Johnson wins bronze medal on final day of Vehbi Emre Grand Prix in Turkey
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by UL
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - R.C. Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won a bronze medal at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. on the final day of the Vehbi Emre Grand Prix on Sunday.
Johnson scored an impressive 4-3, 2-0 victory over 2002 World champion Mehmet Ozal in his bronze medal match.
"R.C. took a big step forward this tournament in his wrestling skills," said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser. "He demonstrated outstanding competition prowess, where he constantly outfought and outscrambled his opponents. He wrestled smart and with great determination."
Johnson won his first match over Ivan Nemeth of Hungary, 2-1, 1-1, then fell to eventual champion Timafei Dzeinchenka of Belarus, 3-2, 0-3, 0-2 in the second round. He rebounded with three straight repechage victories to capture the bronze medal.
It was the second U.S. medal of the weekend, joining Sam Hazewinkel (Springboro, Ohio/Sunkist Kids), who won a silver medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. on Saturday.
Two Americans placed seventh with 2-2 records, Jeremiah Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Minnesota Storm) at 74 kg/163 lbs.
Davis won his first match over Ede Komaromi of Hungary, 1-1, 2-1, but was beaten in the second round by eventual runner-up Yerbol Kalabaev of Kazakhstan, 1-1, 0-3. After another win in the repechage, Davis was defeated by Azmat Kebispaev of Kazakhstan.
"Davis wrestled very well, scoring in par terre defense with his quick counter attacks," said Fraser of his two victories.
Deitchler, who made national news by making the Olympic team at the age of 18 last spring, opened the tournament with two impressive wins. He beat Adem Zengin of Turkey, 3-0, 6-2 and Ilker Sonmez of Turkey), 2-6, 2-1, 4-1.
"Jake crushed the first Turkish opponent with his non-stop attacks, scoring in all positions. The Turk broke, trying to headbutt Jake a number of times," said Fraser. "In the second match, Jake wrestled like a warrior, gassing his opponent out. He lost the first period, and came back to win with dominant action."
Deitchler was defeated in the third round by eventual champion Celcuk Sebi of Turkey, 0-6, 0-6, then was eliminated in his first repechage match by Ramazan Sahin of Turkey, 6-0, 3-1.
Fraser was impressed by 2005 U.S. World Team member Joe Betterman (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), who ended with a 1-2 record, but opened the tournament with an impressive victory over 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Ruslan Tiumenbaev of Krygyzstan, 2-1, 3-0.
"Betterman wrestled one of the best matches I've seen him wrestle, completely dominating the Olympic bronze medalist from Krygyzstan. He had great intensity throughout the entire match," said Fraser.
The U.S. placed fourth in the team standings with 31 points. Turkey won the team title, followed by Iran and Belarus.
"The guys wrestled with great desire, passion and intensity. The matches we lost were very close. This tournament was a very tough tournament, with close to 40 athletes per weight, including 16 countries," said Fraser.
VEHBI EMRE GRAND PRIX
At Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 25
60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold - Rahman Bilici (Turkey)
Silver - Yerbol Kalabaev (Kazakhstan)
Bronze - Sakit Celilov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze - Sezai Sipal (Turkey)
5th - Azmat Kebispaev (Kazakhstan)
5th - Soner Sucu (Turkey)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold - Selcuk Cebi (Turkey)
Silver - Seref Tufenk (Turkey)
Bronze - Ramazan Sahin (Turkey)
Bronze - Aleh Mikhalovic (Belarus)
5th - Mahmut Tosin (Turkey)
5th - Kasim Elda (Turkey)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold - Timafei Dzeinchenka (Belarus)
Silver - Cenk Ildem (Turkey)
Bronze - Mehmet Kasim (Germany)
Bronze - R.C. Johnson (USA)
5th - Mehmet Ozal (Turkey)
5th - Yasin Deliktas (Turkey)
Team Standings
1. Turkey, 66 pts.
2. Iran, 47 pts.
3. Belarus, 37 pts.
4. United States, 31 pts.
5. Kazakhstan, 23 pts.
6. Georgia, 23 pts.
7. Uzbekistan, 10 pts.
8. (tie) Germany, 8 pts.
8. (tie) Azerbaijan, 8 pts.
10. Moldova, 4 pts.
(of 16 nations)
U.S. performances
60 kg/132 lbs. - Joe Betterman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), dnp/12th
WIN Ruslan Tiumenbaev (Krygyzstan), 2-1, 3-0
LOSS Rahman Bilici (Turkey), pin in 1st period
LOSS Soner Sucu (Turkey), 0-4, 2-3
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jeremiah Davis, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 7th
WIN Ede Komaromi (Hungary), 1-1, 2-1,
LOSS Yerbol Kalabaev (Kazakhstan), 1-1, 0-3
WIN Mahmut Gorez (Turkey), 2-0, 3-2
LOSS Azmat Kebispaev (Kazakhstan), 1-1, 0-6
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jake Deitchler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm), 7th
WIN Adem Zengin (Turkey), 3-0, 6-2
WIN Ilker Sonmez (Turkey), 2-6, 2-1, 4-1
LOSS Celcuk Sebi (Turkey), 0-6, 0-6
LOSS Ramazan Sahin (Turkey), 0-6, 1-3
74 kg/163 lbs - Oscar Wood, Fountain, Colo. (U.S. Army), dnp
LOSS Kazim Elda (Turkey), 3-1, 5-0
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - R.C. Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 3rd
WIN Ivan Mehmeth (Hungary), 2-1, 1-1
LOSS Timafei Dzeinchenka (Belarus), 3-2, 0-3, 0-2
WIN Anatolie Moldovan (Moldova), 2-1, 1-1, 2-1
WIN Soso Jabidze (Georgia), inj. dft.
WIN Mehmet Ozal (Turkey), 4-3, 2-0
Johnson scored an impressive 4-3, 2-0 victory over 2002 World champion Mehmet Ozal in his bronze medal match.
"R.C. took a big step forward this tournament in his wrestling skills," said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser. "He demonstrated outstanding competition prowess, where he constantly outfought and outscrambled his opponents. He wrestled smart and with great determination."
Johnson won his first match over Ivan Nemeth of Hungary, 2-1, 1-1, then fell to eventual champion Timafei Dzeinchenka of Belarus, 3-2, 0-3, 0-2 in the second round. He rebounded with three straight repechage victories to capture the bronze medal.
It was the second U.S. medal of the weekend, joining Sam Hazewinkel (Springboro, Ohio/Sunkist Kids), who won a silver medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. on Saturday.
Two Americans placed seventh with 2-2 records, Jeremiah Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Minnesota Storm) at 74 kg/163 lbs.
Davis won his first match over Ede Komaromi of Hungary, 1-1, 2-1, but was beaten in the second round by eventual runner-up Yerbol Kalabaev of Kazakhstan, 1-1, 0-3. After another win in the repechage, Davis was defeated by Azmat Kebispaev of Kazakhstan.
"Davis wrestled very well, scoring in par terre defense with his quick counter attacks," said Fraser of his two victories.
Deitchler, who made national news by making the Olympic team at the age of 18 last spring, opened the tournament with two impressive wins. He beat Adem Zengin of Turkey, 3-0, 6-2 and Ilker Sonmez of Turkey), 2-6, 2-1, 4-1.
"Jake crushed the first Turkish opponent with his non-stop attacks, scoring in all positions. The Turk broke, trying to headbutt Jake a number of times," said Fraser. "In the second match, Jake wrestled like a warrior, gassing his opponent out. He lost the first period, and came back to win with dominant action."
Deitchler was defeated in the third round by eventual champion Celcuk Sebi of Turkey, 0-6, 0-6, then was eliminated in his first repechage match by Ramazan Sahin of Turkey, 6-0, 3-1.
Fraser was impressed by 2005 U.S. World Team member Joe Betterman (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), who ended with a 1-2 record, but opened the tournament with an impressive victory over 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Ruslan Tiumenbaev of Krygyzstan, 2-1, 3-0.
"Betterman wrestled one of the best matches I've seen him wrestle, completely dominating the Olympic bronze medalist from Krygyzstan. He had great intensity throughout the entire match," said Fraser.
The U.S. placed fourth in the team standings with 31 points. Turkey won the team title, followed by Iran and Belarus.
"The guys wrestled with great desire, passion and intensity. The matches we lost were very close. This tournament was a very tough tournament, with close to 40 athletes per weight, including 16 countries," said Fraser.
VEHBI EMRE GRAND PRIX
At Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 25
60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold - Rahman Bilici (Turkey)
Silver - Yerbol Kalabaev (Kazakhstan)
Bronze - Sakit Celilov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze - Sezai Sipal (Turkey)
5th - Azmat Kebispaev (Kazakhstan)
5th - Soner Sucu (Turkey)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold - Selcuk Cebi (Turkey)
Silver - Seref Tufenk (Turkey)
Bronze - Ramazan Sahin (Turkey)
Bronze - Aleh Mikhalovic (Belarus)
5th - Mahmut Tosin (Turkey)
5th - Kasim Elda (Turkey)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold - Timafei Dzeinchenka (Belarus)
Silver - Cenk Ildem (Turkey)
Bronze - Mehmet Kasim (Germany)
Bronze - R.C. Johnson (USA)
5th - Mehmet Ozal (Turkey)
5th - Yasin Deliktas (Turkey)
Team Standings
1. Turkey, 66 pts.
2. Iran, 47 pts.
3. Belarus, 37 pts.
4. United States, 31 pts.
5. Kazakhstan, 23 pts.
6. Georgia, 23 pts.
7. Uzbekistan, 10 pts.
8. (tie) Germany, 8 pts.
8. (tie) Azerbaijan, 8 pts.
10. Moldova, 4 pts.
(of 16 nations)
U.S. performances
60 kg/132 lbs. - Joe Betterman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), dnp/12th
WIN Ruslan Tiumenbaev (Krygyzstan), 2-1, 3-0
LOSS Rahman Bilici (Turkey), pin in 1st period
LOSS Soner Sucu (Turkey), 0-4, 2-3
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jeremiah Davis, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 7th
WIN Ede Komaromi (Hungary), 1-1, 2-1,
LOSS Yerbol Kalabaev (Kazakhstan), 1-1, 0-3
WIN Mahmut Gorez (Turkey), 2-0, 3-2
LOSS Azmat Kebispaev (Kazakhstan), 1-1, 0-6
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jake Deitchler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm), 7th
WIN Adem Zengin (Turkey), 3-0, 6-2
WIN Ilker Sonmez (Turkey), 2-6, 2-1, 4-1
LOSS Celcuk Sebi (Turkey), 0-6, 0-6
LOSS Ramazan Sahin (Turkey), 0-6, 1-3
74 kg/163 lbs - Oscar Wood, Fountain, Colo. (U.S. Army), dnp
LOSS Kazim Elda (Turkey), 3-1, 5-0
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - R.C. Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 3rd
WIN Ivan Mehmeth (Hungary), 2-1, 1-1
LOSS Timafei Dzeinchenka (Belarus), 3-2, 0-3, 0-2
WIN Anatolie Moldovan (Moldova), 2-1, 1-1, 2-1
WIN Soso Jabidze (Georgia), inj. dft.
WIN Mehmet Ozal (Turkey), 4-3, 2-0
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