Iowa State true freshman Kanen Storr a surprise freestyle finalist at Dave Schultz Memorial
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Kanen Storr secures a leg attack against Joey Lazor in the opening round of the Dave Schultz Memorial. Storr powered through three opponents to reach the 61 kg finals. Photo by Robbert Wijtman.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo – Ten U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers qualified for the gold-medal finals at the 19th Dave Schultz Memorial International on Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Perhaps the most unlikely of the finalists is Iowa State true freshman Kanen Storr, who is on a redshirt year at school and came to the Dave Schultz Memorial for experience and to test himself. Any teacher would give him an A+ for his performance this morning.
“I really had no goal. I was coming here for the experience and the good matches. After my first-round win, I was like, 'man, I can hang with these guys.' As the day starting going on, I was building more confidence and building more confidence and thinking I can win this tournament now,” said Storr.
Storr opened with upset victories over a pair of veteran U.S. competitors. He stopped Joey Lazor of the Panther WC in a 12-2 technical fall, then stopped Josh Kindig of the Sunkist Kids, 2-2 by criteria. In the semifinals, he fell behind Japan’s Taishi Narikuni, but scored a turn then a spin-behind takedown to close out a 10-8 victory. He will battle Dimitar Ivanov of Bulgaria in the finals.
"This past season has been my toughest by far. I'm a true freshman so I went to college opens and wrestled some good guys there. I made my way out to Midlands and took fifth at Midlands. Now I'm here at a Senior-level international tournament. This is by far the toughest competition in my entire career,” said Storr.
Five U.S. wrestlers are seeking their second career Dave Schultz Memorial International gold medals after securing semifinal wins.
2015 Dave Schultz Memorial champions Tyler Graff of the New York AC at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Jordan Oliver of the Sunkist Kids at 70 kg/154 lbs. have earned the right to win their second career Schultz titles.
Oliver is competing up a weight class, and defeated Nazar Kulchytskyy of the Titan Mercury WC, 7-2 in the semifinal round. He will face Jason Chamberlain of the Titan Mercury WC in the finals, after Chamberlain scored a clutch 3-2 win over 2016 Bulgarian Olympian Borislav Novachkov in the semifinals.
“I started out a little slow, even though I got a tech in the first round. I'm not wrestling at the high level I want to be wrestling at. This is just another stepping stone to the World Team Trials and the U.S. Open. Overall, I feel really good, strong. I'm up a weight class, but again, I have to get more offense going and get my attacks popping off more,” said Oliver.
Oliver, who won a pair of NCAA titles for Oklahoma State, met Chamberlain, who wrestled for Boise State in the finals of the NCAA Championships in 2013, a bout won by Oliver, 3-2. They have also wrestled a number of times in freestyle since both have pursued Olympic goals.
"This is a good tournament to see what things I need to work on. I have some areas I need to get better in. What I take away from that last match, I only scored five points. It's not the kind of match I want. I don't want a 5-2 match. It was a close 3-2 match before I extended the lead. I need to improve on scoring, looking for more scores, popping them off and being savvy with my defense. I'm giving up takedowns, and I almost gave up a lace that could've been match-ending, but luckily I fought it off. I'm looking forward to this next match with Chamberlain,” he said.
Graff was dominant in his semifinals, scoring an 11-0 technical fall over Joe Colon of the Titan Mercury WC in the semifinals. His finals opponent is Nodir Safarov of Uzbekistan.
2016 Dave Schultz Memorial champions Kevin LeValley of the Buffalo Valley WC at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Austin Trotman of the Titan Mercury WC at 86 kg/189 lbs. earned repeat trips to the finals.
Levalley edged Quinton Godley of the Titan Mercury WC in the semifinals. A Colorado native who went to Limon High School and grew up within a hour of the Olympic Training Center, will face Jevon Balfour of Canada in the finals.
Austin Trotman beat Joshua Asper of the Navy-Marine Corps Mat Club in the semifinals, 8-5, to earn a spot against Masao Matsusaka of Japan in the finals.
Heavyweight Dom Bradley of the Sunkist Kids, who won his Schultz title back in 2012, will face American Justin Grant of the New York AC in the finals tonight. Bradley beat Katsutoshi Kanazawa of Japan in the semifinals with a 10-0 technical fall.
The other two U.S. finalists are Evan Henderson of the Titan Mercury WC at 65 kg/143 lbs., who draws Filip Novachkov of Bulgaria in the finals, and Dustin Kilgore of the Sunkist Kids, who will battle World medalist Pavlo Olinyk of Ukraine at 97 kg/213 lbs.
The second session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the consolation finals, immediately followed by the gold-medal and bronze medal matches. All of the matches are being broadcast live by Flowrestling.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 2
FREESTYLE FINALIST PAIRINGS
55 kg/125.5 lbs. – Tyler Graff (USA/NYAC) vs. Nodir Safarov (Uzbekistan)
61 kg/134 lbs. - Dimitar Ivanov (Bulgaria) vs. Kanen Storr (USA/TMWC)
65 kg/143 lbs. – Evan Henderson (USA/TMWC) vs. Filip Novachkov (Bulgaria)
70 kg/154 lbs. - Jordan Oliver (USA/Sunkist Kids) vs. Jason Chamberlain (USA/TMWC)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Kevin Levalley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC) vs. Jevon Balfour (Canada)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Austin Trotman (USA/TMWC) vs. Masao Matsusaka (Japan)
97 kg/213 lbs. - Pavlo Olinyk (Ukraine) vs. Dustin Kilgore (USA/Sunkist Kids)
125 kg/275 lbs. - Dom Bradley (USA/Sunkist Kids) vs. Justin Grant (USA/NYAC)
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
55 kg/125.5 lbs.
Tyler Graff (USA/NYAC) tech. fall Joe Colon (USA/TMWC), 11-0, 3:39
Nodir Safarov (Uzbekistan) dec. Frank Parrelli (USA/TMWC), 9-8
61 kg/134 lbs.
Dimitar Ivanov (Bulgaria) pin Keegan Moore (USA/Sunkist Kids), 2:23
Kanen Storr (USA/TMWC) dec. Taishi Narikuni (Japan), 10-8
65 kg/143 lbs.
Evan Henderson (USA/TMWC) dec. Kellen Russell (USA/NYAC), 6-5
Filip Novachkov (Bulgaria) tech. fall Hunter Stieber (USA/TMWC), 10-0, 1:16
70 kg/154 lbs.
Jordan Oliver (USA/Sunkist Kids) dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy (USA/TMWC), 7-2
Jason Chamberlain (USA/TMWC) dec. Borislav Novachkov (Bulgaria), 3-2
74 kg/163 lbs.
Kevin Levalley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC) dec. Quinton Godley (USA/TMWC) 3-1
Jevon Balfour (Canada) inj. dft. over Michael Moreno (USA/TMWC)
86 kg/189 lbs.
Austin Trotman (USA/TMWC) dec. Joshua Asper (USA/Navy-Marine Corps Mat Club), 8-5
Masao Matsusaka (Japan) dec. Victor Terrell (USA/Army WCAP), 11-4
97 kg/213 lbs.
Pavlo Olinyk (Ukraine) dec. Micah Burak (USA/TMWC), 6-0
Dustin Kilgore (USA/Sunkist Kids) pin Jeffery Felix (USA/TMWC), 2:49
125 kg/275 lbs.
Dom Bradley (USA/Sunkist Kids) tech. fall Katsutoshi Kanazawa (Japan), 10-0, 5:21
Justin Grant (USA/NYAC) dec. Braden Atwood (USA/Sunkist Kids), 7-1
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo – Ten U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers qualified for the gold-medal finals at the 19th Dave Schultz Memorial International on Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Perhaps the most unlikely of the finalists is Iowa State true freshman Kanen Storr, who is on a redshirt year at school and came to the Dave Schultz Memorial for experience and to test himself. Any teacher would give him an A+ for his performance this morning.
“I really had no goal. I was coming here for the experience and the good matches. After my first-round win, I was like, 'man, I can hang with these guys.' As the day starting going on, I was building more confidence and building more confidence and thinking I can win this tournament now,” said Storr.
Storr opened with upset victories over a pair of veteran U.S. competitors. He stopped Joey Lazor of the Panther WC in a 12-2 technical fall, then stopped Josh Kindig of the Sunkist Kids, 2-2 by criteria. In the semifinals, he fell behind Japan’s Taishi Narikuni, but scored a turn then a spin-behind takedown to close out a 10-8 victory. He will battle Dimitar Ivanov of Bulgaria in the finals.
"This past season has been my toughest by far. I'm a true freshman so I went to college opens and wrestled some good guys there. I made my way out to Midlands and took fifth at Midlands. Now I'm here at a Senior-level international tournament. This is by far the toughest competition in my entire career,” said Storr.
Five U.S. wrestlers are seeking their second career Dave Schultz Memorial International gold medals after securing semifinal wins.
2015 Dave Schultz Memorial champions Tyler Graff of the New York AC at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Jordan Oliver of the Sunkist Kids at 70 kg/154 lbs. have earned the right to win their second career Schultz titles.
Oliver is competing up a weight class, and defeated Nazar Kulchytskyy of the Titan Mercury WC, 7-2 in the semifinal round. He will face Jason Chamberlain of the Titan Mercury WC in the finals, after Chamberlain scored a clutch 3-2 win over 2016 Bulgarian Olympian Borislav Novachkov in the semifinals.
“I started out a little slow, even though I got a tech in the first round. I'm not wrestling at the high level I want to be wrestling at. This is just another stepping stone to the World Team Trials and the U.S. Open. Overall, I feel really good, strong. I'm up a weight class, but again, I have to get more offense going and get my attacks popping off more,” said Oliver.
Oliver, who won a pair of NCAA titles for Oklahoma State, met Chamberlain, who wrestled for Boise State in the finals of the NCAA Championships in 2013, a bout won by Oliver, 3-2. They have also wrestled a number of times in freestyle since both have pursued Olympic goals.
"This is a good tournament to see what things I need to work on. I have some areas I need to get better in. What I take away from that last match, I only scored five points. It's not the kind of match I want. I don't want a 5-2 match. It was a close 3-2 match before I extended the lead. I need to improve on scoring, looking for more scores, popping them off and being savvy with my defense. I'm giving up takedowns, and I almost gave up a lace that could've been match-ending, but luckily I fought it off. I'm looking forward to this next match with Chamberlain,” he said.
Graff was dominant in his semifinals, scoring an 11-0 technical fall over Joe Colon of the Titan Mercury WC in the semifinals. His finals opponent is Nodir Safarov of Uzbekistan.
2016 Dave Schultz Memorial champions Kevin LeValley of the Buffalo Valley WC at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Austin Trotman of the Titan Mercury WC at 86 kg/189 lbs. earned repeat trips to the finals.
Levalley edged Quinton Godley of the Titan Mercury WC in the semifinals. A Colorado native who went to Limon High School and grew up within a hour of the Olympic Training Center, will face Jevon Balfour of Canada in the finals.
Austin Trotman beat Joshua Asper of the Navy-Marine Corps Mat Club in the semifinals, 8-5, to earn a spot against Masao Matsusaka of Japan in the finals.
Heavyweight Dom Bradley of the Sunkist Kids, who won his Schultz title back in 2012, will face American Justin Grant of the New York AC in the finals tonight. Bradley beat Katsutoshi Kanazawa of Japan in the semifinals with a 10-0 technical fall.
The other two U.S. finalists are Evan Henderson of the Titan Mercury WC at 65 kg/143 lbs., who draws Filip Novachkov of Bulgaria in the finals, and Dustin Kilgore of the Sunkist Kids, who will battle World medalist Pavlo Olinyk of Ukraine at 97 kg/213 lbs.
The second session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the consolation finals, immediately followed by the gold-medal and bronze medal matches. All of the matches are being broadcast live by Flowrestling.
DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
At Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 2
FREESTYLE FINALIST PAIRINGS
55 kg/125.5 lbs. – Tyler Graff (USA/NYAC) vs. Nodir Safarov (Uzbekistan)
61 kg/134 lbs. - Dimitar Ivanov (Bulgaria) vs. Kanen Storr (USA/TMWC)
65 kg/143 lbs. – Evan Henderson (USA/TMWC) vs. Filip Novachkov (Bulgaria)
70 kg/154 lbs. - Jordan Oliver (USA/Sunkist Kids) vs. Jason Chamberlain (USA/TMWC)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Kevin Levalley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC) vs. Jevon Balfour (Canada)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Austin Trotman (USA/TMWC) vs. Masao Matsusaka (Japan)
97 kg/213 lbs. - Pavlo Olinyk (Ukraine) vs. Dustin Kilgore (USA/Sunkist Kids)
125 kg/275 lbs. - Dom Bradley (USA/Sunkist Kids) vs. Justin Grant (USA/NYAC)
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
55 kg/125.5 lbs.
Tyler Graff (USA/NYAC) tech. fall Joe Colon (USA/TMWC), 11-0, 3:39
Nodir Safarov (Uzbekistan) dec. Frank Parrelli (USA/TMWC), 9-8
61 kg/134 lbs.
Dimitar Ivanov (Bulgaria) pin Keegan Moore (USA/Sunkist Kids), 2:23
Kanen Storr (USA/TMWC) dec. Taishi Narikuni (Japan), 10-8
65 kg/143 lbs.
Evan Henderson (USA/TMWC) dec. Kellen Russell (USA/NYAC), 6-5
Filip Novachkov (Bulgaria) tech. fall Hunter Stieber (USA/TMWC), 10-0, 1:16
70 kg/154 lbs.
Jordan Oliver (USA/Sunkist Kids) dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy (USA/TMWC), 7-2
Jason Chamberlain (USA/TMWC) dec. Borislav Novachkov (Bulgaria), 3-2
74 kg/163 lbs.
Kevin Levalley (USA/Buffalo Valley RTC) dec. Quinton Godley (USA/TMWC) 3-1
Jevon Balfour (Canada) inj. dft. over Michael Moreno (USA/TMWC)
86 kg/189 lbs.
Austin Trotman (USA/TMWC) dec. Joshua Asper (USA/Navy-Marine Corps Mat Club), 8-5
Masao Matsusaka (Japan) dec. Victor Terrell (USA/Army WCAP), 11-4
97 kg/213 lbs.
Pavlo Olinyk (Ukraine) dec. Micah Burak (USA/TMWC), 6-0
Dustin Kilgore (USA/Sunkist Kids) pin Jeffery Felix (USA/TMWC), 2:49
125 kg/275 lbs.
Dom Bradley (USA/Sunkist Kids) tech. fall Katsutoshi Kanazawa (Japan), 10-0, 5:21
Justin Grant (USA/NYAC) dec. Braden Atwood (USA/Sunkist Kids), 7-1
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