Nye places fifth at Junior Greco-Roman Worlds in China

BEIJING, CHINA - Erik Nye (Red Bluff, Calif./unattached) placed fifth at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. at the Junior World Greco-Roman Championships on held at the Chinese Agriculture University Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Nye, who lost his first match of the tournament to eventual champion Soslan Farniev of Russia, came back with two big wins in the wrestleback rounds during the evening session to earn a spot in the bronze-medal match.

In his first wrestleback match, Nye defeated Wang Chao of China, 0-3, 1-1, 1-1. After bring turned with a gutwrench in the first period, Nye's par terre defense improved during the match. Nye won the coin flip both the second and third periods, and was able to defend at the end of the match to score the last point, which was the tiebreaking criteria.

In the next round, Nye won both coin flips again to defeat D Javakhisvili of Georgia, 1-1, 1-1. Nye's par terre defense proved to be his strength in the run through the repechage rounds.

In the bronze-medal match, Nye was beaten by Germany's Ricardo Melz, 1-1, 1-1. In both periods, neither wrestler scored a takedown, and Melz won the coin toss. Neither wrestler could score from the reverse lift position, and Melz won each period by earning the last point of the period.

"In his first match, he was in awe of the Russian," said National Greco-Roman Developmental Coach Ike Anderson. "He just didn't wrestle him. If he had, he might have won. After that, he wrestled the opponents well. He was pushing the pace. He showed that he has the talent to win."

The three other U.S. wrestlers who were eliminated on Wednesday morning did not place in the top 10 of their weight classes: Eric Grajales (Brandon, Fla./Brandon WC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Jake Deitchler (Ramsey, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., and Brandon Sitch (Kelso, Wash./Minnesota Storm) at 84 kg/185 lbs.

"Today was frustrating," said Anderson. "We had some tough draws. There were some matches we should have won today. Yesterday, we won some tough matches, and that put our guys in position to get back into the wrestlebacks. The guys who wrestled yesterday were a stronger group, and it showed in how they wrestled."

The Greco-Roman tournament completed on Wednesday. Russia won the team title, with Kazakhstan placing second and Iran taking third. The United States won no medals, but had four team members place in the top 10 of their weight classes.

Four U.S. women's wrestlers weighed in on Wednesday, with their tournament starting on Thursday morning. Their first round pairings are listed at the end of this article.

Junior World Championships
At Beijing, China, August 22

U.S. performances on Wednesday

55 kg/121 lbs. - Eric Grajales, Brandon, Fla. (Brandon WC), dnp
LOSS Hamid Zare (Iran), 2-5, 4-6

66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jake Deitchler, Ramsey, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), dnp
LOSS Asilbek Bodochov (Kyrgysztan), 0-8, 0-4

84 kg/185 lbs. - Brandon Sitch, Kelso, Wash. (Minnesota Storm), dnp
WIN Mahmoud El Sayed (Egypt), 3-0, 3-1
LOSS Aldas Lukosaitis (Lithuania), 0-5, 0-6

120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Erik Nye, Red Bluff, Calif (unattached), 5th
LOSS Soslan Farniev (Russia), 0-3, 0-3
WIN Wang Chao (China), 0-3, 1-1, 1-1
WIN D Javakhisvili (Georgia), 1-1, 1-1
LOSS Ricardo Melz (Germany), 1-1, 1-1

U.S. women's draws for Thursday's session

44 kg/97 lbs. - Amy Whitbeck, Duanesburg, N.Y. (Team New York)
vs. Huang Chen-Yu (Taipei)

51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Whitney Conder, Payallup, Wash. (USOEC)
vs. Osocka Dominika (Poland)

59 kg/130 lbs. - Tatiana Padilla, LaVerne, Calif. (California Grapplers)
vs. Sona Ahmadi (Azerbaijan)

67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Erin Clodgo, Richmond, Vermont (USOEC)
vs. Desire Smith (South Africa)