USA PLACES THIRD AS TEAM AT THE JUNOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, AUG. 22; ROWLANDS PLACES FOURTH, VEGA TAKES SEVENTHThe United States placed a strong third as a team at the 1999 FILA Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Sydney, Australia, which ended on August 21.
The tournament featured the best 17-20 year-old freestyle wrestlers in the World. Sydney will be the host city of the 2000 Olympic Games.
Russia won the team title with 60 points, followed by Iran with 56 points. The United States placed third with 43 points, and Ukraine was fourth with 35 points. All four of the teams were in contention going into the final day. The field included 38 nations from all over the world.
The same four teams were in the top four places at the 1998 FILA Junior World Freestyle Championships in Primm, Nev. Iran won the team title last year, followed by Russia, the United States and Ukraine.
The United States had two wrestlers in competition on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.
Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio WC) placed fourth at 213.75 pounds, losing both of his matches for the day. Rowlands was beaten by Geurgui Gogschelidze of Russia in the semifinals, 10-0, and then fell to D. Otiashvili of Georgia in the third-place match, 5-3.
Leroy Vega (Portage, Ind./Minnesota Storm) finish seventh at 119 pounds. In his only match of the day, Vega lost in the quarterfinals to Rena Rosales (Cuba), 8-2.
The United States had only one medalist in the tournament, gold-medalist T.J. Hill (Farmington, Mo./Dave Schultz WC) at 110 pounds. However, it was a strong team effort, as eight of the nine wrestlers placed in the top 10 of their weight classes and scored points for the U.S. team.
Team USA was coached by Brad Penrith of Cedar Falls, Iowa, the assistant coach at the Univ. of Northern Iowa, and Mark Schwab of Minneapolis, Minn., the assistant coach for the Univ. of Minnesota.
FILA JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Sydney, Australia, August 22, 1999
Final results
50 kg/110 lbs. - Gold - T.J. Hill (USA); Silver - D. Mansurov (Uzbekistan); Bronze - S. Khiziev (Russia); 4th - F. Snachez (Spain); 5th - A. Sargsyan (Armenia); 6th - R. Matsumoto (Japan); 7th - H. Kim (Korea); 8th - A. Baiglarbaigi (Iran); 9th - S. Surianto (Indonesia); 10th - N. Zahniyazov (Kazkahstan)
54 kg/119 lbs. - Gold - R.M. Rosales (Cuba); Silver - S. Pherad (Bulgaria); Bronze - A. Ibraghimov (Kazakhstan); 4th - G.M. Escalante (Mexico); 5th - V. Khalitov (Russia); 6th - J. Oh (Korea); 7th - Leroy Vega (USA); 8th - T. Takahashi (Japan); 9th - A.R. Darvishi (Iran); 10th - S. Baghdyan (Armenia)
58 kg/127.7 lbs. - Gold - M. Nikmanesh (Iran); Silver - I. Momteselidze (Kazakhstan); Bronze - Y.Q. Rivalta (Cuba); 4th - V. Bilokopitiy (Ukraine); 5th - A. Fasanek (Ukraine); 6th - C.O. Leja (Mexico); 7th - M. Berberyan (Armenia); 8th - Ben Martinez (USA); 9th - Plasma Haema (Indonesia); 10th - T. Odabasi (Turkey)
63 kg/138 lbs. - Gold - M. Paslari (Moldova); Silver - L. Spiridonov (Russia); Bronze - M. Hosseini (Iran); 4th - T. Buranov (Uzbekistan); 5th - C. Aguilera (Canada); 6th - Sean Gray (USA); 7th - I. Stoyanov (Ukraine); 8th - O. Ilhami (Turkey); 9th - G. Cash (Australia); 10th - C. Leem (Korea)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Gold - K. Choi (Korea); Silver - N. Loisidis (Greece); Bronze - S. Sahin (Turkey); 4th - T. Ilyasov (Uzbekistan); 5th - Jared Lawrence (USA); 6th - M. Alizadeh (Iran); 7th - J. Stortoni (Belgium); 8th - Z. Botaev (Russia); 9th - J. Leisavnieks (Latvia); 10th - P. Vazeilles (France)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Gold - B. Abeddi (Iran); Silver - F. Ozata (Turkey); Bronze - K. Obata (Japan); 4th - B. Barseghyan (Armenia); 5th - K. Tchoupanov (Azerbaijan); 6th - M. Buschle (Germany); 7th - A. Djeriev (Russia); 8th - P. Kassabov (Bulgaria); 9th - B. Bidalshivev (Kazakhstan); 10th - P. Lapsansky (Slovakia)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Gold - V. Laliev (Russia); Silver - T. Danko (Ukraine); Bronze - S. Park (Korea); 4th - Damion Hahn (USA); 5th - S. Ghorbani (Iran); 6th - L. Chen (China); 7th - D. Temirbavev (Kazakhstan); 8th - M. Nishant (India); 9th - H. Fujita (Japan); 10th - P. Dolgovs (Latvia)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Gold - G. Gogchelidze (Russia); Silver - M.J. Rasekhi (Iran); Bronze - D. Otiashvili (Georgia); 4th - Tommy Rowlands (USA); 5th - V. Tismeneskiy (Ukraine); 6th - D. Schuhmacher (Germany); 7th - B. Bartniki (Poland); 8th - D. Van Staaten (South Africa); 9th - T. Steward (New Zealand); 10th - K. Han (Korea)
130 kg/286.5 lbs. - Gold - A. Achijev (Russia); Silver - I. Ishenko (Ukraine); Bronze -J. Li (China); 4th - T. Abatzis (Greece); 5th - F. Cakiroglu (Turkey); 6th - P.S. Cheema (India); 7th - M. Turashvili (Georgia); 8th - A. Rashidlamir (Iran); 9th - R. Wegner (Germany); 10th - John Lockhart (USA)
Team Standings
1. Russia, 60 pts.; 2. Iran, 56; 3. USA, 43; 4. Ukraine, 35; 5. Korea, 29; 6. Turkey, 27; 7. Kazakhstan, 24; 8. Uzbekistan, 23; 9. Japan, 18; 10. Armenia, 18; 11. Cuba, 18; 12. Greece, 16; 13. China, 13; 14. Bulgaria, 12; 15. Georgia, 12; 16. Mexico, 12; 17. Germany, 12; 18. Moldova, 10; 19. India, 8; 20. Spain, 7 (of 38 nations)
U.S. matches on Sunday
Quarterfinals at 54 kg/119 lbs. - Rena Rosales (Cuba) dec. Leroy Vega (USA), 8-2
Semifinals at 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Geurgui Gogschelidze (Russia) won by tech. fall over Tommy Rowlands (USA), 10-0
Bronze medal match at 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - D. Otiashvili (Georgia) dec. Tommy Rowlands (USA), 5-3
U.S. team placings
50 kg/110 lbs. - T.J. Hill (Farmington, Mo./Dave Schultz WC) - 1st place
54 kg/119 lbs. - Leroy Vega (Portage, Ind./Minnesota Storm) - 7th place
58 kg/127.7 lbs. - Ben Martinez (Pixley, Calif./Tulare Titans) - 8th place
63 kg/138 lbs. - Sean Gray (Flemington, N.J/Hokie WC) - 6th place
69 kg/152 lbs. - Jared Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho/Minnesota Storm) - 5th place
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Tony Gansen (Bell Point, Minn./Cowboy WC) - dnp
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Damion Hahn (Lakewood, N.J./NYAC) - 4th place
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio WC) - 4th place
130 kg/286.5 lbs. - John Lockhart (Mahomet, Ill./Univ. of Illinois) - 10th place