Moore takes gold, Williams wins bronze at Yasar Dogu Tournament in Ankara, Turkey, March 2-3

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
03/04/2002


Two U.S. freestyle wrestlers claimed medals at the competitive Yasar Dogu Tournament, held in Ankara, Turkey, March 2-3.    Claiming a gold medal was Teague Moore (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gator WC) at 55 kg/121 lbs.  Winning a bronze medal was Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) at 74 kg/163 lbs.     Moore won five matches on the way to the gold, winning his first major international competition on the Senior level. All five of his victories were by decision. In the semifinals, he defeated Ersin Cetin of Turkey, 6-2. In the gold-medal finals, he beat Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan, 7-2.    Moore was a NCAA Div. I champion for Oklahoma State Univ., and won a number of age-group national freestyle titles during his career.     Williams, a 2001 World bronze medalist, won four of his five matches. His only defeat came in the semifinals, where he dropped a 3-1 decision to European champion Ahmet Gulhan of Turkey. Williams bounced back to win the bronze medal with a 3-0 win over veteran Yuksel Sanli of Turkey.    Williams won three NCAA Div. I titles for the Univ. of Iowa. He placed third in the 2001 World Championships and fourth in the 1999 World Championships. He is also the reigning World Cup champion.    Two wrestlers from the U.S. team placed fifth: Tim Hartung (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Orville Palmer (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.    Hartung won his first two matches by pin against Korean competitors. He was eliminated from medal contention in a 6-2 loss to Hakan Koc of Turkey.    Palmer opened the tournament with a 3-0 loss to former World Champion Zekeriya Guclu of Turkey. In his second match, Palmer beat Masomi Fardin of Iran, 15-11.    The United States placed second in the team standings with 44 points, behind host Turkey which scored 65 points. There were 15 nations in the tournament.