Megaludis, Kennedy and Pami strike gold for the U.S. at Paris International
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
| Nico Megaludis (USA) works to finish a single leg at the 2017 Paris International. Photo: Richard Immel, USA Wrestling. |
PARIS – The U.S. capped off a grand day at the Paris International with a trio of gold medals in men’s freestyle from Nico Megaludis, Jimmy Kennedy and Chase Pami.
Megaludis won his second international gold medal in three months’ time after edging Italy’s Torneo Citta a Sassari champion Givi Davidovi 3-2 in the 57 kg finals. The win capped a dynamite day for the 2016 NCAA champion that saw three victories and two shutout technical falls.
“It’s pretty cool. A lot of my positions I’m a lot better in,” Megaludis reflected. “I know I didn’t finish a shot [in the finals], but other than that I was 13-for-14 on finishing shots in Ukraine, and here, I was like nine-for-10, so my finishing shots have gotten a lot better. Finishing is a little bit different in freestyle. I’m right there with the best guys in the world.”
Competing for the first time since finishing in third place at the 70 kg U.S. World Team Trials, Kennedy exploded to the 65-kg gold medal with a 10-0 thrashing of Israel’s Emrach Gasanov. The former U.S. World Team member won four bouts on the day by a combined 28-0 tally.
“A lot of this right now is just finding that timing again and getting the matches in,” Kennedy said. “As the day progressed I felt better and better. There’s still a lot of things I need to work on, picking up my offense a little more and getting to those legs, but it’s a good base point to jump off of and flow from there.”
In his first competition in nearly one year, Pami toughed out a 2-1 decision over 2014 World University bronze medalist Zsombor Gulyas of Hungary to claim gold at 70 kg. En route to the finals, Pami posted technical fall wins over Christian Jonsson of Sweden and Jason Welch of the United States.
“It was just good to get out and compete. It’s been a year since being on the mat. I think this tournament was obviously maybe not the toughest, but it was just good to get out and wrestle matches, see where I’m at. Overall, I think there is a lot of things to take away and work on from this,” Pami stated.
The U.S. was one win away from sweeping all four gold medals in men’s freestyle on Saturday with Senior-level newcomer Nathan Burak falling just short in the 97 kg finals. The three-time NCAA All-American for Iowa dropped a 7-0 decision to 2016 European silver medalist Ivan Yankouski of Belarus in the gold-medal match.
Welch and B.J. Futrell bounced back from defeats in the morning session to earn bronze medals for Team USA. Welch downed Christian Jonsson of Sweden 13-2 to secure bronze at 70 kg. Similarly, Futrell knocked out Heorhi Kaliyeu of Belarus 4-0 to win bronze at 65 kg.
Daniel Miller picked up the lone Greco-Roman medal for the U.S. on Saturday after dismantling Robert Ersek of Hungary 9-0 in the 98-kg bronze-medal match. Overall, Miller went 2-1 on the day with his only loss coming to eventual champion Felix Baldauf of Norway in the semifinals.
The Paris International will resume tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. local time/4 a.m. (ET) on Saturday with the finals set for 4 p.m. local time/10 a.m. (ET). Complete brackets, results and a webcast for this event can be found at unitedworldwrestling.org.
PARIS INTERNATIONAL
Jan. 28-29 at INSEP in Paris, France
Final Results
Men’s Freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Gold – Nico Megaludis (United States)
Silver – Givi Davidovi (Italy)
Bronze – Zoheir El Ouarraqe (France)
Bronze – Dzimchyk Rynchynau (Belarus)
65 kg/143 lbs.
Gold – Jimmy Kennedy (United States)
Silver – Emrach Gasanov (Israel)
Bronze – B.J. Futrell (United States)
Bronze – Ilman Mukhtarov (France)
70 kg/154 lbs.
Gold – Chase Pami (United States)
Silver – Zsombor Gulyas (Hungary)
Bronze – Jere Kunnas (Finland)
Bronze – Jason Welch (United States)
97 kg/215 lbs.
Gold – Ivan Yankouski (Belarus)
Silver – Nathan Burak (United States)
Bronze – Jordan Noblet (France)
Bronze – Wladimir Remel (Germany)
Greco-Roman
71 kg/156 lbs.
Gold – Robert Fritsch (Hungary)
Silver – Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Evrik Nikoghosyan (France)
Bronze – Rafayel Aleksanyan (Armenia)
75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold – Karapet Chalyan (Armenia)
Silver – Arkadiusz Kulynycz (Poland)
Bronze – Zoltan Levai (Hungary)
Bronze – Miras Barshylykov (Kazakhstan)
85 kg/187 lbs.
Gold – Maksim Manukyan (Armenia)
Silver – Erik Szilvassy (Hungary)
Bronze – Fabio Parisi (Italy)
Bronze – Tadeusz Michalik (Poland)
98 kg/215 lbs.
Gold – Felix Baldauf (Norway)
Silver – Pontus Lund (Sweden)
Bronze – Ali Akbar Heidari (Iran)
Bronze – Daniel Miller (United States)
Women’s Freestyle
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold – Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands)
Silver – Julie Sabatie (France)
Bronze – Allysa Cleaves (Canada)
Bronze – Viyaleta Chyryk (Belarus)
53 kg/116.5 lbs.
Gold – Katarzyna Krawczyk (Poland)
Silver – Samantha Stewart (Canada)
Bronze – Mathilde Riviere (France)
Bronze – Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus)
69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold – Koumba Larroque (France)
Silver – Signe Fidje Store (Norway)
Bronze – Iliana Kratysh (Israel)
Bronze – Kendra Dacher (France)
U.S. men’s freestyle results
57 kg/125.5 lbs.- Nico Megaludis, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC), Gold
WIN Youssoup Deliev (France), 10-0
WIN Dzimchyk Rynchynau (Belarus), 9-0
WIN Givi Davidovi (Italy), 3-2
65 kg/143 lbs.- B.J. Futrell, Philadelphia, Pa (Titan Mercury WC/Pennsylvania RTC), Bronze
LOSS Jimmy Kennedy (United States), 6-0
WIN Nick Dardanes (United States), 10-0
WIN Heorhi Kaliyeu (Belarus), 4-0
65 kg/143 lbs.- Nick Dardanes, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), 7th
WIN Michael Asselstine (Canada), 9-0
LOSS Jimmy Kennedy (United States), 2-0
LOSS B.J. Futrell (United States), 10-0
65 kg/143 lbs.- Jimmy Kennedy, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Michigan RTC)
WIN B.J. Futrell (United States), 6-0
WIN Nick Dardanes (United States), 2-0
WIN Heorhi Kaliyeu (Belarus), 10-0
WIN Emrach Gasanov (Israel), 10-0
70 kg/154 lbs.- Chase Pami, Philadelphia, PA (Sunkist Kids/Pennsylvania RTC), Gold
WIN Christian Jonsson (Sweden), 10-0
WIN Jason Welch (United States), 11-0
WIN Zsombor Gulyas (Hungary), 2-1
70 kg/154 lbs.- Jason Welch, Evanston, Ill. (Titan Mercury WC), Bronze
WIN Christophe Clavier (France), Fall
LOSS Chase Pami (United States), 11-0
WIN Christian Jonsson (Sweden), 13-2
97 kg/215 lbs.- Nathan Burak, Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye WC), Silver
WIN Wladimir Remel (Germany), 7-2
WIN Maxime Francois (France), 10-0
LOSS Ivan Yankouski (Belarus), 7-0
U.S. Greco-Roman results
71 kg/156 lbs. – Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Rafayel Aleksanyan (Armenia), 8-0
98 kg/215 lbs. Daniel Miller, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Marines), Bronze
WIN Adam Mertse (Hungary), 5-0
LOSS Felix Baldauf (Norway), 9-0
WIN Robert Ersek (Hungary), 9-0
