Escobedo falls in Yasar Dogu quarterfinals; Four U.S. wrestlers receive draws for Saturday competition

Angel Escobedo (USA) fell in the Yasar Dogu quarterfinals on Friday. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The U.S. fell short of the medal rounds on day one of the 2016 Yasar Dogu International with 2013 World Team member Angel Escobedo being the only American in action.


Escobedo posted a solid 2-1 record on the day, scoring wins over Sodnomdash Batbold of Mongolia and 2015 U23 European Championships bronze medalist Nebi Uzun of Turkey to make the 57 kg/125.5 lbs. quarterfinals.


Standing opposite Escobedo in the quarterfinals was 2015 Asian silver medalist Samat Nadyrbek of Kyrgyzstan. Escobedo fell in a tight 7-6 bout and was not pulled into the repechage.


"Angel wrestled a decent day in three matches scoring points early in the first periods of each bout,” said U.S. men’s freestyle coach Bill Zadick. “In his third match, he did a good job battling back and putting himself in a position to win, scoring a four-point knee tap, to go ahead before being rolled through in the final seconds.”


Four U.S. athletes have weighed in and received their draws for tomorrow’s competition in Istanbul.


Three-time World champion and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs will return to international competition for the first time since winning his third World title in Last Vegas last September. Burroughs will open the competition against past World Team member for Turkey, Ender Coskun, at 74 kg/163 lbs.


Also competing at 74 kg for the U.S. is 2015 Bill Farrell International silver medalist Dan Vallimont. He is set to face two-time World bronze medalist Yabrail Hasanov of Azerbaijan in the opening round.


2015 U.S. World Team member Zach Rey and two-time NCAA champion Tony Nelson will compete at 125 kg/275 lbs. for the U.S. tomorrow. Rey will face fifth place finisher from the 2015 World Championships, Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat of Mongolia, to start the tournament. Nelson is slated to face last year’s Yasar Dogu bronze medalist, Tanju Gemici of Turkey, in the first round.


“We will have four guys - Vallimont, Burroughs, Nelson, and Rey - going tomorrow and will look to improve upon what was done today,” said Zadick.


Competition will begin at 6 a.m. (EST) on Saturday with the medal matches starting at approximately 11 a.m. (EST). The Turkey Wrestling Federation is providing a live stream of the event that can be viewed at unitedworldwrestling.org.

YASAR DOGU INTERNATIONAL

Feb. 5-7 at Istanbul, Turkey

U.S. men’s freestyle results

57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Angel Escobedo, Ames, Iowa (New York AC)

WIN Sodnomdash Batbold (Mongolia), 12-2

WIN Nebi Uzun (Turkey), 8-5

LOSS Samat Nadyrbek (Kyrgyzstan), 6-7

U.S. men’s freestyle draw for Saturday

74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC)

VS Ender Coskun (Turkey), 2013 Grand Prix of Spain bronze, 2009 World Team member


74 kg/163 lbs. – Dan Vallimont, Long Beach, N.Y. (New York AC/Blue & Gold WC)

VS Yabrail Hasanov (Azerbaijan), Two-time World bronze medalist


125 kg/275 lbs. – Anthony Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)

VS Tanju Gemici (Turkey), 2015 Yasar Dogu International bronze


125 kg/275 lbs. – Zachery Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley AC)

VS Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat (Mongolia), 2015 World Championships 5th place, 2012 Olympian