Mossing, Porter, Stanghill and Smith earn draws for day one of U23 World Championships in Poland

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BYDGOSZCZ, Poland - The first four U.S. U23 Greco-Roman representatives received draws for day-one competition of the 2017 U23 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

At 71 kg/156 lbs., 2017 University Nationals champion and Air Force Academy wrestler Alex Mossing (Toledo, Ohio/Foxfire WC) will face 2017 World Military silver medalist Armen Hakobyan of Armenia in the first round.

Hakobyan has been on the age-group scene since 2011, when he won a Cadet World bronze and Cadet European bronze. He also owns a Cadet European silver form 2012. He was a Senior World Team member for Armenia in 2015, where he took 22nd.

2017 U.S. Open runner-up and 2016 UWW University Nationals champion Jesse Porter (Albany, N.Y., New York AC) drew Faith Cengiz of Turkey, who took fifth at the 2017 Senior World Championships in Paris, France, this summer.

The two will battle it out in the opening round at 75 kg/165 lbs.

Cengiz also recently won the Bolat Turlykhanov Memorial in Kazakhstan in September.

Porter is looking for his third international medal of 2017. He scored silver at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in February and took hoe bronze from the Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia.

Two-time University Nationals champion Barrett Stanghill (Philipsburg, Mont./Minnesota Storm) will open his tournament at 85 kg/187 lbs. against 2016 Senior Nordic champion and 2017 Senior Nordic silver medalist Emil Sandahl of Sweden.

This is Sandahl’s first competition since July, when he won the Grand Prix of Spain.

Sitting on the top side of the 98 kg/216 lbs. bracket, Blake Smith (Peoria, Ariz./NMU-OTS) will have a first-round bye, taking on the winner of Kukuri Kirtskhalia of Georgia and Zsolt Toeroek of Hungary.

Kirtskhalia won bronze at the 2015 U23 European Championships and silver at the 2016 U23 European Championships, while Toeroek holds a 2011 Cadet World silver, 2012 Cadet World bronze and 2014 Junior World bronze.

The preliminary rounds begin at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), with the medal matches beginning at 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) each day. Bydgoszcz is six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone.

Fans can find live streams and brackets on Trackwrestling.com.

2017 U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Bydgoszcz, Poland (Six hours ahead of ET)

U.S. Greco-Roman draws
71 kg/145 lbs. – Alex Mossing (Toledo, Ohio/Foxfire WC)
vs. Armen Hakobyan (Armenia), 2017 World Military silver, 2011 Cadet World bronze

75 kg/156 lbs. – Jesse Porter (Albany, N.Y./New York AC)
vs. Faith Cengiz (Turkey), 2017 Senior World fifth-place, 2017 Bolat Turlykhanov Memorial gold

85 kg/187 lbs. – Barrett Stanghill (Philipsburg, Mont./Minnesota Storm)
vs. Emil Sandahl (Sweden), 2016 Senior Nordic champion, 2017 Senior Nordic silver

98 kg/216 lbs. – Blake Smith (Peoria, Ariz./NMU-OTS)
vs. Kukuri Kirtskhalia (Georgia), 2015 U23 European bronze, 2016 U23 European silver
OR Zsolt Toeroek (Hungary), 2011 Cadet World bronze, 2012 Cadet World silver, 2014 Junior World bronze