‘I just want to be the hammer, not the nail’: Nelson goes for Junior World gold

VIDEO: Junior World Championships interviews

TAMPERE, Finland – 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Maya Nelson went 3-0 on Friday morning to advance to the 63 kg/139 lbs. finals of the 2017 Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland.

“I feel stronger and faster this year,” Nelson said. “I think the transition into 63 kilos was last year, but this year, this is my weight class.”

Nelson (Denver, Colo./Sunkist Kids WC) came out tenacious in the morning session.

In her first bout against 2017 Junior Asian Championships bronze medalist Ying Zhang of China, Nelson scored first with a takedown and exposure. From that point on, Nelson was on a roll, scoring two takedowns and exposure in the second period for a 12-1 technical fall.  

She followed the dominating opener with a pin in the quarterfinals against 2017 Pan American champion Nicole Depa of Canada.

Depa, a Women’s College Nationals runner-up for Simon Fraser University, scored first with a takedown on the edge, but Nelson responded with a step out. Back-to-back-to-back takedowns for the USA gave Nelson a 7-2 lead at the break.

Early in the second period, she snatched another point on a step out before a big hip toss to put the Canadian to her back and a fall at 3:56 to advance.

In the semifinals, Nelson faced Maria Kuznetkova of Russia in a rematch of the 2016 Junior World bronze-medal bout in which the Colorado native claimed a 9-4 victory. This time, Nelson shut out the Russian.

A low-single takedown put the American on the board with a 2-0 lead, which she maintained for the majority of the match. With just seconds left, Kutznetsova had Nelson’s leg in the air, driving her toward the edge. Not only did Nelson manage to stay in bounds but she also scored a takedown on the edge at the buzzer to seal the win, 4-0.

“At the beginning of the match, I told myself that I’m here to win it. I made up my mind and that was it. I was like, ‘I am not losing this match.’ I just want to be the hammer, not the nail.”

For gold, Nelson will wrestle 2014 Cadet World bronze medalist and 2017 Junior European Championships bronze winner Yuliana Yaneva of Bulgaria.

McKayla Campbell, Ronna Heaton and Rachel Watters were unable to qualify for the medal rounds on Friday.

2015 Cadet World champion Heaton (Brookings, S.D./Sunkist Kids WC) was in control in her first-round match against Anastasiya Korzh of New Zealand, recording a 10-0 tech fall. In the round of 16, she fell to Russia’s Viktoriya Vaulina, 12-2, in a battle of 2015 Cadet World champions.

Three-time World Team member Watters (Ankeny, Iowa/Aires WC) won her first match at 72 kg/159 lbs. with a buzzer-beater crotch lift for exposure over Natalia Strzalka of Poland, 3-2. In the second round, she was just seconds shy of another late win, falling to Hui-Tsu Chang of Taipei, 4-2.

In her second World Championships, Campbell dropped her opening match to Ankush Ankush of India, 12-2.

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.

JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aug. 1-6, 2017

Finals matchups
48 kg/106 lbs.
Gold – Kika Kagata (Japan) vs. Turkan Nasirova (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Oksana Livach (Ukraine) vs. Lady Moran Valenzuela (Ecuador)
Bronze – Sarra Hamdi (Tunisia) vs. Zeynep Yetgil (Turkey)

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Sae Nanjo (Japan) vs. Lianna De Montero Herrera (Cuba)
Bronze – Olena Kremzer (Ukraine) vs. Leyla Gurbanova (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Viktoriia Vaulina (Russia) vs. Jing Liang (China)

63 kg/139 lbs.
Gold – Maya Nelson (USA) vs. Yuliana Yaneva (Bulgaria)
Bronze – Mariia Kuznetsova (Russia) vs. Ying Zhang (China)
Bronze – Ying Zhang (China) vs. Aina Temirtassova (Kazakhstan)

72 kg/159 lbs.
Gold – Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Yasuha Matsuyuki (Japan)
Bronze – Kristina Shumova (Russia) vs. Denise Sab Makota Stroem (Sweden)
Bronze – Hui Tsz Chang (Taipei) vs. Dejah Anie Slater (Canada)

U.S. women’s freestyle results
48 kg/106 lbs. – McKayla Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio/Ohio National Team)
LOSS Ankush Ankush (India), 12-2

55 kg/121 lbs. – Ronna Heaton (Brookings, S.D./Sunkist Kids WC)
WIN Anastasiya Korzh (New Zealand), 10-0
LOSS Viktoriya Vaulina (Russia), 12-2

63 kg/139 lbs. – Maya Nelson (Denver, Colo./Sunkist Kids WC)
WIN Ying Zhang (China), 12-1
WIN Nicole Depa (Canada), fall 3:56
WIN Maria Kuznetsova (Russia), 4-0

72 kg/159 lbs. – Rachel Watters (Ankeny, Iowa/Aires WC)
WIN Natalia Strzalka (Poland), 3-2
LOSS Hui-Tsu Chang (Taipei), 4-2