MCILRAVY, GUTCHES, AND ERIKSON UNBEATEN AFTER FIRST DAY AT WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIAThree U.S. wrestlers are undefeated after their first day of competition at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Four weight classes started competition on Friday, while four weight classes which started Thursday were in their second day of action.
The undefeated Americans in the second set of wrestlers are Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye) at 152 pounds, Les Gutches of Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) at 187.25 pounds and Tom Erikson (W. Lafayette, Ind./Sunkist Kids) at 275.5 pounds. All three won one match in the morning session and one in the evening session.
In the evening session, McIlravy quickly dispatched Vaso Spasov of Macedonia, with a 10-0 technical fall in 1:44. McIlravy scored two takedowns and five different techniques for exposure in rapid succession.
Gutches was forced into overtime, before beating Ali Reza Heydari of Iran in overtime at 7:56. The bout was scoreless at the end of the regulation period. Gutches won the match with an explosive, three-point single leg takedown.
Erikson's win was especially inspiring for the U.S. team. He defeated Russia's heavyweight star David Musulbes in an intense overtime match, by a 2-0 referee's decision. No points were scored in regulation, and both wrestlers had two passivity calls at time was running out in overtime. Erikson exploded for a takedown with 10 seconds left for a 1-0 lead, and got another takedown with no defense from Musulbes in the last two seconds.
Also in the second group of wrestlers, Tony Purler, who dropped his first bout Friday morning, won his first consolation bout in a wild 16-11 decision over Purevbaator Oeounbilet of Mongolia. Purler trailed 6-0 in the opening minutes, but Purler exploded for 10 unanswered points and a 10-6 lead. The wrestlers traded points throughout the match, with Purler scoring the last three points for the 16-11 win.
From the first group of four U.S. wrestlers, who were competing for the second day, Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) was defeated for the second time in the tournament, and was eliminated from medal contention. He lost a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime match to Islam Bairamukov of Kazakstan in 6:39.
Douglas trailed 2-0 early in the match, but tied the score at 2-2 at the end of the regulation period. Douglas almost completed a takedown attack in overtime, but Bairamukov scored a counter takedown in a scramble for the winning point.
Douglas has won four career World medals - a gold in 1993, a silver in 1989 and bronze medals in 1994 and 1995. Douglas also placed seventh in the 1996 Olympic Games.
The only U.S. wrestler from the first group who is still alive in the tournament is Cary Kolat (Lock Haven, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) who qualified for the gold-medal finals at 138.75 pounds in the morning session. Kolat will battle Abbas Haji-Kenari of Iran in the gold-medal finals on Saturday.
The other three gold-medal finals for Saturday have also been determined. At 119 pounds, Ju Dong Jin of North Korea will battle Quintana Garcia of Cuba. At 167.5 pounds, Buvaisar Saitiev of Russia will wrestle Alexander Leipold of Germany. At 213.75 pounds, the gold-medal match will feature Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov of Russia against Ahmet Dogu of Turkey.
U.S. results - Evening Session, Friday
Group One
213.75 lbs. - Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz. - lost dec. to Islam Bairamukov, Kazakhstan, 3-2, ot, 6:39
Group Two
127.75 lbs. - Tony Purler, Norman, Okla. - dec. Purevbaator Oeounbilet, Mongolia, 16-11
152 lbs. - Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa - won by tech. fall over Vaso Spasov, Macedonia, 10-0, 1:44
187.25 lbs. - Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore.- dec. Ali Reza Heydari, Iran, 3-0, ot, 6:56
275.5 lbs. - Tom Erikson, W. Lafayette, Ind. - won by ref. dec. over David Musulbes, Russia, 2-0, ot, 8:00
U.S. Play by plays - Evening Session, Friday
127.75 lbs.
Tony Purler, Norman, Okla., dec. Purebbaator Oeounbilet, Mongolia, 16-11
Oeounbilet, one-point takedown, at 0:09, 0-1; Oeounbilet, two-point gut wrench, at 0:31, 0-3; Oeunbilet, three-point double leg takedown, at 1:10, 0-6; Purler, one-point takedown, at 1:30, 1-6; Purler, three-point takedown, at 2:10, 4-6; Purler, two-point gut wrench, at 2:38, 6-6; Purler, two-point ankle lace, 2:50; Purler, two-point crotch lift, at 3:10, 10-6; Oeounbilet, two-point counter tilt, at 3:20, 10-8; Purler and Oeounbilet, two points exposure each on a scramble, at 3:35, 12-10; Purler, one-point takedown at 4:00, 13-10; Oeounbilet, one point. single leg takedown at 4:25, 13-11; Purler, one-point reversal at 4:40, 14-11; Purler, two-point tilt at 4:45, 16-11
152 lbs. -
Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa, won by tech. fall over Vaso Spasov, Macedonia, 10-0, 1:44
McIlravy, one-point single leg takedown at 0:22, 1-0; McIlravy, two-point gutwrench at 0:28, 3-0; McIlravy, one-point ankle lace, at 0:45, 4-0; McIlravy, two-point gut wrench at 1:04, 6-0; McIlravy, one-point spin behind takedown, at 1:30, 7-0; McIlravy, two-point gutwrench, at 1:33, 9-0; McIlravy, one-point ankle lace, at 1:44, 10-0
187.25 lbs.
Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore. dec, Ali Reza Heydari, Iran, 3-0, ot, 6:56
Passivity against Heydari, 1:31; Passivity against Gutches, 2:57; Passivity against Heydari, 4:32; Regulation ends with no points scored, and bout goes into overtime; Passivity against Gutches at 5:29; Passivity against Heydari, 6:19; Gutches, three-point single leg takedown at 6:56
213.75 lbs.
Islam Bairamukov, Kazakhstan, dec. Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz., 3-2, ot, 6:39
Passivity against Douglas, 1:15; Bairamukov, two-point gut wrench, at 1:22, 2-0; Passivity against Bairamukov, 2:39; Douglas, one-point takdown at 3:40, 2-1; Douglas, one-point takedown at 4:08, 2-2; Passivity against Bairamukov, 4:40; Regulation ended with a 2-2 tie, and the bout went into overtime; Bairamukov, one-point counter takedown at 6:39, 3-2
275.5 lbs.
Tom Erikson, W. Lafayette, Ind., won by ref. dec. over David Musulbes, Russia, 2-0, ot, 8:00
Passivity against Erikson, at 1:33; Passivity against Erikson, at 3:22; Passivity against Musulbes, at 4:44; Regulation ended with no score and the bout went into overtime; Passivity against Musulbes, at 6:47; Erikson, one-point takedown at 7:50; Erikson, one-point spin behind takedown at 7:59
Quotes -
Coach Lee Roy Smith - "Tom Erikson took it upon himself to beat a Russian in Siberia on the scoreboard. He took the risk. He's wrestling like a champion. The key is coming back and doing it every match.I think momentum is important and we have a little bit now."
I think Lincoln will get stronger as the tournament goes on. He looked sharper in his second match. Les sustained his focus into overtime and he is tactically and technically prepared for this event. Now comes the mental challenge for him."
Tom Erikson - "I wanted to tie up the passivities in overtime. I had hit a couple of decent shots out of bounds and did not get points. I looked in my corner and the coaches told me to be solid and keep up the pressure. I was seeing that he was getting tired. I had to do something in that last 30 seconds. I was looking to score a point, but I was really looking to be more aggressive in the final moments. In this case, I scored the point. I have done nothing yet, until we win this. The draw did not look favorable for me, but you can't wrestle the whole draw all at once. I have to wrestle them, one match at a time."