UKRAINE BEATS USA IN FIRST MATCH OF NATIONS CUP OF FREESTYLE WRESTLING, SEPT. 25 IN CHICAGO, ILL.
The national team from Ukraine defeated the United States, 35-28, in the first match of the first round series of the 1998 Nations Cup of Freestyle Wrestling, Sept. 25 in Chicago, Ill.
The competition was hosted by the Chicago Public Schools and held at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School.
Ukraine won nine of the 16 matches in the ³double-dual meet,² including six of the last eight matches.
The Nations Cup, also known as the World Team Championships, is a new international wrestling tournament, featuring eight of the best freestyle wrestling nations in the world. Teams will compete in a home-and-away series to determine which nation moves on to the next round.
The USA will face Ukraine again in Kiev, Ukraine on Oct. 9-10. The nations can enter different athletes at each meet. The team scores from the match in Chicago and the match in Kiev will be combined to determine the winner of the series.
Each match includes two dual meets, where the teams go through the lineup twice. In the first eight-match dual meet, the United States won five of the bouts, for an 18-14 lead. However, in the second eight-match dual meet, the USA won just two bouts, losing 21-10. The combined score for the day ended with Ukraine winning 35-28.
Two U.S. wrestlers won both of their matches: Dominic Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 213.75 pounds and local star Tom Erikson (W. Lafayette, Ind./Sunkist Kids) at 286 pounds.
Black scored a pair of wins over Vadim Tasoev, who was fourth in the 1998 World Championships. Black won the first match in a 2-1 overtime referee¹s decision, and the second match, 4-1.
Erikson claimed a pair of wins over Yuri Chobitko, 4-1 and 5-1. Erikson attended nearby Bloom High School in Chicago Heights, and was a two-time Junior College national champion at Triton JC. Erikson went on to be an All-American at Oklahoma State.
Erikson competes at 286 pounds, and placed fourth in the 1997 World Championships. He won the 1992 World Cup and the 1997 U.S. Nationals Championships. Erikson was a three-time Olympic Trials runner-up to four-time Olympic medalist Bruce Baumgartner. Erikson is currently ranked No. 2 in the United States.
U.S. wrestlers winning bouts in their first match were Troy Steiner (Madison, Wis./Team Excel) at 138.75 pounds, Chris Bono (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 152 pounds and Dan St. John (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 167.5 pounds.
Steiner pinned 1995 World Champion Elbrus Tedeev in their first match in 3:33. Tedeev rebounded for an 8-5 win in the second match. Tedeev was a 1996 Olympic bronze medalist.
Bono defeated 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Zaza Zazirov 3-1 in the first match, but fell in the second bout, 6-2. Zazirov was second in the 1998 World Championships.
St. John opened with a 4-2 overtime win over Gurami Melzedlidze, but was defeated in the second bout, 3-1.
Ukraine received eight team points by forfeit at 119 pounds, after Eric Akin (Overland Park, Kan./Hawkeye) missed weight and could not compete.
The U.S. team was coached by Greg Strobel (Bethlehem, Pa.) and National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Burnett has been USA Wrestling Coach of the Year twice, and Strobel won the award in 1998.
Ukraine placed fourth in the 1998 Freestyle World Championships, second in the 1997 Freestyle World Championships and is among the top teams in Europe every year. Ukraine¹s Nation¹s Cup team included seven of its eight team members from the recent World Championships.
The United States placed third in the 1998 World Championships and seventh in the 1997 World Championships. None of the U.S. wrestlers who competed at the recent World Championships were on the U.S. Nation¹s Cup team.
The winner of the USA vs. Ukraine series will face the winner of the Korea vs. Turkey series in the semifinal round. Other first round pairings feature Bulgaria vs. Iran as well as Russia vs. Japan.
UKRAINE 35, UNITED STATES 28 at Chicago, Ill., Sept. 25
119 lbs./54 kg - Olexander Kolesnyk, Ukraine won by forfeit
127.75 lbs./58 kg - Evgueni Buslovich, Ukraine, dec. Yero Washington, Clovis, Calif., 3-2
138.75 lbs./63 kg - Troy Steiner, Madison, Wis. pin Elbrus Tedeev, Ukraine, 3:33
152 lbs./69 kg - Chris Bono, Ames, Iowa dec. Zaza Zazirov, Ukraine, 3-1
167.5 lbs./76 kg - Dan St. John, Colorado Springs, Colo. dec. Gurami Melzedlidze, Ukraine, 4-2, ot, 5:42
187.25 lbs./85 kg - Eldar Asanov, Ukraine, dec. Jon McGovern, Philadelphia, Pa., 8-4
213.75 lbs./97 kg - Dominic Black, Colorado Springs, Colo. won by ref. dec. over Vadim Tasoev, Ukraine, 2-1, ot, 8:00
286 lbs./130 kg - Tom Erikson, W. Lafayette, Ind. dec. Yuri Chobitko, Ukraine, 4-1
119 lbs./54 kg - Olexander Kolesnyk, Ukraine won by forfeit
127.75 lbs./58 kg. - Evgueni Buslovich, Ukraine, dec. Yero Washington, Clovis, Calif., 5-1
138.75 lbs./63 kg - Elbrus Tedeev, Ukraine, dec. Troy Steiner, Madison, Wis., 8-5
152 lbs./69 kg - Zaza Zazirov, Ukraine, dec. Chris Bono, Ames, Iowa, 6-2
167.5 lbs./76 kg - Gurami Melzedlidze, Ukraine, dec. Dan St. John, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-1
187.25 lbs./85 kg - Eldar Asanov, Ukraine, dec. Jon McGovern, Philadelphia, Pa., 4-0, ot
213.75 lbs./97 kg - Dominic Black, Colorado Springs, Colo. dec. Vadim Tasoev, Ukraine, 4-1
286 lbs./130 kg - Tom Erikson, W. Lafayette, Ind. dec. Yuri Chobitko, Ukraine. 5-1