UPDATE: Kasser wins gold as nine Americans get freestyle medals at Veterans Worlds in Greece
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Video capture of James Kasser winning the gold medal at 63 kg in Div. D at the Veterans World Championships in Greece.
ATHENS, Greece – James Kasser of Lewis Center, Ohio claimed a gold medal at 63 kg in Div. D, the top U.S. performance in men’s freestyle on the second day of the Veterans World Championships on Wednesday.
Kasser won his fourth career Veterans World title, to go along with gold medals in both 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Kasser defeated Sergei Nogovitsyn of Russia, 8-7 in the gold-medal match. He also scored a semifinal win over Mykhaylo Nylypyuk of Ukraine, 10-2.
He becomes the second U.S. gold medalist at the Veterans Worlds this year so far, joining Antonio Peraza of Shoreham, N.Y., who won a gold medal at 85 kg in Div. F on Tuesday.
“I'm thrilled to hear our national anthem. This is my fourth world freestyle championships. I trained harder for this one than I ever have before. I'm battered, bruised and will need stitches in my right eye but I'm a World Champion,” said Kasser.
On the day, Team USA won eight men’s freestyle medals.
Claiming a silver medal at 76 kg in Div. D was Bill Newton of San Jose, Calif., who finished with a 3-1 record. He opened with three straight wins, stopping Thorsten Wietzke of Germany, 5-1, Vladislav Egorov of Russia, 5-2 and Aghil Heidari of Iran, 5-2. He was defeated in the finals by Ghasem Jahari Sefid of Iran, 3-13.
Six Americans won bronze medals on Wednesday were:
• Steve Horton of Cibolo, Texas, 69 kg in Div. C
• Kevin Pine of Las Vegas, Nev., 85 kg in Div. C
• Phillip Pine of Elma, Wash., 97 kg in Div. C
• Samuel Thomas of Huntington Station, N.Y., 130 kg in Div. C
• Victor Aybar of Manchester, Md., 58 kg in Div. D
• Petros Petrosyan of Los Alamitos, Calif., 85 kg in Div. D
In the first two days of competition, the United States has won 19 medals.
Competition continues on Thursday with men’s freestyle in Div. A and Div. G, and in women’s freestyle in Div. A.
United World Wrestling will host a live webstream from the Veterans World Championships all week, along with complete results updates at:
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/world-championship-13
VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Athens, Greece
Freestyle champions
Men’s Division C
58 kg – Osman Redzhep (Bulgaria)
63 kg – Shuji Matsuo (Japan)
69 kg – Hamidreza Kenari (Iran)
76 kg – Marat Urusov (Russia)
85 kg – Chynarbek Izabekov (Kyrgyzstan)
97 kg – Habiballah Sarivi (Iran)
130 kg – John Detlef (Germany)
Men’s Division D
58 kg – Zhora Vohannisyan (Armenia)
63 kg – James Kasser (USA)
69 kg – Zakiy Bikbulatov (Russia)
76 kg – Ghasem Jahari (Iran)
85 kg – Asadallah Sheikhreihani (Iran)
97 kg – Christopher Sutton (South Africa)
130 kg – Erol Yildirim (Turkey)
Women’s Div. A
69 kg – Caroline Agnesdotter (Sweden)
U.S. men’s freestyle performances
Div. C
58 kg – Michael Tuck, Smithville, Mo., 4th
LOSS Osman Remzi Redzhep (Bulgaria), 2-1
WIN Seiji Uematsu (Japan), pin
WIN Azim Hemmati (Iran), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Zoltan Tamas (Austria), 8-10
69 kg – Steve Horton, Cibolo, Texas, bronze medal
WIN Stefan Bittman (Germany), 5-3
LOSS Mansour Haghigh Doust (Iran), 7-0
WIN Mustafa Akkaya (Turkey), tech. fall, 0-11
WIN Lorenzo Carigri (Italy), 2-0
76 kg – Jon Banko, Pittsburgh, Pa., 7th
WIN Nikolai Tupolev (Russia), 6-3
LOSS Evgeny Lisitsa (Russia), pin
85 kg – Rodney Fisher, Lewisburg, W.Va., 7th
WIN Azat Sheroyan (Armenia)
LOSS Kevin Pine (USA), 12-0
85 kg – Kevin Pine, Las Vegas, Nev., bronze medal
WIN Ahmadreza Sarlak (Iran), 7-0
WIN Rodney Fisher (USA), 12-0
LOSS Reza Salehi (Iran), 2-8
WIN Elyas Rouhi (Iran), tech. fall 10-0
85 kg – Eric Wayne Cluck, Cumming, Ga., 9th
LOSS Georgii Petrov (Russia), 2-5
85 kg – Robert Kelsoe, Corona, Calif., dnp/11th
LOSS Reza Salehi (Iran), pin
LOSS Elyas Rouhi (Iran), 1-8
97 kg – Phillip Pine, Elma, Wash., bronze medal
WIN Matthys Johanne De Beer (South Africa) injury default
LOSS Habiballah Khaj Sarivi (Iran), 6-12
130 kg – Samuel Thomas, Huntington Station, N.Y., bronze medal
WIN Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran), pin
WIN Jurie Hendrik Reichel (South Africa), pin
LOSS Hossein Kazemi (Iran), 1-10
WIN Anuar Uxumbaev (Kazakhstan)
Div. D
58 kg – Victor Aybar, Manchester, Md., bronze medal
WIN Samoldin Hosseini (Iran)
LOSS Susumu Hashiura (Japan), tech. fall 0-10
WIN Victor Ilyenko (Russia), default
63 kg – James Kasser, Lewis Center, Ohio, gold medal
WIN Mykhaylo Nylypyuk (Ukraine), 10-2
WIN Sergei Nogovitsyn (Russia), 8-7
76 kg – Bill Newton, San Jose, Calif., silver medal
WIN Thorsten Wietzke (Germany), 5-1
WIN Vladislav Egorov (Russia), 5-2
WIN Aghil Heidari (Iran), 5-2
LOSS Ghasem Jahari Sefid (Iran), tech. fall 3-13
85 kg – John Hanrahan, Alpharetta, Ga., 7th
WIN Pesiridis Theodoros (Greece), pin
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), tech fall 0-10
WIN Ahmet Ozbay (Turkey), tech. fall 12-0
LOSS Russell Schenk (USA), 6-8
85 kg – Michael Dean Gordon, Marina Del Rey, Calif., dnp/20th
LOSS Petros Petrosyan (USA), pin
85 kg – Petros Petrosyan, Los Alamitos, Calif., bronze medal
WIN Dimitris Anthanasiadis (Greece), pin
WIN Michael Dean (USA), pin
WIN Reza Najafian (Iran), 10-6
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), pin
WIN Russell Schenk (USA), pin
85 kg – Russell Schenk, Winter Haven, Fla., 5th
WIN Bruce Irwin (Great Britain), 14-4
WIN Aslan Kesaev (Russia), 11-4
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), pin
WIN John Hanrahan (USA), 8-6
LOSS Petros Petrosyan (USA), pin
97 kg – Daniel Studenic, Alpharetta, Ga., dnp/13th
LOSS Radislav Navazhap (Russia), tech. fall 0-10
130 kg – Steven Goss, Bay City, Mich., dnp
LOSS Istvan Foldesi (Hungary), tech. fall, 0-10
130 kg – Brian Jones, Los Angeles, Calif., 9th
LOSS Rovshan Ismayilkhanli (Azerbaijan), pin
ATHENS, Greece – James Kasser of Lewis Center, Ohio claimed a gold medal at 63 kg in Div. D, the top U.S. performance in men’s freestyle on the second day of the Veterans World Championships on Wednesday.
Kasser won his fourth career Veterans World title, to go along with gold medals in both 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Kasser defeated Sergei Nogovitsyn of Russia, 8-7 in the gold-medal match. He also scored a semifinal win over Mykhaylo Nylypyuk of Ukraine, 10-2.
He becomes the second U.S. gold medalist at the Veterans Worlds this year so far, joining Antonio Peraza of Shoreham, N.Y., who won a gold medal at 85 kg in Div. F on Tuesday.
“I'm thrilled to hear our national anthem. This is my fourth world freestyle championships. I trained harder for this one than I ever have before. I'm battered, bruised and will need stitches in my right eye but I'm a World Champion,” said Kasser.
On the day, Team USA won eight men’s freestyle medals.
Claiming a silver medal at 76 kg in Div. D was Bill Newton of San Jose, Calif., who finished with a 3-1 record. He opened with three straight wins, stopping Thorsten Wietzke of Germany, 5-1, Vladislav Egorov of Russia, 5-2 and Aghil Heidari of Iran, 5-2. He was defeated in the finals by Ghasem Jahari Sefid of Iran, 3-13.
Six Americans won bronze medals on Wednesday were:
• Steve Horton of Cibolo, Texas, 69 kg in Div. C
• Kevin Pine of Las Vegas, Nev., 85 kg in Div. C
• Phillip Pine of Elma, Wash., 97 kg in Div. C
• Samuel Thomas of Huntington Station, N.Y., 130 kg in Div. C
• Victor Aybar of Manchester, Md., 58 kg in Div. D
• Petros Petrosyan of Los Alamitos, Calif., 85 kg in Div. D
In the first two days of competition, the United States has won 19 medals.
Competition continues on Thursday with men’s freestyle in Div. A and Div. G, and in women’s freestyle in Div. A.
United World Wrestling will host a live webstream from the Veterans World Championships all week, along with complete results updates at:
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/world-championship-13
VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Athens, Greece
Freestyle champions
Men’s Division C
58 kg – Osman Redzhep (Bulgaria)
63 kg – Shuji Matsuo (Japan)
69 kg – Hamidreza Kenari (Iran)
76 kg – Marat Urusov (Russia)
85 kg – Chynarbek Izabekov (Kyrgyzstan)
97 kg – Habiballah Sarivi (Iran)
130 kg – John Detlef (Germany)
Men’s Division D
58 kg – Zhora Vohannisyan (Armenia)
63 kg – James Kasser (USA)
69 kg – Zakiy Bikbulatov (Russia)
76 kg – Ghasem Jahari (Iran)
85 kg – Asadallah Sheikhreihani (Iran)
97 kg – Christopher Sutton (South Africa)
130 kg – Erol Yildirim (Turkey)
Women’s Div. A
69 kg – Caroline Agnesdotter (Sweden)
U.S. men’s freestyle performances
Div. C
58 kg – Michael Tuck, Smithville, Mo., 4th
LOSS Osman Remzi Redzhep (Bulgaria), 2-1
WIN Seiji Uematsu (Japan), pin
WIN Azim Hemmati (Iran), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Zoltan Tamas (Austria), 8-10
69 kg – Steve Horton, Cibolo, Texas, bronze medal
WIN Stefan Bittman (Germany), 5-3
LOSS Mansour Haghigh Doust (Iran), 7-0
WIN Mustafa Akkaya (Turkey), tech. fall, 0-11
WIN Lorenzo Carigri (Italy), 2-0
76 kg – Jon Banko, Pittsburgh, Pa., 7th
WIN Nikolai Tupolev (Russia), 6-3
LOSS Evgeny Lisitsa (Russia), pin
85 kg – Rodney Fisher, Lewisburg, W.Va., 7th
WIN Azat Sheroyan (Armenia)
LOSS Kevin Pine (USA), 12-0
85 kg – Kevin Pine, Las Vegas, Nev., bronze medal
WIN Ahmadreza Sarlak (Iran), 7-0
WIN Rodney Fisher (USA), 12-0
LOSS Reza Salehi (Iran), 2-8
WIN Elyas Rouhi (Iran), tech. fall 10-0
85 kg – Eric Wayne Cluck, Cumming, Ga., 9th
LOSS Georgii Petrov (Russia), 2-5
85 kg – Robert Kelsoe, Corona, Calif., dnp/11th
LOSS Reza Salehi (Iran), pin
LOSS Elyas Rouhi (Iran), 1-8
97 kg – Phillip Pine, Elma, Wash., bronze medal
WIN Matthys Johanne De Beer (South Africa) injury default
LOSS Habiballah Khaj Sarivi (Iran), 6-12
130 kg – Samuel Thomas, Huntington Station, N.Y., bronze medal
WIN Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran), pin
WIN Jurie Hendrik Reichel (South Africa), pin
LOSS Hossein Kazemi (Iran), 1-10
WIN Anuar Uxumbaev (Kazakhstan)
Div. D
58 kg – Victor Aybar, Manchester, Md., bronze medal
WIN Samoldin Hosseini (Iran)
LOSS Susumu Hashiura (Japan), tech. fall 0-10
WIN Victor Ilyenko (Russia), default
63 kg – James Kasser, Lewis Center, Ohio, gold medal
WIN Mykhaylo Nylypyuk (Ukraine), 10-2
WIN Sergei Nogovitsyn (Russia), 8-7
76 kg – Bill Newton, San Jose, Calif., silver medal
WIN Thorsten Wietzke (Germany), 5-1
WIN Vladislav Egorov (Russia), 5-2
WIN Aghil Heidari (Iran), 5-2
LOSS Ghasem Jahari Sefid (Iran), tech. fall 3-13
85 kg – John Hanrahan, Alpharetta, Ga., 7th
WIN Pesiridis Theodoros (Greece), pin
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), tech fall 0-10
WIN Ahmet Ozbay (Turkey), tech. fall 12-0
LOSS Russell Schenk (USA), 6-8
85 kg – Michael Dean Gordon, Marina Del Rey, Calif., dnp/20th
LOSS Petros Petrosyan (USA), pin
85 kg – Petros Petrosyan, Los Alamitos, Calif., bronze medal
WIN Dimitris Anthanasiadis (Greece), pin
WIN Michael Dean (USA), pin
WIN Reza Najafian (Iran), 10-6
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), pin
WIN Russell Schenk (USA), pin
85 kg – Russell Schenk, Winter Haven, Fla., 5th
WIN Bruce Irwin (Great Britain), 14-4
WIN Aslan Kesaev (Russia), 11-4
LOSS Jose Betancourt (Puerto Rico), pin
WIN John Hanrahan (USA), 8-6
LOSS Petros Petrosyan (USA), pin
97 kg – Daniel Studenic, Alpharetta, Ga., dnp/13th
LOSS Radislav Navazhap (Russia), tech. fall 0-10
130 kg – Steven Goss, Bay City, Mich., dnp
LOSS Istvan Foldesi (Hungary), tech. fall, 0-10
130 kg – Brian Jones, Los Angeles, Calif., 9th
LOSS Rovshan Ismayilkhanli (Azerbaijan), pin
