UPDATED: Gray qualifies for bronze-medal bout at 67 kg at World Championships
Share:
by TheMat.com
Adeline Gray defends against a shot during her competition at 67 kg at the World Wrestling Championships. Tony Rotundo photo
HERNING, Denmark - Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) has qualified for a bronze medal match at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. at the World Championships on Friday.
Gray will face Ifeoma Iheanacho of Nigeria in the bronze-medal match.
The medal round will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live as streaming video on UniversalSports.com
Gray opened the tournament with a victory of Maria Muller of Germany. In her next match, she was defeated by Julia Bartnovskaia of Russia. When Bartnovskaia qualified for the finals, Gray was pulled back into the repechage rounds.
Gray pinned Yan Ma of China in the second period in the repechage to earn her spot in one of the two bronze medal bouts.
Gray, 18, was a 2008 Junior World champion. She is competing in her first World Championships on the Senior level.
The other U.S. women's wrestler on Friday, Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Gator WC) has been eliminated. She lost to three-time World champion Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria in her opening bout. When Zlateva failed to reach the finals, Bernard was eliminated.
"I had some opportunities to score, but I wasn't able to take advantage. She's a tough wrestler. I just have to bring everything I have for every match," said Bernard
The U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler competing today, Spenser Mango (St. Louis, Mo./New York AC), was eliminated in the repechage rounds.
"It's coming along slowly," said Mango. "Everybody wants that success right away. I need to keep chipping away and keep getting better. It was definitely a great learning experience. The guy from spain is the only guy that I had faced before. I know what to expect now."
Mango won his first match over Anar Zeinalov of Estonia. He was defeated in the next round by three-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran. When Soryan qualified for the finals, so Mango got back into the repechage.
Mango defeated Joaquin Martinez of Spain in his first repechage match. In the next repechage round, he was defeated by Erhan Karakus of Turkey. Had Mango beaten Karakas, he would have reached the bronze-medal round.
"He was the aggressor during the match. I didn't go for much on my feet until the end when i had to score," said Mango.
Mango placed eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games. This was his first World Championships appearance.
"Spenser made one mistake, going for that arm throw," said U.S. coach Ivan Ivanov. "He gave that kid a cheap point. One point like that can affect the whole match. It was not a clear point and it looked like a slip. Spenser should've wrestled more aggressively and kept the pressure on against the Turk. He's capable of scoring more points than he did. He wasn't tired, he was prepared for this. He's growing. This is his second big tournament and he's proven he can wrestle with the best in the World. He still needs that little extra to finish this all the way until the end."
Follow all the action at:
http://www.themat.com/specialevents/2009/worlds/default.php?EventID=21976
U.S. performances at World Championships on Friday
Women's freestyle
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
WIN Maria Mueller (Germany), 0-1, 5-0, 4-0
LOSS Julia Bartnovskaia (Russia), 1-0, 4-1
WIN Yan Ma (China), 0-2, fall 2nd period
vs. Ifeoma Iheanacho (Nigeria) in the bronze-medal match.
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Gator WC)
LOSS Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria), 2-0, 3-0
Greco-Roman
55 kg/121 lbs. - Spenser Mango, St. Louis, Mo. (New York AC) - 7th
WIN Anar Zeinalov (Estonia), 0-1, 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Hamid Soryan (Iran), 1-0, 6-0
WIN Joaquin Martinez (Spain), 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Erhan Karakaus (Turkey), 1-0, 2-1
HERNING, Denmark - Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) has qualified for a bronze medal match at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. at the World Championships on Friday.
Gray will face Ifeoma Iheanacho of Nigeria in the bronze-medal match.
The medal round will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live as streaming video on UniversalSports.com
Gray opened the tournament with a victory of Maria Muller of Germany. In her next match, she was defeated by Julia Bartnovskaia of Russia. When Bartnovskaia qualified for the finals, Gray was pulled back into the repechage rounds.
Gray pinned Yan Ma of China in the second period in the repechage to earn her spot in one of the two bronze medal bouts.
Gray, 18, was a 2008 Junior World champion. She is competing in her first World Championships on the Senior level.
The other U.S. women's wrestler on Friday, Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Gator WC) has been eliminated. She lost to three-time World champion Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria in her opening bout. When Zlateva failed to reach the finals, Bernard was eliminated.
"I had some opportunities to score, but I wasn't able to take advantage. She's a tough wrestler. I just have to bring everything I have for every match," said Bernard
The U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler competing today, Spenser Mango (St. Louis, Mo./New York AC), was eliminated in the repechage rounds.
"It's coming along slowly," said Mango. "Everybody wants that success right away. I need to keep chipping away and keep getting better. It was definitely a great learning experience. The guy from spain is the only guy that I had faced before. I know what to expect now."
Mango won his first match over Anar Zeinalov of Estonia. He was defeated in the next round by three-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran. When Soryan qualified for the finals, so Mango got back into the repechage.
Mango defeated Joaquin Martinez of Spain in his first repechage match. In the next repechage round, he was defeated by Erhan Karakus of Turkey. Had Mango beaten Karakas, he would have reached the bronze-medal round.
"He was the aggressor during the match. I didn't go for much on my feet until the end when i had to score," said Mango.
Mango placed eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games. This was his first World Championships appearance.
"Spenser made one mistake, going for that arm throw," said U.S. coach Ivan Ivanov. "He gave that kid a cheap point. One point like that can affect the whole match. It was not a clear point and it looked like a slip. Spenser should've wrestled more aggressively and kept the pressure on against the Turk. He's capable of scoring more points than he did. He wasn't tired, he was prepared for this. He's growing. This is his second big tournament and he's proven he can wrestle with the best in the World. He still needs that little extra to finish this all the way until the end."
Follow all the action at:
http://www.themat.com/specialevents/2009/worlds/default.php?EventID=21976
U.S. performances at World Championships on Friday
Women's freestyle
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
WIN Maria Mueller (Germany), 0-1, 5-0, 4-0
LOSS Julia Bartnovskaia (Russia), 1-0, 4-1
WIN Yan Ma (China), 0-2, fall 2nd period
vs. Ifeoma Iheanacho (Nigeria) in the bronze-medal match.
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Gator WC)
LOSS Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria), 2-0, 3-0
Greco-Roman
55 kg/121 lbs. - Spenser Mango, St. Louis, Mo. (New York AC) - 7th
WIN Anar Zeinalov (Estonia), 0-1, 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Hamid Soryan (Iran), 1-0, 6-0
WIN Joaquin Martinez (Spain), 1-0, 1-0
LOSS Erhan Karakaus (Turkey), 1-0, 2-1
Read More#
Coleman wins Greco-Roman bronze medal at Zagreb Open Ranking Event
Marsteller wins gold, Woods and Lewan secure bronze at Muhamet Malo Ranking Event in Albania
Blades, Nwachukwu to go for gold, Beck to wrestle for bronze in women’s freestyle at Zagreb Open Ranking Event
Radecki and Mathers win U17 golds, Grimes adds U17 bronze at Klippan Lady Open in Sweden
