Six American women reach finals at Dave Schultz Memorial

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – American Alyssa Lampe is known for her hard-charging, never-quit style of wrestling.

Rising young star Jennifer Page displays many of those same qualities in women’s freestyle wrestling. 

Those traits served Lampe and Page well when they both reached the finals of the Dave Schultz Memorial International on Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Down by one point in her women’s freestyle semifinal, Lampe drove China’s Chun Lei to her back in the final seconds to earn a dramatic 10-7 victory at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. 

“I was trying to tire her out and move her out of position,” Lampe said. “I saw there were 30 seconds left and I had to go for it. I went for the win and got behind her and was able to throw her.”

Lampe, a two-time World bronze medalist, advances to face World champion Jessica MacDonald of Canada in the finals. Lampe and MacDonald are each seeking their second Schultz title.

The 20-year-old Page knocked off 2013 World champion Marianna Sastin of Hungary 4-3 in the semifinals at 60 kg/132 lbs. Page is a 2013 Junior World bronze medalist.

“I didn’t actually know she was a World champion until after the match,” Page said. “I just went out and wrestle and stuck to my game plan. It’s exciting to get that win and have a chance to wrestle in the finals.” 

The finals are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday in Colorado Springs.

World silver medalist Helen Maroulis advanced to the finals to face University World champion Katherine Fulp Allen in the finals at 53 kg/116.5 lbs. Maroulis is seeking her second straight Schultz title.

Fulp-Allen had previously competed at 51 kg and 55 kg. 

“53 was a great choice for me – it’s a perfect weight class for me,” Fulp-Allen said. “This is real exciting to be in the finals in a tough weight class like this.”

2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller rallied from a 10-7 deficit to down China’s Feng Zhou 12-10 in the semifinals at 69 kg/152 lbs. Zhou is a Junior World champion. 

Miller will face World champion and three-time Schultz champion Elena Pirozhkova in the finals. Pirozhkova was a 2012 Olympian. Miller, back wrestling this season for the first time since 2008, won a Schultz title in 2007.

World champion Fengliu Zhang of China and Erica Wiebe of Canada will meet for the title at 75 kg/165 lbs.

This is the final day of the three-day event of the Schultz event. This tournament has been held annually since 1999. It honors the late Dave Schultz, an Olympic and World champion for the U.S. 

DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014

U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Colo. 

FINALS MATCHUPS

48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Jessica MacDonald (Canada) vs. Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids)

53 kg/116.5 lbs. – Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids) vs. Katherine Fulp-Allen (New York AC)

55 kg/121 lbs. – Xuechun Zhong (China) vs. Babita Kumari (India)

58 kg/127.75 lbs. – Lan Zhang (China) vs. Braxton Papadopulous (Canada)

60 kg/132 lbs. – Jennifer Page (Titan Mercury WC) vs. Sakshi Malik (India)

63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Luozhuoma Xi (China) vs. Zhangting Zhou (China)

69 kg/152 lbs. – Elena Pirozhkova (Titan Mercury WC) vs. Randi Miller (U.S. Army)

75 kg/165 lbs. – Fengliu Zhang (China) vs. Erica Wiebe (Canada)