ADAM TIRAPELLE AND SHANE ZAJAC QUALIFY FOR SEMIFINALS AT 1997 WORLD JUNIOR FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FINLANDTwo U.S. athletes are undefeated and have qualified for the semifinals in their weight classes, after the first day of competition at the 1997 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Helsinki, Finland, August 7.
The Junior World Championships feature the best wrestlers in the world between 17-20 years of age.
Adam Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif./Dave Schultz WC), who competes at 143 pounds and Shane Zajac (Mokena, Ill./Oregon State Univ.), who competes at 198 pounds, have made Friday's semifinal round.
Tirapelle won two matches in overtime, then received a bye, on Thursday. He beat Marek Zielesinski of Poland, 3-1, at 5:09, then stopped Namhaidorz Ochirhuyang of Mongolia, 5-0, at 6:56. His opponent in the semifinals will be Dmitry Kirillov of Russia.
Tirapelle competed for Stanford, but has transferred to the Univ. of Illinois.
Zajac, who attends Oregon State, also won two matches and received a bye. He beat Nurlan Alimzhanov of Kazakhstan, 4-1, then edged Martin Lazarov of Bulgaria, 3-2, in overtime at 5:42.
His semifinal opponent will be Ruicai Li of China. Zajac was a 1996 Junior Nationals double champion and won the 1997 Espoir Nationals in freestyle.
Two other U.S. wrestlers are still alive in the consolation rounds, with a chance to battle back for the bronze medal: T.J. Hill (Farmington, Mo./MAWA) at 108 pounds and Stephen Abas (Hayward, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 123.25 pounds.
Hill dropped his first match, 8-7, to Vasile Giorici of Romania, but battled back with two convincing wins in the wrestle-backs. His opponent on Friday morning will be Delong Chen of China. Hill, a junior at Farmington High School, was a double champion at the Junior Nationals and Espoir Nationals this year.
Abas, who attends Fresno State, scored a technical fall over Jaanek Lips of Estonia, 10-0 at 2:23, then beat Hwan-Woong Hwang of Korea, 4-1. In the third round, Abas was defeated by Alireza Dabear of Iran, 6-1. He has a bye in the first session on Friday. Abas was sixth in the U.S. Nationals this year on the Senior level.
One wrestler from the first group of five athletes was eliminated on Thursday, Steve Blackford (West Des Moines, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 167.25 pounds. Blackford lost his first match, rebounded with a win in the second round, and was eliminated in the third round. He attends Arizona State Univ.
The five other members of the U.S. Junior World Team all weighed in on Thursday and will begin competition on Friday. They include Jeff Ragan (Engelwood, Fla./Sunkist Kids) at 114.5 pounds, Eric Guerrero (San Jose, Calif./Sunkist) at 132 pounds, T.J. Williams (Markham, Ill./Quicksilver) at 154 pounds, Joe Degain (Clarkston, Mich./Cliff Keen) at 182.5 pounds and J.R. Plienis (Edgemere, Md./Husker WC) at 253 pounds.
Ragan and Guerrero attend Oklahoma State, Williams attends Lassen College, Degain attends the Univ. of Michigan and Plienis attends the Univ. of Nebraska.
The athletes qualified for the World Team by winning the 1997 Espoir Nationals at Purdue University, May 16-17.
The head coach of the freestyle World Team is Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa. and the assistant coach is Ron Jones of Bradenton, Fla. Strobel was the assistant coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team and is the head coach at Lehigh Univ.
Complete results of this tournament can be located on the internet at http://www.kolumbus.fi/jwc97/wrestling/
1997 FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 7, 1997
U.S. results - Group One
49 kg/108 lbs. - T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. - lost dec. to Vasile Giorici, Romania, 8-7; won by tech. fall over Jouni Rosenlof (Finland), 11-1, 4:57; dec. Ularbek Touganbay (Kyrgyzstan), 8-0
56 kg/123.25 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Hayward, Calif. - won by tech. fall over Jaanek Lips (Estonia), 10-0, 2:23; dec. Hwan-Woong Hwang (Korea), 4-1; lost dec. to Alireza Dabear (Iran), 6-1
65 kg/143 lbs. - Adam Tirapelle, Clovis, Calif. - dec. Marek Zielesinski (Poland), 3-1, ot, 5:09; dec. Namhaidorz Ochirhuyang (Mongolia), 5-0, ot, 6:56; bye
76 kg/167.25 lbs. - Steve Blackford, West Des Moines, Iowa - lost dec. to Vladimir Raitouzov (Belarus), 4-2; dec. Andrew Garrett (Canada), 9-6; lost dec. to Ibrahim Katkici (Turkey), 8-1
90 kg/198 lbs. - Shane Zajac, Mokena, Ill. - dec. Nurlan Alimzhanov (Kazakhstan), 4-1; dec. Martin Lazarov (Bulgaria), 3-2, ot, 5:42; bye
Friday Pairings for Group One
49 kg/108 lbs. - T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo. vs. Delong Chen (China)
56 kg/123.25 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Hayward, Calif. has a bye
65 kg/143 lbs. - Adam Tirapelle, Clovis, Calif. vs. Dmitry Kirillov (Russia)
90 kg/198 lbs. - Shane Zajac, Mokena, Ill. vs. Ruicai Li (China)
Friday Pairings for Group Two
52 kg/114.5 lbs. - Jeff Ragan, Engelwood, Fla. vs. Andrej Fasanek (Slovakia)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero, San Jose, Calif. vs. Vendris Pompa (Cuba)
70 kg/154 lbs. - T.J. Williams, Markham, Ill. has a bye
83 kg/182.5 lbs. - Joe DeGain, Clarkston, Mich. vs. Gitchan Ibraguimov (Russia)
115 kg/253 lbs. - Ron Plienis, Edgemere, Md. vs. Aloma Artikov (Turkmenistan)