U.S. gets first day Greco-Roman draws at UWW Junior Worlds in Brazil
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
SALVADOR, Brazil – The first four U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers have weighed in and received their draws for the opening day of the UWW Junior World Championships, which begin on Tuesday.
Leading the first day for the USA is Cadet World bronze medalist Jon Jay Chavez (Boise, Idaho/Titan Mercury WC), who is competing at 74 kg/163 lbs. Chavez faces Nordic Junior silver medalist Alex Kessidis of Sweden.
“His opportunity is great. He has good hips, a good thrower, has a great attack skills. I’ve heard people call him the gun slinger. He grabs those locks and goes,” said said U.S. coach Zac Dominguez
The other three U.S. competitors are competing in their first age-group World events. Two of these athletes are members of the Northern Michigan University U.S. Olympic Training Site Greco-Roman program.
At 50 kg/110 lbs., Dalton Roberts (Fowlerville, Mich./NMU-OTS) competes in round one against Nedyako Petrov of Bulgaria, a 2015 European Junior bronze medalist.
“He is at 50 kg. He has wrestled a couple of tournaments at 59 kg, so he is happy to be back down. He is going to be big and strong and get after those guys right away,” said Dominguez.
His NMU-OTS teammate Travis Rice (Washington, Ill./NMU-OTS) opens his tournament at 60 kg/132 lbs. against another Bulgarian, S. Bayanov.
“He has done an excellent job. He was very coachable at camp, paid attention, asked a lot of good questions. He has a great background in Greco being up at Northern Michigan. He is ready to do some good work,” said Dominguez.
The final U.S. athlete is G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Front Range WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., who does his full-time training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He will open with F. Fanziyev of Azerbaijan.
“He has burst onto the scene. He is doing a great job. He is coachable. This is my first tournament with him and I am excited to see where he ends up. At training camp, he was banging it out with the Senior level guys. He is young. His opportunities are immense,” said Dominguez.
The U.S. team is coached by Mark Halvorson of Concord, Calif. and Zac Dominguez of Papillion, Neb.
“Our Greco-Roman team looks really good. We have a couple of returning medals. We had a great training camp. They were listening. They were athletic. They were on time and on task,” said Dominguez.
Competition begins at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, which is 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. There will be a live stream provided by United World Wrestling on its website, www.unitedworldwrestling.org
Watch for updates on TheMat.com and through USA Wrestling’s social media. Flowrestling is also covering the competition.
UWW JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Salvador, Brazil
U.S. Greco-Roman draw
50 kg/110 lbs. – Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville, Mich. (NMU-OTS)
Vs. Nedyako Petrov (Bulgaria), 3rd in 2015 European Junior Championships, 5th in 2014 Junior World Championships
60 kg/132 lbs. – Travis Rice, Washington, Ill. (NMU-OTS)
Vs. S. Bayanov (Bulgaria)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jon Jay Chavez, Boise, Idaho (Titan Mercury WC)
Vs. Alex Kessidis (Sweden), 2nd in 2015 Nordic Junior Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Front Range WC)
Vs. F. Fanziyev (Azerbaijan)
Leading the first day for the USA is Cadet World bronze medalist Jon Jay Chavez (Boise, Idaho/Titan Mercury WC), who is competing at 74 kg/163 lbs. Chavez faces Nordic Junior silver medalist Alex Kessidis of Sweden.
“His opportunity is great. He has good hips, a good thrower, has a great attack skills. I’ve heard people call him the gun slinger. He grabs those locks and goes,” said said U.S. coach Zac Dominguez
The other three U.S. competitors are competing in their first age-group World events. Two of these athletes are members of the Northern Michigan University U.S. Olympic Training Site Greco-Roman program.
At 50 kg/110 lbs., Dalton Roberts (Fowlerville, Mich./NMU-OTS) competes in round one against Nedyako Petrov of Bulgaria, a 2015 European Junior bronze medalist.
“He is at 50 kg. He has wrestled a couple of tournaments at 59 kg, so he is happy to be back down. He is going to be big and strong and get after those guys right away,” said Dominguez.
His NMU-OTS teammate Travis Rice (Washington, Ill./NMU-OTS) opens his tournament at 60 kg/132 lbs. against another Bulgarian, S. Bayanov.
“He has done an excellent job. He was very coachable at camp, paid attention, asked a lot of good questions. He has a great background in Greco being up at Northern Michigan. He is ready to do some good work,” said Dominguez.
The final U.S. athlete is G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Front Range WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., who does his full-time training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He will open with F. Fanziyev of Azerbaijan.
“He has burst onto the scene. He is doing a great job. He is coachable. This is my first tournament with him and I am excited to see where he ends up. At training camp, he was banging it out with the Senior level guys. He is young. His opportunities are immense,” said Dominguez.
The U.S. team is coached by Mark Halvorson of Concord, Calif. and Zac Dominguez of Papillion, Neb.
“Our Greco-Roman team looks really good. We have a couple of returning medals. We had a great training camp. They were listening. They were athletic. They were on time and on task,” said Dominguez.
Competition begins at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, which is 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. There will be a live stream provided by United World Wrestling on its website, www.unitedworldwrestling.org
Watch for updates on TheMat.com and through USA Wrestling’s social media. Flowrestling is also covering the competition.
UWW JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Salvador, Brazil
U.S. Greco-Roman draw
50 kg/110 lbs. – Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville, Mich. (NMU-OTS)
Vs. Nedyako Petrov (Bulgaria), 3rd in 2015 European Junior Championships, 5th in 2014 Junior World Championships
60 kg/132 lbs. – Travis Rice, Washington, Ill. (NMU-OTS)
Vs. S. Bayanov (Bulgaria)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jon Jay Chavez, Boise, Idaho (Titan Mercury WC)
Vs. Alex Kessidis (Sweden), 2nd in 2015 Nordic Junior Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Front Range WC)
Vs. F. Fanziyev (Azerbaijan)
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