Young Micic, Waters score big 57 kg freestyle semifinal wins at Dave Schultz Memorial
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Stevan Micic of the New York AC controls Dan Mitcheff of the New York AC in the 57 kg semifinals. Photo by John Sachs.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The final pairings have been set in freestyle during the morning session of the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Friday morning.
One of the most loaded weight classes in the tournament is 57 kg/125.5 lbs., which featured a number of top athletes, many still seeking a berth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. It was a pair of young talents who emerged with big semifinals wins.
2015 Junior World bronze medalist Stevan Micic of the New York AC scored an impressive 8-2 win over Dan Mitcheff of the New York AC in his semifinal.
“I just knew that I’ve got to stick to my stuff, keep moving and everything and I’d get him opened up, so it was kind of tough. He’s long. He’s bigger than me, so he was hard to get a grab of at the beginning. I think I just kind of wore him down and got to what I was good at,” said Micic.
Micic, 19, wrestled for Northwestern last season but has transferred to Michigan. He has been active in freestyle wrestling all season.
“I like what I’m doing right now, so I’m just going to keep that attitude that’s in my head and, you know, I’m still trying to figure out some stuff with how I wrestle in tournaments. Trying to figure out my warmup routine, my before match routine to master what I’m thinking in my head when I’m actually wrestling, so what I’m doing right now, it seems like I’m it’s working pretty well. I’m getting adjusted to wrestling some Senior tournaments now and I’m feeling really confident in myself,” said Micic.
On the other side, former Missouri All-American Alan Waters of the Missouri Wrestling Foundation opened up his offense for a big 10-0 technical fall over Brad Pataky of the Nittany Lion WC. Waters is just 24 years old.
Pataky had a quarterfinal win over 2015 U.S. Open runner-up Andrew Hochstrasser of the Cowboy WC, 10-9, while Waters defeated 2010 U.S. World Team member Obe Blanc of the Titan Mercury WC, 10-0. Waters had three technical falls in the morning session.
“I’ve been getting to my shots. It’s what I’ve had trouble with earlier at the other tournaments. I’ve done a good job of that today. I’ve gotten to all my takedowns and once I get on top I’m real confident there. I’m feeling a little bit better, getting my body used to it, getting out of the folkstyle mold,” said Waters.
The semifinal pairing at 65 kg/143 lbs. will include B.J. Futrell of the Titan Mercury WC against Jayson Ness of the Minnesota Storm.
Futrell was leading tough Nazar Kulchytskyy of the Titan Mercury WC 2-1 in the second period, and scored a late takedown to secure a 4-1 win.
“It was a tough match. He’s a competitor. He’s pretty big for the weight class too. He’s strong, athletic, he can score a lot, so just like any match I’ve got to stick to where I’m good and try to put up points, try to make it exciting. Preferably, I wouldn’t want to win 4-1, but in those tight matches you’ve just got to gut it out,” said Futrell.
Futrell has returned this year after some time off the mat for injury.
“After having such a long layoff, for two years, I feel like the more and more I compete the better I’m going to be. More than that I’ve always felt like my best match was ahead of me. I’ve still got a burning desire, burning passion. Passion is not about the convenience of an easy life, but t’s about following the conviction no matter the cost, so I’m willing to put the work in. I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m excited about what’s ahead,” said Futrell.
Ness, a past NCAA champion for Minnesota, opened it up for a 10-0 technical fall over Chase Pami in his semifinals bout.
There was a re-wrestled quarterfinals match at 97 kg/213 lbs. The original match was a 2-2 criteria decision for Enock Francois of the New York AC over Matthew Gibson of the Cyclone WC, 2-2. A protest was lodged over a scoring error and the decision was to re-do the match. In the second battle, Gibson won by a 10-0 technical fall to advance to the semifinals.
J.T. Felix of the Titan Mercury WC defeated Gibson in the semifinals by technical fall, 10-0. In the finals, he will battle two-time World Team member J.D. Bergman of the New York AC, who pinned David Zabriskie of the Lehigh Valley AC in the first period of their semifinal.
The USA dominated the semifinal round. The only international athlete to reach the finals was 2014 World bronze medalist Bekzod Abdurakhmanov of Uzbekistan, who scored a 10-0 technical fall over Anthony Valencia of the Sunkist Kids. Abdurakhmanov wrestled for Clarion University, where he was an All-American.
Abdurakhmanov’s finals opponent is Kevin LeValley of the Buffalo Valley RTC, who stopped Andrew Sorenson of the Panther WC RTC, 10-3 in his semifinal.
Reaching the finals at 86 kg/189 lbs. were veteran wrestlers Deron Winn and Austin Trotman, both who compete for the Titan Mercury WC.
The champion has already been decided at 125 kg/275 lbs., as three wrestlers were withdrawn from the tournament prior to the start of the session, leaving just two entries. Matthew Meuleners of the Titan Mercury WC defeated Benjamin Durbin of the Cyclone WC, 5-0 to win the gold medal.
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 are as many as six freestyle berths up for grabs in this competition.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., January 29
Freestyle semifinal results
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Alan Waters (USA) tech. fall Brad Pataky (USA), 10-0
Stevan Micic (USA) dec. Dan Mitcheff (USA), 8-2
65 kg/143 lbs.
B.J. Futrell (USA) dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy, 4-1
Jayson Ness (USA) tech. Chase Pami (USA), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs.
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (UZB) tech. Anthony Valencia, 10-0 (USA)
Kevin LeValley (USA) dec. Andrew Sorenson (USA), 10-3
86 kg/189 lbs.
Deron Winn (USA) dec. Robert Hamlin (USA), 7-1
Austin Trotman (USA) dec. Ryan Loder (USA), 8-2
97 kg/213 lbs.
J.D. Bergman (USA) pin David Zabriskie (USA), 1:21
J.T. Felix (USA) tech. fall Matthew Gibson (USA), 10-0
Championship match at 125 kg/286 lbs.
1st - Matthew Meuleners (USA/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Benjamin Durbin (Cyclone WC), 5-0
Freestyle finals pairings, set for 4:00 p.m. MT
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Alan Waters (USA/Missouri Wrestling Foundation) vs. Stevan Micic (USA/New York AC)
65 kg/143 lbs. - B.J. Futrell (USA/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jayson Ness (USA/Minnesota Storm)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan) vs. Kevin LeValley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC)
86 kg/189 lbs. - Deron Winn (USA/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Austin Trotman (USA/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg/213 lbs. - J.D. Bergman (USA/New York AC) vs. J.T. Felix (USA/Titan Mercury WC)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The final pairings have been set in freestyle during the morning session of the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Friday morning.
One of the most loaded weight classes in the tournament is 57 kg/125.5 lbs., which featured a number of top athletes, many still seeking a berth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. It was a pair of young talents who emerged with big semifinals wins.
2015 Junior World bronze medalist Stevan Micic of the New York AC scored an impressive 8-2 win over Dan Mitcheff of the New York AC in his semifinal.
“I just knew that I’ve got to stick to my stuff, keep moving and everything and I’d get him opened up, so it was kind of tough. He’s long. He’s bigger than me, so he was hard to get a grab of at the beginning. I think I just kind of wore him down and got to what I was good at,” said Micic.
Micic, 19, wrestled for Northwestern last season but has transferred to Michigan. He has been active in freestyle wrestling all season.
“I like what I’m doing right now, so I’m just going to keep that attitude that’s in my head and, you know, I’m still trying to figure out some stuff with how I wrestle in tournaments. Trying to figure out my warmup routine, my before match routine to master what I’m thinking in my head when I’m actually wrestling, so what I’m doing right now, it seems like I’m it’s working pretty well. I’m getting adjusted to wrestling some Senior tournaments now and I’m feeling really confident in myself,” said Micic.
On the other side, former Missouri All-American Alan Waters of the Missouri Wrestling Foundation opened up his offense for a big 10-0 technical fall over Brad Pataky of the Nittany Lion WC. Waters is just 24 years old.
Pataky had a quarterfinal win over 2015 U.S. Open runner-up Andrew Hochstrasser of the Cowboy WC, 10-9, while Waters defeated 2010 U.S. World Team member Obe Blanc of the Titan Mercury WC, 10-0. Waters had three technical falls in the morning session.
“I’ve been getting to my shots. It’s what I’ve had trouble with earlier at the other tournaments. I’ve done a good job of that today. I’ve gotten to all my takedowns and once I get on top I’m real confident there. I’m feeling a little bit better, getting my body used to it, getting out of the folkstyle mold,” said Waters.
The semifinal pairing at 65 kg/143 lbs. will include B.J. Futrell of the Titan Mercury WC against Jayson Ness of the Minnesota Storm.
Futrell was leading tough Nazar Kulchytskyy of the Titan Mercury WC 2-1 in the second period, and scored a late takedown to secure a 4-1 win.
“It was a tough match. He’s a competitor. He’s pretty big for the weight class too. He’s strong, athletic, he can score a lot, so just like any match I’ve got to stick to where I’m good and try to put up points, try to make it exciting. Preferably, I wouldn’t want to win 4-1, but in those tight matches you’ve just got to gut it out,” said Futrell.
Futrell has returned this year after some time off the mat for injury.
“After having such a long layoff, for two years, I feel like the more and more I compete the better I’m going to be. More than that I’ve always felt like my best match was ahead of me. I’ve still got a burning desire, burning passion. Passion is not about the convenience of an easy life, but t’s about following the conviction no matter the cost, so I’m willing to put the work in. I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m excited about what’s ahead,” said Futrell.
Ness, a past NCAA champion for Minnesota, opened it up for a 10-0 technical fall over Chase Pami in his semifinals bout.
There was a re-wrestled quarterfinals match at 97 kg/213 lbs. The original match was a 2-2 criteria decision for Enock Francois of the New York AC over Matthew Gibson of the Cyclone WC, 2-2. A protest was lodged over a scoring error and the decision was to re-do the match. In the second battle, Gibson won by a 10-0 technical fall to advance to the semifinals.
J.T. Felix of the Titan Mercury WC defeated Gibson in the semifinals by technical fall, 10-0. In the finals, he will battle two-time World Team member J.D. Bergman of the New York AC, who pinned David Zabriskie of the Lehigh Valley AC in the first period of their semifinal.
The USA dominated the semifinal round. The only international athlete to reach the finals was 2014 World bronze medalist Bekzod Abdurakhmanov of Uzbekistan, who scored a 10-0 technical fall over Anthony Valencia of the Sunkist Kids. Abdurakhmanov wrestled for Clarion University, where he was an All-American.
Abdurakhmanov’s finals opponent is Kevin LeValley of the Buffalo Valley RTC, who stopped Andrew Sorenson of the Panther WC RTC, 10-3 in his semifinal.
Reaching the finals at 86 kg/189 lbs. were veteran wrestlers Deron Winn and Austin Trotman, both who compete for the Titan Mercury WC.
The champion has already been decided at 125 kg/275 lbs., as three wrestlers were withdrawn from the tournament prior to the start of the session, leaving just two entries. Matthew Meuleners of the Titan Mercury WC defeated Benjamin Durbin of the Cyclone WC, 5-0 to win the gold medal.
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 are as many as six freestyle berths up for grabs in this competition.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., January 29
Freestyle semifinal results
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Alan Waters (USA) tech. fall Brad Pataky (USA), 10-0
Stevan Micic (USA) dec. Dan Mitcheff (USA), 8-2
65 kg/143 lbs.
B.J. Futrell (USA) dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy, 4-1
Jayson Ness (USA) tech. Chase Pami (USA), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs.
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (UZB) tech. Anthony Valencia, 10-0 (USA)
Kevin LeValley (USA) dec. Andrew Sorenson (USA), 10-3
86 kg/189 lbs.
Deron Winn (USA) dec. Robert Hamlin (USA), 7-1
Austin Trotman (USA) dec. Ryan Loder (USA), 8-2
97 kg/213 lbs.
J.D. Bergman (USA) pin David Zabriskie (USA), 1:21
J.T. Felix (USA) tech. fall Matthew Gibson (USA), 10-0
Championship match at 125 kg/286 lbs.
1st - Matthew Meuleners (USA/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Benjamin Durbin (Cyclone WC), 5-0
Freestyle finals pairings, set for 4:00 p.m. MT
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Alan Waters (USA/Missouri Wrestling Foundation) vs. Stevan Micic (USA/New York AC)
65 kg/143 lbs. - B.J. Futrell (USA/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jayson Ness (USA/Minnesota Storm)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan) vs. Kevin LeValley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC)
86 kg/189 lbs. - Deron Winn (USA/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Austin Trotman (USA/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg/213 lbs. - J.D. Bergman (USA/New York AC) vs. J.T. Felix (USA/Titan Mercury WC)
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