Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Victor Ciobanu (Moldova)
Bronze – Shinobu Ota (Japan)
Bronze – Nikolay Vichev (Bulgaria)
5th – Serif Kilic (Turkey)
5th – Seung-Hak Kim (Korea)
7th – Gevorg Gharibyan (Armenia)
8th – Mazyar Shirmohammadi (Finland)
9th – Zhaxylyk Aitbayev (Kazakhstan)
10th – Mike Fuenffinger (United States)

66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Ceyxhun Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Magomed Chukhalov (Russia)
Bronze – Mehdi Zeidvand (Iran)
Bronze – Dominik Etlinger (Croatia)
5th – David Feher (Hungary)
5th – Ion Luchita (Moldova)
7th – Zhanibek Kandybayev (Kazakhstan)
8th – Karim Hawwash (Egypt)
9th – Gaoquan Zhang (China)
10th – Jefrin Mejia (Honduras)
15th – Nick Alvarez (United States)

84 kg/185 lbs.
Gold – Baris Gungor (Turkey)
Silver – Arkadiy Blyumin (Ukraine)
Bronze – Fei Peng (China)
Bronze – Samba Diong (France)
5th – Ylyas Esenov (Turkmenistan)
5th – Idras Tatiev (Russia)
7th – Dorin Pirvan (Romania)
8th – Julius Matuzevicius (Lithuania)
9th – Roberti Kobliashvili (Georgia)
10th – Lucas Sheridan (United States)

120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold – Balit Lam (Hungary)
Silver – Shota Goisvanidze (Georgia)
Bronze – Zaur Mexraliyen (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Yannan Zhang (China)
5th –Miloslav Metodiev (Bulgaria)
5th – Ji-Eung Park (Korea)
7th – Giorgiy Shoniya (Russia)
8th – Sherzod Akbarov (Uzbekistan)
9th – Mykola Kuchmii (Ukraine)
10th – Wyatt Baker (United States)

U.S. Greco-Roman Performances
55 kg/121 lbs. – Mike Fuenffinger (Hibbing, Minn./Minnesota Storm), DNP, 10th 
WIN Marco Coetzee (South Africa) 6-0, 1-3, 6-0
LOSS Serif Kilic (Turkey) 4-0, 3-1

66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Nick Alvarez (Miami, Fla./USOEC), DNP/15th
WIN Matous Morbitzer (Czech Republic) 2-0, 2-0
LOSS Obloberdiev Khsurav (Tajikistan) 1-0, 1-0

84 kg/185 lbs. – Lucas Sheridan (Concord, Calif./CYC/Hoosier WC) DNP/10th
WIN Faud Aliyev (Azerbaijan) 0-1, 3-0, 3-0
LOSS Baris Gungor (Turkey) 5-1, 3-0
LOSS Ylyas Esenov (Turkmenistan) 2-0, 1-0

120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Wyatt Baker (Anaheim Hills, Calif./NYAC), DNP/10th
LOSS Mykola Kuchmii (Ukraine) 2-0, 2-4, 4-0

Team Standings
1. Azerbaijan 40
2. Russia 38
3. Turkey 38
4. Iran 32
5. Georgia 28
6. Ukraine 24
7. China 22
8. Lithuania 19
8. Moldova 19
10. Hungary 18
11. Korea 16
12. United States 15
13. Bulgaria 14
14. Armenia 13
14. Kazakhstan 13
16. Belarus 10
17. Germany 9
18. Croatia 8
18. France 8
18. Japan 8
18. Mexico 8
18. Norway 8
23. Israel 6
23. Poland 6
23. Sweden 6
23. Turkmenistan 6
27. Finland 5
27. Kyrgyzstan 5
29. Romania 4
29. Honduras 4
31. Egypt 3
31. Uzbekistan 3