McHenry golden, U.S. claims four men's freestyle medals at Cadet Worlds

Cadet World champion Kurt McHenry after winning the gold medal. Photo: Gerhard Remus, RingerSpiegel.ch

VIDEO: 2016 Cadet World Championships Interviews

TBILISI, Georgia – The U.S. men’s freestyle team sits atop the team standings after the first day of competition at the 2016 Cadet World Championships with four individuals earning a medal on Saturday evening.

The electric Kurt McHenry stole the show at New Sports Palace with an instant classic win in the gold medal match to become the first Cadet World Champion for the U.S. this week in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Taking on Cadet European champion Mahir Mammadzada of Azerbaijan in the 42 kg/92.5 lbs. gold medal match, McHenry jumped out to an early 4-0 lead courtesy of two slick takedown conversions. Mammadzada returned with four points of his own to lead McHenry on criteria, 4-4, late in the match. With less than five seconds remaining McHenry exposed his Azerbaijani foe from neutral to go ahead for good. After a lost challenge from Mammadzada, McHenry won by a final 7-5 tally.

“I was just focused. I didn’t want to come out here and play any games. I wanted to get the job done,” McHenry said following his gold medal win. “To be the best you have to beat the best. I really didn’t care who I had to wrestle. I just wrestled the body. I didn’t wrestle his name. I didn’t wrestle his country. I went out there and put it on him.”

Also in the finals for the U.S. was New York native Vito Arujau at 58 kg/127.75 lbs. Arujau went back and forth with Iran’s Amirhossein Maghsoudi, but was defeated in a high-paced, 12-8 affair that went down to the final whistle.

“I’m proud of Vito for getting second in the World,” U.S. coach Brandon Slay said of Arujau after his finals bout. “Vito, if he wouldn’t have made a few of those mistakes he would have been the World champion tonight, and I know that’s hard for him, but he’ll learn the lesson…he’ll fail forward and get better because of it.”

Americans David Carr and Jacob Warner were successful in their bronze medal bids on Saturday night with both men dominating their final opponents.

Carr picked up three takedowns, and controlled the pace throughout his bronze medal match at 69 kg/152 lbs. against Gegham Galstyan of Armenia. When the final buzzer sounded it was Carr on top, 7-2.

“I didn’t want to leave here without a medal,” Carr stated at day’s end. “I was really hard on myself because of the way I lost. My brother called me. I had a lot of support by a lot of people, and it really helped me get through that match.”

Warner left no doubt in the 85 kg/187.4 lbs. bronze medal bout as he blasted through Jakub Szymula of Poland, 11-0. Warner scored four takedowns, a turn and a step out over the duration of the match to win a World medal in his first international appearance.

“It takes a lot of character to come back after a loss, especially the type of loss I had, 4-4 loss on criteria. Basically didn’t wrestle that second period and it cost me a potential gold medal. Coming back, I was pretty heartbroken, but with the help of my coaches I was able to get my mind right again and realize I need to come back for bronze, not only for myself, but for the team,” said Warner.

Entering the final day of competition at the Cadet Worlds the U.S. leads second place Iran by one point and third place Russia by three points in the team race with a bevy of Red, White and Blue firepower yet to take the mat.

2015 Cadet World champions Yianni Diakomihalis and Gable Steveson headline a U.S. lineup for Sunday that boasts a medal threat in every weight class.

“I think any day you can come to a World Championships and win four medals out of five weight classes on the first day I think it’s a good day. Five medals would have been a great day, but I think it was a good day, and I think it put us in a position tomorrow to go after the team title,” added Slay.

The men’s freestyle competition at the Cadet World Championships concludes tomorrow with the qualification and repechage rounds at 2 a.m. (ET) followed by the medal matches at 10 a.m. (ET).

Flowrestling will provide a live stream and archived matches of the 2016 Cadet World Championships to U.S. spectators at Flowrestling.org. A Flo Pro membership is required to view the competition. 

Complete brackets and match-by-match results can be viewed at unitedworldwrestling.org.

2016 CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sept. 13-18 at Tbilisi, Georgia

Final Results
42 kg/92.5 lbs.
Gold – Kurt McHenry (United States)
Silver – Mahir Mammadzada (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Magomed Abdurakhmanov (Russia)
Bronze – Giorgi Gegelashvili (Georgia)
5th – Seyed Azimisiyacheghaei (Iran)
5th – Abdymalik Karachov (Kyrgyzstan)
7th – Arakel Movsesyan (Armenia)
8th – Oleg Gaydar (Ukraine)
9th – Saurabh Igave (India)
10th – Natan Serebrinsky (Israel)

Gold – Kurt McHenry (United States) dec. Mahir Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), 7-5
Bronze – Magomed Abdurakhmanov (Russia) dec. Seyed Azimisiyacheghaei (Iran), 4-3
Bronze – Giorgi Gegelashvili (Georgia) fall Abdymalik Karachov (Kyrgyzstan), 3:50

50 kg/110 lbs.
Gold – Petr Kopylov (Russia)
Silver – Amir Parasteh (Iran)
Bronze – Tornike Katamadze (Georgia)
Bronze – Engin Cetin (Turkey)
5th – Daigo Hattori (Japan)
5th – Asgar Mammadaliyev (Azerbaijan)
7th – Horst Lehr (Germany)
8th – Aaron Cashman (United States)
9th – Roberto Alejandro Blano (Mexico)
10th – Xander Coetzee (South Africa)

Gold – Petr Kopylov (Russia) dec. Amir Parasteh (Iran), 8-5
Bronze – Tornike Katamadze (Georgia) dec. Daigo Hattori (Japan), 8-6
Bronze – Engin Cetin (Turkey) dec. Asgar Mammadaliyev (Azerbaijan), 7-0

58 kg/127.75 lbs.
Gold – Amirhossein Maghsoudi (Iran)
Silver – Vitali Arujau (United States)
Bronze – Vadim Bikoev (Russia)
Bronze – Denys Borohan (Ukraine)
5th – Giorgi Elbakidze (Georgia)
5th – Ryuto Sakaki (Japan)
7th – Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia)
8th – Nicolai Grahmez (Moldova)
9th – Daur Psardiia (Azerbaijan)
10th – Adil Ospanov (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Amirhossein Maghsoudi (Iran) dec. Vitali Arujau (United States), 12-8
Bronze – Vadim Bikoev (Russia) dec. Giorgi Elbakidze (Georgia), 11-8
Bronze – Denys Borohan (Ukraine) dec. Ryuto Sakaki (Japan), 3-3

69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold – Abubakr Abakarov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Sajjad Gholami (Iran)
Bronze – Dogukan Kalayci (Turkey)
Bronze – David Carr (United States)
5th – Yuto Izutsu (Japan)
5th – Gegham Galstyan (Armenia)
7th – Kutambek Keneshbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Musa Magomedov (Russia)
9th – Yevhenii Dubovyi (Ukraine)
10th – Durgut Tasim (Bulgaria)

Gold – Abubakr Abakarov (Azerbaijan) dec. Sajjad Gholami (Iran), 6-3
Bronze – Dogukan Kalayci (Turkey) dec. Yuto Izutsu (Japan), 11-10
Bronze – David Carr (United States) dec. Gegham Galstyan (Armenia), 7-2

85 kg/187.4 lbs.
Gold – Deepak Punia (India)
Silver – Nail Seyyar (Turkey)
Bronze – Jacob Warner (United States)
Bronze – Alik Shebzukhov (Russia)
5th – Jakub Szymula (Poland)
5th – Mher Markosyan (Armenia)
7th – Simon Oksaniani (Georgia)
8th – Kuanysh Karabek (Kazakhstan)
9th – Davlatbek Ashurov (Uzbekistan)
10th – Seyedabolfazl Hashemijouybari (Iran)

Gold – Deepak Punia (India) dec. Nail Seyyar (Turkey), 9-5
Bronze – Jacob Warner (United States) dec. Jakub Szymula (Poland), 11-0
Bronze – Alik Shebzukhov (Russia) dec. Mher Markosyan (Armenia), 5-0

U.S. men’s freestyle results
42 kg/92.5 lbs. - Kurt McHenry, Leesburg, Va., Gold
WIN Seyed Azimisiyacheghaei (Iran), 6-4
WIN Arakel Movsesyan (Armenia), 10-0
WIN Magomed Abdurakhmanov (Russia), 11-0
WIN Mahir Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), 7-5

50 kg/110 lbs. - Aaron Cashman, Spring Park, Minn., 8th
WIN Azim Mamyshev (Kyrgyzstan), 15-4
LOSS Amir Parasteh (Iran), 7-1
LOSS Engin Cetin (Turkey), 8-2

58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Vitali Arujau, Syosset, N.Y., Silver
WIN Hector Candelaria Rivera (Puerto Rico), 10-0
WIN Ryuto Sakaki (Japan), 9-6
WIN Denys Borohan (Ukraine), 10-0
LOSS Amirhossein Maghsoudi (Iran), 12-8

69 kg/152 lbs. - David Carr, Massillon, Ohio, Bronze
WIN Davud Alizalau (Belarus), 11-0
WIN Yevhenii Dubovyi (Ukraine), 10-2
LOSS Sajjad Gholami (Iran), 8-8
WIN Gegham Galstyan (Armenia), 7-2

85 kg/187.4 lbs. - Jacob Warner, Washington, Ill., Bronze
WIN Gheorghe Erhan (Moldova), Fall 1:20
WIN Davlatbek Ashurov (Uzbekistan), 10-0
LOSS Deepak Punia (India), 4-4
WIN Simon Oksaniani (Georgia), 8-2
WIN Jakub Szymula (Poland), 11-0