Kerr, Moore lose wrestlebacks at Junior Freestyle Worlds in China

BEIJING, CHINA - Both U.S. wrestlers who qualified for Saturday evening's wrestleback rounds at the Junior World Freestyle Championships were defeated and eliminated from medal contention.

Losing their evening bouts were Jake Kerr (Oskaloosa, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Taylor Moore (Kansas, City, Mo./unattached) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

Kerr, who wrestles for the Univ. of Iowa, was defeated in his wrestleback match by Gocha Lomtatidze of Georgia, 1-7, 0-6. Lomtatidze scored three-point leg attack takedowns to exposure in both periods, along with other scoring techniques.

Moore, who competes for Cornell Univ., lost his wrestleback bout to Komeil Ghasemi of Iran, 3-2, 0-2, 0-1. Moore won the first period with a three-point lateral drop throw on the edge of the mat. In the final two periods, Ghasemi was able to score the only takedowns to secure the victory.

Neither Kerr nor Moore placed in the top 10 of their weight class in the final standings.

David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio/unattached), who finished with a 1-1 record at 50 kg/110 lbs. on Saturday morning, placed 8th in his weight class. Taylor earned two team points for the USA based upon his placement.

Angel Escobedo (Griffith, Ind./Hoosier WC), who went 0-1 at 60 kg/132 lbs., also did not place in his weight class.

"Obviously, I am disappointed," said USA Wrestling Freestyle Developmental Coach Dave Bennett. "I hoped we could slip in and get a few medals. This team has trained hard and worked hard. The areas of concentration that Kevin Jackson and our Senior coaching staff set for them are the right areas, but we need to be more proficient. The wrestlers need more international experience. For most of our guys, these are their first international matches."

The four remaining U.S. freestyle wrestlers have weighed in and received their draws for Sunday's competition. First round pairings are listed below.

After the first day of competition, there is a three-way tie in the team standings between Russia, Iran and Turkey with 25 points.

The Junior World Wrestling Championships conclude on Sunday with the completion of the men's freestyle tournament.

JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Beijing, China, August 25

U.S. performances on Saturday

50 kg/110 lbs. - David Taylor, St. Paris, Ohio (unattached), 8th
WIN Nurlan Orozbek (Kyrgyzstan), 5-2, 4-4
LOSS Hassan Rahimi (Iran), 0-3, 3-3, 0-3

60 kg/132 lbs. - Angel Escobedo, Griffith, Ind. (Hoosier WC), dnp
LOSS Samet Duegler (Germany), 0-1, 1-1

74 kg/163 lbs. - Jake Kerr, Oskaloosa, Iowa (Hawkeye WC), dnp
WIN Kurt Botha (South Africa), 4-2, 4-2
LOSS Denis Tsargush (Russia), 0-6, 0-6
LOSS Gocha Lomtatidze (Georgia), 1-7, 0-6

96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Taylor Moore, Kansas, City, Mo. (unattached), dnp
LOSS Alen Zaseev (Russia), 0-3, 0-7
LOSS Komeil Ghasemi (Iran), 3-2, 0-2, 0-1

U.S. freestyle draws for Sunday

55 kg/121 lbs. - Tyler Graff, Loveland, Colo. (Loveland Wrestling Academy)
vs. Vladislav Andreev (Belarus)

66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Bubba Jenkins, Virginia Beach, Va. (Penn State WC)
vs. Samvel Adyan (Armenia)

84 kg/185 lbs. - Louis Caputo, Blue Springs, Mo. (Harvard WC)
vs. Colten Woznow (Canada)

120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Stefan Tighe, Erie, Pa. (Penn State WC)
vs. Zhiewi Deng (China)