Sancho, Hancock score big Greco-Roman semifinal wins at Dave Schultz Memorial
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Alejandro Sancho of the New York AC tosses Dylan Ness of the Minnesota Storm in the 66 kg semifinals at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The final pairings have been set in Greco-Roman during the morning session of the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Thursday morning.
Alejandro Sancho of the New York AC, ranked No. 2 on the Greco-Roman national team, went to the wire with former Minnesota star Dylan Ness of the Minnesota Storm, before winning, 9-5 in the semifinals.
Ness led in the first period, 1-0, and had a four-point throw taken away due to a leg foul. Ness kept up the pressure the entire match. During a late exchange, officials discussed an action where Ness seemed to take the lead, but the score ended up 5-5. Sancho nailed a four-point throw with three seconds left to close it out at 9-5.
Sancho comes off a disappointing fifth place finish at the U.S. Open in December. He will battle talented RaVaughan Perkins of Ready RP National in the finals, who used a late pushout to break a 2-2 tie to defeat Marco Lara of the U.S. Army WCAP in the other semifinal.
"Dylan is a tall guy and is very strong but I just outworked him when it came down to wrestling. I have been wrestling longer than he has and I have better positioning and things like that. It was a tough match for sure. It was tied late at 5-5 and I wanted to leave my mark that I was going to win so I hit him with the throw in the final seconds. He tried to stand up and I just tossed him,” said Sancho.
2015 Junior World Team member G’Angelo Hancock of the Front Range WC defeated veteran Jarod Trice of the Titan Mercury WC, 5-0 in the semifinals. Hancock led 2-0 at the break, and added a second-period takedown and a pushout to close out the win.
"That match meant a lot to me personally after going out to the Bill Farrell in New York. I wrestled Trice and had a really close match with him in the semifinals but I lost by a point. I am impressed by myself that I could come out and get my revenge. I’m feeling good,” he said.
Hancock placed third in the recent U.S. Open in December. A Colorado Springs native, Hancock trains full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and has made impressive progress in the last two seasons.
Making the finals at 130 kg/286 lbs. was 42-year-old Matt Lamb of the U.S. Army WCAP, who defeated Tyrell Fortune of the Titan Mercury WC, 3-1 in the semifinals. Lamb scored his first point on a passivity call, then turned Fortune for two exposure points, before a Fortune reversal. Lamb has drawn 2015 World Team Trials runner-up Toby Erickson of the New York AC in the finals.
Lamb, who competed many years for the U.S. Navy, took 11 years off from wrestling before returning for the Armed Forces Championships in 2015. He placed fourth at the U.S. Open in December.
“I knew he was good at Greco in the Juniors and Cadets and was a dangerous folkstyle guy. I just wanted to wrestle a tough match and maintain good position. I almost gave up a turn in par terre. At the U.S. Open in December, my offense was not good. The focus of this tournament is to get my offense going,” said Lamb.
The USA dominated the semifinal round, placing 10 athletes in the gold-medal finals. Joining Mejia as a foreign athlete in the finals was Amer Hrustanovic of Austria who beat Ryan Hope of the USA, 3-0 at 85 kg/187.5 lbs. Hrustanovic will battle Courtney Meyers of the U.S. Marine Corps in the finals.
2015 World Team Trials runner-up Dylan Cowan of the U.S. Army WCAP reached the finals at 75 kg/165 lbs., where he will face Corey Hope of the New York AC.
The other all-USA finals is at 59 kg/130 lbs., where Northern Michigan wrestler Sammy Jones of the New York AC will battle Army star Jermaine Hodge for the title.
The gold-medal and bronze-medal finals will be held at 4:00 p.m. MT. The tournament is being broadcast live by Flowrestling.
The Dave Schultz Memorial International is included in the #Road2IowaCity series of events which serve as qualifiers for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling in Iowa City, Iowa, April 9-10. The highest placing American wrestler in each weight class who wins a medal and has not yet qualified will earn a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. There will be as many as six Greco-Roman berths up for grabs in this competition.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., January 28
Greco-Roman semifinal results
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Sammy Jones (USA) dec. Max Nowry (USA), 7-2
Jermaine Hodge (USA) dec. Justin LaValle (USA), 4-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Alejandro Sancho (USA) dec. Dylan Ness (USA), 9-5
RaVaughan Perkins (USA) dec. Marco Lara (USA), 4-2
75 kg/165 lbs.
Dylan Cowan (USA) tech. Jamal Bey (USA), 11-3
Corey Hope (USA) tech. Alec Ortiz (USA), 10-0
85 kg/187.5 lbs.
Amer Hrustanovic (Austria) dec. Ryan Hope (USA), 3-0
Courtney Meyers (USA) dec. Khymbakhy Johnson (USA), 10-4
98 kg/215 lbs.
Kevin Mejia (Honduras) tech. Endhyr Meza (USA), 9-0
G'Angelo Hancock (USA) dec. Jarod Trice (USA), 5-0
130 kg/286 lbs.
Toby Erickson (USA) tech. fall Zach Merrill (USA), 8-0
Matthew Lamb (USA) dec. Tyrell Fortune (USA), 3-1
Greco-Roman finals pairing
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Sammy Jones (USA) vs. Jermaine Hodge (USA)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Alejandro Sancho (USA) vs. RaVaughan Perkins (USA)
75 kg/165 lbs. - Dylan Cowan (USA) vs. Corey Hope (USA)
85 kg/187.5 lbs. - Amer Hrustanovic (Austria) vs. Courtney Meyers (USA)
98 kg/215 lbs. - Kevin Mejia (Honduras) vs. G'Angelo Hancock (USA)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Toby Erickson (USA) vs. Matthew Lamb (USA)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The final pairings have been set in Greco-Roman during the morning session of the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Thursday morning.
Alejandro Sancho of the New York AC, ranked No. 2 on the Greco-Roman national team, went to the wire with former Minnesota star Dylan Ness of the Minnesota Storm, before winning, 9-5 in the semifinals.
Ness led in the first period, 1-0, and had a four-point throw taken away due to a leg foul. Ness kept up the pressure the entire match. During a late exchange, officials discussed an action where Ness seemed to take the lead, but the score ended up 5-5. Sancho nailed a four-point throw with three seconds left to close it out at 9-5.
Sancho comes off a disappointing fifth place finish at the U.S. Open in December. He will battle talented RaVaughan Perkins of Ready RP National in the finals, who used a late pushout to break a 2-2 tie to defeat Marco Lara of the U.S. Army WCAP in the other semifinal.
"Dylan is a tall guy and is very strong but I just outworked him when it came down to wrestling. I have been wrestling longer than he has and I have better positioning and things like that. It was a tough match for sure. It was tied late at 5-5 and I wanted to leave my mark that I was going to win so I hit him with the throw in the final seconds. He tried to stand up and I just tossed him,” said Sancho.
2015 Junior World Team member G’Angelo Hancock of the Front Range WC defeated veteran Jarod Trice of the Titan Mercury WC, 5-0 in the semifinals. Hancock led 2-0 at the break, and added a second-period takedown and a pushout to close out the win.
"That match meant a lot to me personally after going out to the Bill Farrell in New York. I wrestled Trice and had a really close match with him in the semifinals but I lost by a point. I am impressed by myself that I could come out and get my revenge. I’m feeling good,” he said.
Hancock placed third in the recent U.S. Open in December. A Colorado Springs native, Hancock trains full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and has made impressive progress in the last two seasons.
Making the finals at 130 kg/286 lbs. was 42-year-old Matt Lamb of the U.S. Army WCAP, who defeated Tyrell Fortune of the Titan Mercury WC, 3-1 in the semifinals. Lamb scored his first point on a passivity call, then turned Fortune for two exposure points, before a Fortune reversal. Lamb has drawn 2015 World Team Trials runner-up Toby Erickson of the New York AC in the finals.
Lamb, who competed many years for the U.S. Navy, took 11 years off from wrestling before returning for the Armed Forces Championships in 2015. He placed fourth at the U.S. Open in December.
“I knew he was good at Greco in the Juniors and Cadets and was a dangerous folkstyle guy. I just wanted to wrestle a tough match and maintain good position. I almost gave up a turn in par terre. At the U.S. Open in December, my offense was not good. The focus of this tournament is to get my offense going,” said Lamb.
The USA dominated the semifinal round, placing 10 athletes in the gold-medal finals. Joining Mejia as a foreign athlete in the finals was Amer Hrustanovic of Austria who beat Ryan Hope of the USA, 3-0 at 85 kg/187.5 lbs. Hrustanovic will battle Courtney Meyers of the U.S. Marine Corps in the finals.
2015 World Team Trials runner-up Dylan Cowan of the U.S. Army WCAP reached the finals at 75 kg/165 lbs., where he will face Corey Hope of the New York AC.
The other all-USA finals is at 59 kg/130 lbs., where Northern Michigan wrestler Sammy Jones of the New York AC will battle Army star Jermaine Hodge for the title.
The gold-medal and bronze-medal finals will be held at 4:00 p.m. MT. The tournament is being broadcast live by Flowrestling.
The Dave Schultz Memorial International is included in the #Road2IowaCity series of events which serve as qualifiers for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling in Iowa City, Iowa, April 9-10. The highest placing American wrestler in each weight class who wins a medal and has not yet qualified will earn a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. There will be as many as six Greco-Roman berths up for grabs in this competition.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., January 28
Greco-Roman semifinal results
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Sammy Jones (USA) dec. Max Nowry (USA), 7-2
Jermaine Hodge (USA) dec. Justin LaValle (USA), 4-0
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Alejandro Sancho (USA) dec. Dylan Ness (USA), 9-5
RaVaughan Perkins (USA) dec. Marco Lara (USA), 4-2
75 kg/165 lbs.
Dylan Cowan (USA) tech. Jamal Bey (USA), 11-3
Corey Hope (USA) tech. Alec Ortiz (USA), 10-0
85 kg/187.5 lbs.
Amer Hrustanovic (Austria) dec. Ryan Hope (USA), 3-0
Courtney Meyers (USA) dec. Khymbakhy Johnson (USA), 10-4
98 kg/215 lbs.
Kevin Mejia (Honduras) tech. Endhyr Meza (USA), 9-0
G'Angelo Hancock (USA) dec. Jarod Trice (USA), 5-0
130 kg/286 lbs.
Toby Erickson (USA) tech. fall Zach Merrill (USA), 8-0
Matthew Lamb (USA) dec. Tyrell Fortune (USA), 3-1
Greco-Roman finals pairing
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Sammy Jones (USA) vs. Jermaine Hodge (USA)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Alejandro Sancho (USA) vs. RaVaughan Perkins (USA)
75 kg/165 lbs. - Dylan Cowan (USA) vs. Corey Hope (USA)
85 kg/187.5 lbs. - Amer Hrustanovic (Austria) vs. Courtney Meyers (USA)
98 kg/215 lbs. - Kevin Mejia (Honduras) vs. G'Angelo Hancock (USA)
130 kg/286 lbs. - Toby Erickson (USA) vs. Matthew Lamb (USA)
