Daily Press Wrestling Notes
By Jason Bryant
JMU, ODU, VMI, Mason wrestlers capture titles at Coppin Open
Jim O’Conner of James Madison, Sean Shea of George Mason, Blake Romano and Jeff Rusak of Old Domion, and Austen Palmer of VMI all brought home individual titles at the Coppin Open Sunday at Coppin State College. Shea, who was awarded a sixth season by the NCAA, downed Maryland’s Matt Pandullo in the finals at 125. Romano, a redshirt freshman topped Navy’s Mark Conley at 141 pounds. O’Conner edged Dennis Whitby of ODU for the top slot at 157. O’Conner will redshirt for the Dukes this season, while Whitby, the returning CAA champion, will compete at 149 the remainder of the season. At 174, two of the top collegiate wrestlers in the state met up with two-time NCAA qualifier Rusak beating Longwood’s Ben Summerlin. Summerlin set a freshman record for wins last year for the Lancers with 32. Palmer, also redshirting this season, beat Dan Roy of East Stroudsburg at 184.
Former PWA grappler takes gold at University World Championships
Byron Tucker, a former wrestler for the Peninsula Wrestling Association, edged Aznaour Adjiev of Russia, 5-4 in the gold-medal match at 167.5 pounds to win the University World Championships in Tokyo. His semifinal victory was against Falih Koyuncu of Turkey, by a 6-0 margin. Tucker, a state champion at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, is also fresh off his NCAA national championship at 174 pounds he won as a member of the University of Oklahoma. Along with Tucker, former NCAA champions Teague Moore and Chad Lamer claimed golds and Iowa State’s undefeated two-time NCAA champion Cael Sanderson took top honors. The United States won the team championship, compiling 60 points, Turkey was second with 59. Tucker holds a No. 4 Senior-level ranking in the United States in freestyle wrestling competition.To participate, an athlete must be 17-28 years old, must be a current college student, or be graduated from a university within a year of the competition
WORLD UNIVERSITY FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Tokyo, Japan, November 4
Medalists
54 kg/119 lbs. - Gold - Teague Moore (United States); Silver - Ramazan Demir (Turkey); Bronze - Zaoudin Bajev (Russia)
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Gold - Aliaksandr Karnitski (Belarus); Silver - Kirill Pavlov (Russia); Bronze - Luvsandamba Enkbayar (Mongolia)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Gold - Leonid Spiridonov (Russia); Silver - Naoki Kurio (Japan); Bronze - Mehmet Yozgat (Turkey)
69 kg/152 lbs. - Gold - Ahmet Gulhan (Turkey); Silver - Mehdi Baraati (Iran); Bronze - Iskhak Boziev (Russia)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Gold - Byron Tucker (United States); Silver - Aznaour Adjiev (Russia); Bronze - Ramazanali Olyaninejad (Iran)
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Gold - Cael Sanderson (United States); Silver - Majid Khodaee (Iran); Bronze - Alexei Kaziev (Russia)
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Gold - Chad Lamer (United States); Silver - Shahrokh Sadaghatizadeh (Iran); Bronze - Kang Dong-Kuk (Korea)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Gold - Zekeriya Guclu (Turkey); Silver - Justin David Beauparlant (Canada); Bronze - Bahman Tayebivakojozi (Iran)
Team Standings
1. United States, 60; 2. Turkey, 59; 3. Russia, 56; 4. Iran, 52; 5. Japan, 44; 6. Korea, 39; 7. Canada, 37; 8. Hungary, 15; 9. Belarus, 13; 10. Mongolia, 13; 11. Switzerland, 8; 12. Poland, 6; 13. Italy, 6; 14. Azerbaijan, 5; 15. Estonia, 4; 16. New Zealand, 3; 17. Austria, 0; 17. Belgium, 0; 17. Ukraine, 0
U.S. Freestyle Team results - Day three
54 kg/119 lbs. - Teague Moore, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Sunkist Kids) - Semifinals - dec. Zaoudin Bajev (Russia), 4-2, ot, 6:44; Gold medal match - dec. Ramazan Demir (Turkey), 9-2
58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Stephen Abas, Fresno, Calif. (Sunkist Kids) - Bronze medal match - lost dec. to Luvsandamba Enkbayar (Mongolia), 3-1
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Eric Larkin, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids) - Semifinals - lost dec. to Leonid Spiridonov (Russia), 9-3; Bronze medal match - lost dec. to Memhet Yozgat (Turkey), 4-2
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Byron Tucker, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids) - Semifinals - dec. Falih Koyuncu (Turkey), 6-0; Gold medal match - dec, Aznaour Adjiev (Russia), 5-4
85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids) - Semifinals - pin Tamas Kiss (Hungary), 2:29; Gold medal match - dec. Majid Khodaee (Iran), 4-2
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Chad Lamer, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye) - Semifinals - pin Kang Dong-Kuk (Korea), 4:18; Gold medal finals - won by tech. fall over Shahrokh Sadaghatizadeh (Iran), 11-1, 2:05