Les Gutches (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) won a World gold medal at 187.25 pounds, with a 1-1 overtime referee's decision over Eldar Assanov of the Ukraine at the 1997 World Freestyle Championships, which were held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, August 28-31.The deciding factor in the match was passivity calls. Assanov had been penalized twice for passivity, and Gutches had none. It was the first ever meeting between Gutches and Assanov.
Assanov scored a double leg takedown at the two-minute mark for a 1-0 lead. The five-minute regulation period ended at 1-0, but neither wrestler had scored the mandatory three points. Gutches tied the score at 1-1 with a takedown in overtime at the 6:47 mark.
Gutches finished the tournament with a 5-0 record. In the semifinals, Gutches scored an impressive 3-2 win over 1996 Olympic champion Chadshimurad Magomedov of Russia in overtime, at 6:42. Gutches scored a low single leg takedown on Magomedov in overtime and was awarded the match.
In the quarterfinals, Gutches won an 8-0 decision over Plamen Paskalev of Bulgaria.
Gutches, who placed seventh in the 1996 Olympics, was competing in his first World Championships. A two-time U.S. Nationals champion, Gutches won two NCAA titles for Oregon State, and is originally from Central Point, Ore.
"I'm not happy that I scored only one point in the finals," said Gutches. "He is a tough opponent. I'll give him credit for that. I hope to do better next time."
Cary Kolat (Lock Haven, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) claimed a silver medal at 138.75 pounds. He was defeated in the gold-medal finals by Abbas Haji Kenari of Iran, 4-2. It was the first time that Kolat had faced Haji-Kenari, the 1997 Asian champion.
Haji Kenari jumped to an early lead, scoring a one-point takedown at the 21 second mark, and a two-point gut wrench turn at the 40 second mark for a 3-0 margin. Kolat scored a spin behind takedown at the 3:16 mark to close it to 3-1. Haji Kenari, countering a Kolat attack, made it 4-1 with a takedown. Kolat scored a spin behind takedown at 4:10, for the 4-2 score.
Kolat had a 4-1 record in the tournament. He stopped Gursel Unzunca of Turkey, in a 1-0 overtime referee's decision in the quarterfinals. Kolat scored the lone point on a takedown at 7:41, with just 19 seconds left in the overtime period.
In the semifinals, Kolat defeated 1991 World Champion and 1992 Olympic silver medalist Sergei Smal of Belarus, 4-2. Kolat scored an explosive takedown for three-points. Smal countered for two points, but Kolat came out of the scramble for another one-point takedown and the 4-2 victory.
Kolat was competing in his first World Championships. He won his second career NCAA title this March for Lock Haven Univ., then followed up with victories at the U.S. Nationals and the Freestyle World Team Trials. He is originally from Rices Landing, Pa.
"I was wrestling good and smart until the finals," said Kolat. "I was taken out of my game plan in the beginning of the match. One of my biggest rules is you never let the score get close enough that the referee can get involved. (The referee) didn't lose the match, I did. I try to keep the score open enough so you can lose a point or get a bad call and it is still in your favor. I didn't do that this match."
Tom Erikson (West Lafayette, Ind./Sunkist Kids) dropped a 4-0 decision to David Musulbes of Russia in the bronze medal match at 286 pounds. This was a rematch of an earlier bout in the tournament, which Erikson won by a 2-0 overtime referee's decision.
Erikson opened the tournament strongly, pinning 1995 World silver medalist Sven Thiele of Germany, 3:04, then beating Musulbes, 2-0. He was defeated in the semifinals by Junior World silver medalist Alexis Rodriguez of Cuba, 4-1 in overtime at 7:27. Leading 2-1 in overtime, Erikson was reversed to his back by Rodriguez for two points to end the match.
Battling a shoulder injury, Erikson rebounded with a 4-3 decision in the consolation rounds over 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Alexei Medvedev to qualify for the bronze-medal match.
1993 World Champion Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) placed ninth at 213.75 pounds. He opened with a loss to Aftandil Kasandopulos of Greece in a 2-1 overtime referee's decision. Douglas came back with consolation victories over Davud Magomedov of Azerbaijan and Victor Serbin of Belarus, but was eliminated in a 3-2 overtime loss to Islam Bairamukov of Kazakhstan.
Douglas was seventh in the 1996 Olympic Games. He has won four career World medals, including a gold medal in 1993, a silver medal in 1989 and bronze medals in 1994 and 1995.
Tony Purler (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) placed 10th at 127.75 pounds. Purler was a late replacement for two-time World Champion Terry Brands, who was injured in training and could not compete. Purler lost his first match to 1984 Olympic champion Saban Trstena of Macedonia by technical fall, 12-0.
He won two straight high scoring matches in the consolation rounds, beating Purevbaator Oeounbilet of Mongolia, 16-11 and handling Corey O'Brien of Australia, by technical fall, 11-1 in 4:23. Purler was eliminated from medal contention in a 10-4 loss to Arif Abdullayev of Azerbaijan.
1991 World Champion Zeke Jones (Chandler, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) finished with a 2-2 record at 119 pounds and did not place. He lost his opening match to 1997 Asian champion Ju Dong Jin of North Korea, 5-2. Jones rebounded with two straight wins in the consolation matches. He was eliminated in a hard-fought 6-4 overtime match by veteran Ivan Tzonov of Bulgaria.
Jones, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist, was competing in his seventh career World Championships.
Two other U.S. wrestlers, who were competing in their first World Championships, did not place in their weight classes: Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye) at 152 pounds and Dan St. John (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) at 167.5 pounds.
McIlravy had a strong start, winning his first two matches. He beat Salvatore Rinella of Italy, 7-1 and scored a 10-0 techical fall over Vaso Spasov of Macedonia. In the third round, he was pinned by 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Zaza Zazirov of Ukraine at 2:25, then lost a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Davoud Ghanbari of Iran.
St. John opened by pinning Valeri Verhushin of Macedonia in 3:20, but lost his next two bouts. He fell to Eui Jae Moon of Korea, 6-2, then was beaten by Kahniasvili of Georgia, 6-1.
The U.S. team was led by Head Coach Lee Roy Smith of Tempe, Ariz., Assistant Coach Mark Manning of Cedar Falls, Iowa and National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Russia won the team title with 61 points, well ahead of second place Ukraine with 45 points. Iran was third with 40 team points. Turkey was fourth and Cuba was fifth, both with 30 points. The United States placed sixth with 29 team points. Rounding out the top 10 teams were Uzbekistan, Korea, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan. A total of 220 wrestlers from 44 nations participated in the championships.
1997 WORLD FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Krasnoyarsk, Russia, August 28-31
54 kg/119 lbs. - 1st - Wilfredo Garcia Quintana (Cuba) dec Ju Dong Jin (N. Korea), 3-2; 3rd - Maulen Mamirov (Kazakhstan) dec. Oleksandr Zaharuk (Ukraine), 7-1; 5th - Maksim Molonov (Russia) won by inj. dft. over Gholam Reza Mohammadi (Iran); 7th - Ivan Tzonov (Bulgaria); 8th - Namik Abdullaev (Azerbaijan); 9th - Nurdin Donbaev (Kyrgyzstan); 10th - Adham Achilov (Uzbekistan)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - 1st - Mohammad Talaee (Iran) won by ref. dec. over Ramil Islamov (Uzbekistan), 2-1, ot, 8:00; 3rd - Giuvi Sissaouri (Canada) dec. Murat Umachanov (Russia), 3-0; 5th - Serafim Barzakov (Bulgaria) dec. Jeong Jin Hyuk (Korea), 7-4; 7th - Arif Adbuallaev (Azerbaijan); 8th - Mihial Chernov (Ukraine); 9th - Michele Liuzzi (Italy); 10th - Tony Purler (USA)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - 1st - Abbas Haji Kenari (Iran) dec. Cary Kolat (USA), 4-2; 3rd - Magomed Azizov (Russia) dec. Sergei Smal (Belarus), 4-1; 5th - Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine) won by tech. fall over Enkhbayar (Mongolia), 10-0; 7th - Jamil Efendiev (Azerbaijan); 8th -