THURSDAY EVENING SESSION AT WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA
The United States won four of six matches during the Thursday evening session at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
In his first consolation bout, Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) rebounded with a win at 213.75 pounds. He defeated former World silver medalist Davud Magomedov of Azerbaijan, 3-2, ot, at 7:06.
Douglas trailed 2-1 at the end of regulation, but the bout went into overtime because neither wrestler had scored the mandatory three points. Douglas tied the match with an escape at 2-2, then won the bout with a duckunder takedown.
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. Douglas lost his first match on Thursday morning.
Zeke Jones (Chandler, Ariz. /Sunkist Kids) won his evening consolation match at 119 pounds, stopping Nazim Alidjanov of Moldova, 8-2. Jones dominated in the top position, turning Alidjanov a number of times.
Jones was a silver medalist in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and a bronze medalist at the 1995 World Championships.
Dan St. John (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) dropped two matches at 167.5 pounds, and was eliminated.
In his first match of the session, he lost to Eui Jae Moon of Korea, 6-2. Moon jumped to a 3-0 lead, and St. John was not able to come back.
He was then defeated by Kahniasvili of Georgia, 6-1, which eliminated him from the competition.
Cary Kolat (Lock Haven, Pa./Dave Schultz WC) did not have a match in the second session, after winning both of his matches Thursday morning.
Kolat is the only U.S. wrestler in the first group to be undefeated and still have a shot at the gold medal. The best that Jones and Douglas can place, if they do not lose another match, is third.
There are eight weight classes in international wrestling. Four of the weight divisions began competition on Thursday and four will begin competition on Friday.
U.S. results - Second Session, Thursday
119 lbs. - Zeke Jones, Chandler, Ariz. - dec. Nazim Alidjanov, Moldova, 8-2
167.5 lbs. - Dan St. John, Norman, Okla. - lost dec. to Eui Jae Moon, Korea, 6-2; lost dec. to Kahniasvili, Georgia, 6-1
213.75 lbs. - Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz. - dec. Davud Magomedov, Azerbaijan, 3-2, ot, 7:06
U.S. Play by plays - Second Session, Thursday
119 lbs.
Zeke Jones, Chandler, Ariz. dec. Nazim Alidjanov, Moldova, 8-2
Jones, one-point go behind takedown at 1:15, 1-0; Jones, two-point tilt at 1:40, 3-0; Jones, one additional backpoint at 1:45, 4-0; Jones, two-point tilt at 2:20, 6-0; Jones, two-point turn (leg and high half) at 2:45, 8-0; Alidjanov, two-point reversal at 3:40, 8-2
167.5 lbs.
Eui Jae Moon, Korea, dec. Dan St. John, Norman, Okla., 6-2
Moon, one-point takedown, at 0:30, 1-0; Moon, two-point gut wrench at 1:01, 3-0; Moon, two-point exposure at 3:00, 5-0; St. John, two -point counter exposure at 3:00, 5-2; Moon, one-point takedown at 3:05, 6-2; Passivity against Moon, 4:21
Kahniasvili, Georgia, dec. Dan St. John, Norman, Okla., 6-1
Passivity, Kahniasvili, at 1:31; Khaniasvili, three-point throw, at 2:10, 3-0; St. John. one-point single leg takedown at 4:00, 3-1; Kahniasvili, two-point counter to throw, at 4:40, 5-1; Kahniasvili, one additional backpoint at 4:45, 6-1
213.75 lbs.
Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz. dec. Davud Magomedov, Azerbaijan, 3-2, ot, 7:06
Caution against Douglas, 1:03; Magomedov, one-point takedown, at 1:42, 0-1; Douglas, one-point reversal, at 1:43, 1-1; Magomedov, one-point bodylock takedown, at 2:42, 1-2; Passivity against Douglas, 3:24; Passivity against Magomedov, 4:32; Regulation ends with Magomedov leading 2-1, but goes into overtime, as neither wrestler has the mandatory three points; Caution against Douglas, 6:05; Douglas, one-point escape, 6:09, 2-2; Douglas, one-point duckunder takedown at 7:06, 3-2
Quotes -
Zeke Jones - "In that North Korean match, I got caught in a scramble. It was a 1-1 match at that point. I'm not just wrestling for myself, I'm also wrestling for the U.S. team. I'm proud to represent the United States. I want to come back and win a medal."
Melvin Douglas - "He (Magomedov) was a lot bigger, but I didn't want to lose. I didn't want to be out of the tournament at 0-2. In the first match, I had a slow start, bad calls, a Russian official. I want to battle back for third. I'll take them one match at a time."
Coach Lee Roy Smith - "St. John is out now. I'm disappointed for Dan. I'm not sure that he wrestled the tournament that he trained for. He didn't employ the best strategies to be effective.
Zeke and Melvin showed a lot of heart and character, coming back from first round losses. It will be a tough tournament, no matter what side of the bracket you are on. They will have to come back tomorrow and wrestle with their hearts full into it, and wrestle the best that they can."