Ray and Guerin seek bronze in first day of women’s action at 2017 Junior World Championships

VIDEO: Junior World Championships interviews

TAMPERE, Finland – Asia Ray and Cameron Guerin of the U.S. Junior women’s freestyle team advanced to the bronze-medal matches at 44 kg/88 lbs. and 51 kg/112 lbs., respectively, at the 2017 Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Ray (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Storm WC) burst onto the World scene with a 40-second pin against Ersa Koc of Turkey in her first match.

The momentum spurred her to a 6-2 lead in the second period of the quarterfinals against Junior European bronze medalist Beata Kosla of Poland. With more than two minutes left in the bout, Ray put Kosla to her back and earned her second fall of the day.

“I came in a little bit overwhelmed, but once I talked to my coaches, they gave me confidence and said that I deserved to be here. Eventually, I started to realize it and think, ‘why not? Why can’t I win? So that was my mindset going into these matches,” Ray said.

She dropped her semifinals match to 2017 Junior Asian champion Yumei Chen of China in a 13-2 tech fall, sending the Wayland Baptist wrestler to the bronze bout.

Ray will face 2017 Junior Pan American champion Alexia Seal of Canada in her quest for a World medal later today.

Guerin (Yakima, Wash./Team Takedown) dominated his first match at 51 kg/112 lbs. against Yeonso Choi of Korea. One minute into the bout, Guerin scored on a go-behind and wrapped up a high gut for four tilts and a 10-0 win.

In the quarters, Guerin faced returning Junior World champion Kseniia Nezgovorova of Russia. The American led 1-0 at the break, but the 2016 gold medalist scored a takedown and turn before ending the match in 3:52 with a pin.

The Washington native was pulled back into the repechage when Nezgovorova advanced to the finals. In order to earn a spot in the third-place match, Guerin picked off Jadyn Davis of Canada with an 11-3 win. She’ll wrestle Bolor Bat Orshikh of Mongolia for bronze.

“I feel good [about my wrestling so far]. The one I lost, I made a couple of mistakes, but overall I feel really good this tournament,” Guerin said. “Tonight, I’m going to keep with my pressure and good position and give it my all.”

Gracie Figueroa and Alex Glaude were unable to qualify for medal matches, each going 1-1 in the morning session.

2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Figueroa (Selma, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) got off to a great start at 59 kg/130 lbs. with a fast 10-0 tech fall over Leonco Stans of South Africa. In the quarterfinals, she was caught and pinned by Ukraine’s Ilona Prokopevniuk in the second period.

At 67 kg/147 lbs., Glaude (West Sacramento, Calif./Bearcat WC) snagged a 7-4 win against 2017 Senior Asian Championships bronze medalist Hyeonyeong Park of Korea to open her tournament. In the quarters, she lost an 8-0 bout to Romania’s Alexandra Anghel, who won bronze medals at the 2017 Junior and U23 European championships.

The medal matches are set for 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) Tuesday evening. Live stream and brackets can be found on trackwrestling.com. Viewers must pay to watch the live stream.

2017 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aug. 1-6 at Tampere, Finland

Finals matchups
44 kg/88 lbs.
GOLD: Yumei Chen (China) vs. Manami Ueno (Japan)
BRONZE: Asia Ray (USA) vs. Alexia Seal (Canada)
BRONZE: Fatme Mandeva (Bulgaria) vs. Stefania Priceputu (Romania)

51 kg/112 lbs.
GOLD: Kseniia Nezgovorova (Russia) vs. Khrystyna Bereza (Ukrain)
BRONZE: Cameron Guerin (USA) vs. Bolor Bat Orshikh (Mongolia)
BRONZE: Xuejiao Liao (China) vs. Nao Taniyama (Japan)

59 kg/130 lbs.
GOLD: Yuzuru Kumano (Japan) vs. Anastasia Nichita (Moldova)
BRONZE: Ilona Prokopevniuk (Ukraine) vs. Kumari Manju (India)
BRONZE: Grace Bullen (Norway) vs. Jing Jiang (China)

67 kg/147 lbs.
GOLD: Yudari Sanchez (Cuba) vs. Khanum Velieva (Russia)
BRONZE: Meerim Zhumanazarov (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Hedda Strand (Norway)
BRONZE: Alexandra Anghel (Romania) vs. Naruha Matsuyuki (Japan)

U.S. women’s freestyle results
44 kg/88 lbs. – Asia Ray (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Storm WC)
WIN Ersa Koc (Turkey), fall 0:48
WIN Beata Kosla (Poland), fall 3:52
LOSS Yumei Chen (China), 13-2

51 kg/112 lbs. – Cameron Guerin (Yakima, Wash./Team Takedown)
WIN Yeonseo Choi (Korea), 10-0
LOSS Kseniia Nezgovorova (Russia), 3:52
WIN Jaydn Davis (Canada), 11-3

59 kg/130 lbs. – Gracie Figueroa (Selma, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Leanco Stans (South Africa), 10-0
LOSS Ilona Prokopevniuk (Ukraine), fall 4:10

67 kg/147 lbs. – Alex Glaude (West Sacramento, Calif./Bearcat WC)
WIN Hyeonyeong Park (Korea), 7-4
LOSS Alexandra Anghel (Romania), 8-0