UPDATE: Hafizov wins gold, Triggas a silver, and four Americans get bronzes at Vantaa Cup in Finland
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
The 59 kg medalists at the Vantaa Cup featured three USA wrestlers, champion Ildar Hafizov, runner-up Nikko Triggas and bronze-medalist Spenser Mango.
VANTAA, Finland – In an All-American gold-medal final at 59 kg/130 lbs., Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) scored a 9-0 technical fall over Nikko Triggas (Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC).
Hafizov was a 2008 Olympian for Uzbekistan who recently became eligible to compete for the United States. He opened with a pin over Helary Magisalu of Estonia and a 13-5 technical fall over Lauri Mahonen of Finland. In the semifinals, he edged Army teammate and two-time Olympian Spenser Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), 2-2
Triggas won both of his preliminary bouts in dominant fashion over Finnish opponents, scoring a 9-0 technical fall over Kasperi Lehtonen and pinning Mazyar Shirmohammadi in 5:21. Triggas was a Div. I All-American for Ohio State when in college.
Claiming bronze medals for the United States were Spenser Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) at 59 kg/130 lbs., Brian Graham (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Taylor Walsh (Cherry Hill, N.J.) at 75 kg/165 lbs. and three-time U.S. World Team member Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) at 98 kg/215 lbs.
Prior to losing to Hafizov in the semifinals, Mango stopped Army teammate Jermaine Hodge (Colorado Springs, Colo/U.S. Army) in a 12-4 technical fall, then put away Finland’s Juuso Latvala in an 8-0 technical fall. He scored his third technical fall in the bronze-medal round, stopping Lauri Mahonen, 11-3.
Graham opened with a 3-1 win over 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), then fell to Poland’s Dawid Karecinski, 0-8. Karecinski, who was a 2015 Grand Prix of Spain champion, reached the finals and Graham was placed in repechage, where he edged Mikko Peltokangas of Finland, 9-8. In his bronze-medal bout, Graham stopped 2014 Nordic bronze medalist Pal Erik Gundersen of Norway, 9-7.
Walsh, who is just starting his Senior Greco-Roman career, opened with a 12-1 technical fall over Iiro Piipo of Finland. He then fell to to 2015 Norwegian World Team member Petter Karlsen, 0-8. When Karlsen reached the finals, Graham was pulled into repechage, where he pinned Esa Jarvinen of Finland. He won his bronze-medal match by default over Dawid Klimek of Poland.
Williams opened with a pair of 8-0 technical falls over Patrick Carey (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) and Antti Makinen of Finland. In the semifinals, he dropped a 1-1 decision to 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2011 World silver medalist Damian Janikowski of Poland. In his bronze-medal bout, Williams stopped 2014 Greece World Team member Spyros Kountaouratzis in a 9-0 technical fall.
“Overall, the USA team had a good tournament. We ended up with one gold medal, one silver medal, and four bronze medals. At first, a lot of guys were disappointed because they were matched up in the first round with other USA wrestlers. But they did not allow that to distract them from the ultimate goal of preparing for the 2016 Olympics. We have another week of training and one more tournament to help continue our preparation for the upcoming Olympics,” said U.S. coach Herb House.
Athletes who competed in the Vantaa Cup are also entering the Arno Haavisto Cup in Ilmajoki, Finland on Nov. 28
Click here for Vantaa Cup Results page
VANTAA CUP
At Vantaa, Finland
59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold- Ildar Hafizov (USA)
Silver - Nikko Triggas (USA)
Bronze - Spenser Mango (USA)
Bronze – Kasperi Lehtonen (JaVo/Finland)
5th - Lauri Mahonen (Finland)
5th - Mazyar Shirmohammadi (HeTa/Finland)
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Dawid Karecinski (Poland)
Silver - Stig Andre Berge (Norway)
Bronze - Brian Graham (USA)
Bronze – Islam Beka Albiev (Russia)
5th - Pal Erik Gundersen (Norway)
5th – Azamat Akhmedov (Russia)
71 kg/156 lbs.
Gold –Ilia Glazkov (Russia)
Silver - Valeriy Gusarov (Russia)
Bronze –Robert Fritsch (Hungary)
Bronze – Artem Komorov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
5th - Grzegorz Wanke (Poland)
5th - Niko Erkkola (Finland)
75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold - Bislan Assakalov (Russia)
Silver – Petter Karlsen (Norway)
Bronze - Taylor Walsh (USA)
Bronze –Mateusz Wolny (Poland)
5th - Esa Jarvinen (YTK/Finland)
5th - Petros Manoulidis (Greece)
80 kg/176 lbs.
Gold – Ruslan Isakov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Silver - Arkaciusz Kulynycz (Poland)
Bronze – Ivan Chernov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Bronze – Henri Valimaki (Finland)
5th - Nikolaos Varkas (Greece)
5th - Jarno Alander (HeTa/Finland)
85 kg/187 lbs.
Gold - Tobias Kavrnmark (Sweden)
Silver – Alo Toom (Estonia)
Bronze – Erik Szilvassy (Hungary)
Bronze - Movsar Duguchiev (St. Petersburg/Russia)
5th - Einari Ukkola (HaHe/Finland)
5th - Eerik Aps (Estonia)
98 kg/215 lbs.
Gold - Damian Janikowski (Poland)
Silver - Maksim Safarian (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Bronze - Caylor Williams (USA)
Bronze – Tuomas Lahti (Finland)
5th - Spyros Kountaouratzis (Greece)
5th – Elias Kuosmanen (JaVo/Finland)
130 kg/286 lbs.
Gold Vasilii Parshin (Russia)
Silver – Timo Kallio (Finland)
Bronze – Lukasz Banak (Poland)
Bronze – Kurban Nazhmudinov (Russia)
5th – Kaarel Maaten (Estonia)
5th - Alexandros Zorathly (Greece)
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
59 kg/130 lbs. – Spenser Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), bronze medal
WIN Jermaine Hodge (USA), tech. fall 12-4
WIN Juuso Latvala (IK), tech fall 8-0
LOSS Ildar Hafizov (USA), 2-2
WIN Lauri Mahonen (Finland), tech. fall 11-3
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ildar Hafizov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), gold medal
WIN Helary Magisalu (Estonia), pin 1:44
WIN Lauri Mahonen (Finland), tech fall, 13-5
WIN Spenser Mango (USA), 2-2
WIN Nikko Triggas (USA), tech. fall 9-0
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jermaine Hodge, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Spenser Mango (USA), tech. fall 4-12
59 kg/130 lbs. – Nikko Triggas, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), silver medal
WIN Kasperi Lehtonen (JaVo/Finland), tech fall 9-0
WIN Mazyar Shirmohammadi (HeTa/Finland), pin 5:21
LOSS Ildar Hafizov (USA), tech. fall 0-9
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Brian Graham, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), bronze medal
WIN Ellis Coleman (USA), 3-1
LOSS Dawid Karecinski (Poland), tech fall 0-8
WIN Mikko Peltokangas (Virka/Finland), 9-8
WIN Pal Erik Gundersen (Norway), 9-7
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Brian Graham (USA), 1-3
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Julian Gunnels, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Toni Ojala (Finland), 4-9
75 kg/165 lbs. – Cheney Haight, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
LOSS Mateusz Wolny (Poland), 1-4
75 kg/165 lbs. – Taylor Walsh, Cherry Hill, N.J., bronze medal
WIN Iiro Piipo (VaaKu), tech. fall 12-1
LOSS Petter Karlsen (Norway), tech. fall 0-8
WIN Esa Jarvinen (YTK/Finland), pin
WIN Dawid Klimek (Poland), default
85 kg/187 lbs. – Patrick Martinez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Jon Anderson (USA), 4-5
85 kg/185 lbs. – Jon Anderson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
WIN Patrick Martinez (USA), 5-4
LOSS Movsar Duguchiev (St. Petersburg/Russia), 4-5
85 kg/185 lbs. – Ron Dombkowski, Marquette, Mich. (NMU/OTS)
LOSS Tobias Kvarnmark (Sweden), tech. fall 0-8
LOSS Eerik Aps (Estonia), tech fall 0-8
98 kg/215 lbs. – Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), bronze medal
WIN Patrick Carey (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Antti Makinen (YTK/Finland), tech fall 8-0
LOSS Damian Janikowski (Poland), 1-1
WIN Spyros Kountaouratzis (Greece), tech. fall 9-0
98 kg/215 lbs. – Patrick Carey, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Caylor Williams (USA), tech fall 0-8
130 kg/286 lbs. – Toby Erickson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
LOSS Kurban Nazhmudinov (Russia), pin 0:56
VANTAA, Finland – In an All-American gold-medal final at 59 kg/130 lbs., Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) scored a 9-0 technical fall over Nikko Triggas (Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC).
Hafizov was a 2008 Olympian for Uzbekistan who recently became eligible to compete for the United States. He opened with a pin over Helary Magisalu of Estonia and a 13-5 technical fall over Lauri Mahonen of Finland. In the semifinals, he edged Army teammate and two-time Olympian Spenser Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), 2-2
Triggas won both of his preliminary bouts in dominant fashion over Finnish opponents, scoring a 9-0 technical fall over Kasperi Lehtonen and pinning Mazyar Shirmohammadi in 5:21. Triggas was a Div. I All-American for Ohio State when in college.
Claiming bronze medals for the United States were Spenser Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) at 59 kg/130 lbs., Brian Graham (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Taylor Walsh (Cherry Hill, N.J.) at 75 kg/165 lbs. and three-time U.S. World Team member Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) at 98 kg/215 lbs.
Prior to losing to Hafizov in the semifinals, Mango stopped Army teammate Jermaine Hodge (Colorado Springs, Colo/U.S. Army) in a 12-4 technical fall, then put away Finland’s Juuso Latvala in an 8-0 technical fall. He scored his third technical fall in the bronze-medal round, stopping Lauri Mahonen, 11-3.
Graham opened with a 3-1 win over 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), then fell to Poland’s Dawid Karecinski, 0-8. Karecinski, who was a 2015 Grand Prix of Spain champion, reached the finals and Graham was placed in repechage, where he edged Mikko Peltokangas of Finland, 9-8. In his bronze-medal bout, Graham stopped 2014 Nordic bronze medalist Pal Erik Gundersen of Norway, 9-7.
Walsh, who is just starting his Senior Greco-Roman career, opened with a 12-1 technical fall over Iiro Piipo of Finland. He then fell to to 2015 Norwegian World Team member Petter Karlsen, 0-8. When Karlsen reached the finals, Graham was pulled into repechage, where he pinned Esa Jarvinen of Finland. He won his bronze-medal match by default over Dawid Klimek of Poland.
Williams opened with a pair of 8-0 technical falls over Patrick Carey (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) and Antti Makinen of Finland. In the semifinals, he dropped a 1-1 decision to 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2011 World silver medalist Damian Janikowski of Poland. In his bronze-medal bout, Williams stopped 2014 Greece World Team member Spyros Kountaouratzis in a 9-0 technical fall.
“Overall, the USA team had a good tournament. We ended up with one gold medal, one silver medal, and four bronze medals. At first, a lot of guys were disappointed because they were matched up in the first round with other USA wrestlers. But they did not allow that to distract them from the ultimate goal of preparing for the 2016 Olympics. We have another week of training and one more tournament to help continue our preparation for the upcoming Olympics,” said U.S. coach Herb House.
Athletes who competed in the Vantaa Cup are also entering the Arno Haavisto Cup in Ilmajoki, Finland on Nov. 28
Click here for Vantaa Cup Results page
VANTAA CUP
At Vantaa, Finland
59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold- Ildar Hafizov (USA)
Silver - Nikko Triggas (USA)
Bronze - Spenser Mango (USA)
Bronze – Kasperi Lehtonen (JaVo/Finland)
5th - Lauri Mahonen (Finland)
5th - Mazyar Shirmohammadi (HeTa/Finland)
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Dawid Karecinski (Poland)
Silver - Stig Andre Berge (Norway)
Bronze - Brian Graham (USA)
Bronze – Islam Beka Albiev (Russia)
5th - Pal Erik Gundersen (Norway)
5th – Azamat Akhmedov (Russia)
71 kg/156 lbs.
Gold –Ilia Glazkov (Russia)
Silver - Valeriy Gusarov (Russia)
Bronze –Robert Fritsch (Hungary)
Bronze – Artem Komorov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
5th - Grzegorz Wanke (Poland)
5th - Niko Erkkola (Finland)
75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold - Bislan Assakalov (Russia)
Silver – Petter Karlsen (Norway)
Bronze - Taylor Walsh (USA)
Bronze –Mateusz Wolny (Poland)
5th - Esa Jarvinen (YTK/Finland)
5th - Petros Manoulidis (Greece)
80 kg/176 lbs.
Gold – Ruslan Isakov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Silver - Arkaciusz Kulynycz (Poland)
Bronze – Ivan Chernov (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Bronze – Henri Valimaki (Finland)
5th - Nikolaos Varkas (Greece)
5th - Jarno Alander (HeTa/Finland)
85 kg/187 lbs.
Gold - Tobias Kavrnmark (Sweden)
Silver – Alo Toom (Estonia)
Bronze – Erik Szilvassy (Hungary)
Bronze - Movsar Duguchiev (St. Petersburg/Russia)
5th - Einari Ukkola (HaHe/Finland)
5th - Eerik Aps (Estonia)
98 kg/215 lbs.
Gold - Damian Janikowski (Poland)
Silver - Maksim Safarian (St. Petersburg/Russia)
Bronze - Caylor Williams (USA)
Bronze – Tuomas Lahti (Finland)
5th - Spyros Kountaouratzis (Greece)
5th – Elias Kuosmanen (JaVo/Finland)
130 kg/286 lbs.
Gold Vasilii Parshin (Russia)
Silver – Timo Kallio (Finland)
Bronze – Lukasz Banak (Poland)
Bronze – Kurban Nazhmudinov (Russia)
5th – Kaarel Maaten (Estonia)
5th - Alexandros Zorathly (Greece)
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
59 kg/130 lbs. – Spenser Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), bronze medal
WIN Jermaine Hodge (USA), tech. fall 12-4
WIN Juuso Latvala (IK), tech fall 8-0
LOSS Ildar Hafizov (USA), 2-2
WIN Lauri Mahonen (Finland), tech. fall 11-3
59 kg/130 lbs. – Ildar Hafizov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), gold medal
WIN Helary Magisalu (Estonia), pin 1:44
WIN Lauri Mahonen (Finland), tech fall, 13-5
WIN Spenser Mango (USA), 2-2
WIN Nikko Triggas (USA), tech. fall 9-0
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jermaine Hodge, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Spenser Mango (USA), tech. fall 4-12
59 kg/130 lbs. – Nikko Triggas, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), silver medal
WIN Kasperi Lehtonen (JaVo/Finland), tech fall 9-0
WIN Mazyar Shirmohammadi (HeTa/Finland), pin 5:21
LOSS Ildar Hafizov (USA), tech. fall 0-9
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Brian Graham, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), bronze medal
WIN Ellis Coleman (USA), 3-1
LOSS Dawid Karecinski (Poland), tech fall 0-8
WIN Mikko Peltokangas (Virka/Finland), 9-8
WIN Pal Erik Gundersen (Norway), 9-7
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Brian Graham (USA), 1-3
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Julian Gunnels, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Toni Ojala (Finland), 4-9
75 kg/165 lbs. – Cheney Haight, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
LOSS Mateusz Wolny (Poland), 1-4
75 kg/165 lbs. – Taylor Walsh, Cherry Hill, N.J., bronze medal
WIN Iiro Piipo (VaaKu), tech. fall 12-1
LOSS Petter Karlsen (Norway), tech. fall 0-8
WIN Esa Jarvinen (YTK/Finland), pin
WIN Dawid Klimek (Poland), default
85 kg/187 lbs. – Patrick Martinez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Jon Anderson (USA), 4-5
85 kg/185 lbs. – Jon Anderson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
WIN Patrick Martinez (USA), 5-4
LOSS Movsar Duguchiev (St. Petersburg/Russia), 4-5
85 kg/185 lbs. – Ron Dombkowski, Marquette, Mich. (NMU/OTS)
LOSS Tobias Kvarnmark (Sweden), tech. fall 0-8
LOSS Eerik Aps (Estonia), tech fall 0-8
98 kg/215 lbs. – Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), bronze medal
WIN Patrick Carey (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Antti Makinen (YTK/Finland), tech fall 8-0
LOSS Damian Janikowski (Poland), 1-1
WIN Spyros Kountaouratzis (Greece), tech. fall 9-0
98 kg/215 lbs. – Patrick Carey, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Caylor Williams (USA), tech fall 0-8
130 kg/286 lbs. – Toby Erickson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
LOSS Kurban Nazhmudinov (Russia), pin 0:56
