Corbett and Walker take fifth at 2017 Cadet World Championships to wrap up women's competition

ATHENS, Greece – U.S. Cadet women’s freestylers Kelani Corbett and Caitlyn Walker finished their 2017 Cadet World Championships with fifth-place finishes in Athens, Greece, on Friday night.

Corbett, who advanced to the semis on Thursday, faced 2017 European bronze medalist Bernadett Nagy of Hungary in the 70 kg/152 lbs. bronze-medal match, her first bout of the day.

Nagy walked away with a 2-1 match, despite Corbett being the obvious aggressor. Nagy’s two points came from a takedown earned in a scramble, initiated by the American. Corbett went on to score in the second period, drawing a passivity point, but it was not enough for bronze.

“Leading up to my bronze medal, I felt really good,” Corbett said. “My warm up with Coach Sam (Schmitz) was great. I felt good with my attacks and defense. I studied the girl before going to the mat. I knew that she was going to play the edge and just fight out of the tie ups and only counter. I wrestled my hardest and I left everything on the mat. I have no regrets, but next year, I’m coming back and taking gold.”

Walker fell shy of a medal at 40 kg/88 lbs. Last night, she was pulled back into the repechage and went on to win a nail-biting 5-4 match over Russia’s Regina Miller, sending her to the bronze-medal bout. There, she took on 2016 Cadet Asian champion and 2017 Cadet Asian runner-up Simran Simran of India, who put the bout away with a pin at the three-minute mark.

Walker improved on her seventh-place from the 2016 Cadet World tournament.

“After losing to Japan in my first match, it felt great to come back and wrestle for third,” Walker said. “The match didn’t go the way I planned, and I could’ve done better. Even though I didn’t win my bronze match, I did better than last year and I couldn’t ask for more. The transition from Worlds last year to this year was tremendous, and I can’t wait to see where this next year at [Wyoming Seminary] will take me.”

Overall, the U.S. women’s freestyle team produced two silver medals with a fifth-place finish, scoring 39 team points.

“We had some really great matches, where everything clicked and our offense was relentless,” U.S. Women’s Freestyle Assistant National coach Emma Randall said. “We also had matches, where we couldn’t get our offense going and made mistakes. We won some big matches and lost some. We didn’t get the results we wanted out of this team. It’s clear which positions the program and each individual athlete struggles with. It’s sending these athletes home with a clear plan of moving forward but also focusing how we can improve our program.”

Seven of the USA’s nine wrestlers picked up top-ten finishes, highlighted by silver medals from Emily Shilson and Alara Boyd at 43 kg/92 lbs. and 65 kg/143 lbs., respectively. In addition to Walker and Corbett’s No. 5 finishes, Vayle Baker finished seventh at 49 kg/106 lbs., Gracie Figueroa finished eighth at 56 kg/123 lbs. and Alex Liles finished ninth at 60 kg/132 lbs.

“From the first day, we told the athletes that this tournament isn’t the pinnacle of you. This is a compass to see where we need to go. This is part of the process of growing. When we fall down, we have to fall forward,” Randall said.

The 2017 Cadet World Championships continue tomorrow with men’s freestyle.

2017 CADET WORL D CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Athens, Greece, Sept. 4-10

Final team scores
1. Japan - 94
2. India - 69
3. Russia - 58
4. Ukraine - 44
5. USA – 39
6. Belarus - 30
7. Hungary - 27
8. Kazakhstan - 24
9. Azerbaijan - 21
10. Poland - 18

Finals results
40 kg/88 lbs.
Gold - Hanano Sakurai (Japan)
Silver  - Petya Delcheva (Bulgaria)
Bronze - Aishan Yusifova (Azerbaijan)
Bronze - Simran Simran (India)
5th - Amina Ponomarova (Ukraine)
5th - Caitlyn Walker (USA)
7th – Aidana Sultanova (Kazakhstan)
8th – Regina Miller (Russia)
9th – Mariam Karelidze (Georgia)
10th –Thi Thuy Linhh Nguyen (Vietnam)

Gold – Hanano Sakurai (Japan) tech. fall Petya Delcheva (Bulgaria) 10-0
Bronze – Aishan Yusifova (Azerbaijan) fall Amina Ponomarova (Ukraine)
Bronze – Simran Simran (India) fall Caitlyn Walker (USA)

46 kg/101 lbs.
Gold - Remina Yoshimoto (Japan)
Silver  - Ekaterina Mikhailova (Russia)
Bronze - Lucia Yepez Guzman (Ecuador)
Bronze - Manisha Manisha (India)
5th - Ana Maria Torres Rubio (Spain)
5th - Estefani Perez (Colombia)
7th – Anastasiya Yanotova (Belarus)
8th – Aynur Jamalova (Azerbaijan)
9th – Athina Giagtzoglou (Greece)
10th – Maria Leorda (Moldova)

Gold – Remina Yoshimoto (Japan) tech. fall Ekaterina Mikhailova (Russia), 10-0
Bronze – Lucia Yepez Guzman (Ecuador) dec Ana Maria Torres Rubio (Spain), 6-0
Bronze –Manisha Manisha (India) dec. Estefani Perez (Colombia), 3-2

52 kg/114 lbs.
Gold - Yuzuka Inagaki (Japan)
Silver  - Andreea Ana (Romania)
Bronze - Khongorzul Boldsaikhan (Mongolia)
Bronze - Minakshi Minakshi (India)
5th - Anastasia Sidelnikova (Russia)
5th - Mariana Dragutan (Moldova)
7th – Thi My Trang Nguyen (Vietnam)
8th – Szimonetta Szeker (Hungary)
9th – Ellada Makhyaddinova (Kazakhstan)
10th – Victoria Seal (Canada)

Gold – Yuzuka Inagaki (Japan) dec. Andreea Ana (Romania), 3-0
Bronze – Minakshi Minakshi (India) dec. Mariana Dragutan (Moldova), 6-2
Bronze  -  Khongorzul Boldsaikhan (Mongolia) dec. Anastasia Sidelnikova (Russia), 6-1

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold - Anshu Anshu (India)
Silver  - Naomi Ruike (Japan)
Bronze - Krystsina Sazykina (Belarus)
Bronze - Erika Bognar (Hungary)
5th - Morena de Vita (Italy)
5th - Anastasiia Parokhina (Russia)
7th – Antonyna Kulahina (Ukraine)
8th – Patrycja Dudek (Poland)
9th – Alexandria Liles (USA)
10th – Kirti Saxen (Canada)

Gold – Anshu Anshu (India) dec. Naomi Ruike (Japan), 2-0
Bronze – Krystsina Sazykina (Belarus) tech fall Morena de Vita (Italy), 10-0
Bronze – Erika Bognar (Hungary) dec. Anastasiia Parokhina (Russia), 1-1

70 kg/154 lbs.
Gold - Yuka Kagami (Japan)
Silver  - Alena Timofeeva (Russia)
Bronze - Bernadett Nagy (Hungary)
Bronze - Wiktoria Choluj (Poland
5th - Kelani Corbett (USA)
5th - Karuna Karuna (India)
7th – Hanna Maslakova (Belarus)
8th – Romana Vovchak (Ukraine)
9th – Mehtap Gultekin (Turkey)
10th – Khulan Tsermaa (Mongolia)

Gold – Yuka Kagami (Japan) tech. fall Alena Timofeeva (Russia), 10-0
Bronze – Bernadett Nagy (Hungary) dec. Kelani Corbett (USA), 2-1
Bronze – Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) fall Karuna Karuna (India)

U.S. women’s freestyle results
40 kg/88 lbs. – Caitlyn Walker, Hatboro, Pa. (Team Pennsylvania) – 5th
LOSS Sakurai Hanano (Japan), fall 1:21
WIN Regina Miller (Russia), 5-4
LOSS Simran Simran (India), fall 3:00

43 kg/95 lbs. – Emily Shilson, Maple Grove, Minn. (Titan Mercury WC) - SILVER
WIN Aldynai Darzhaa (Russia), 12-2
WIN Ayazhan Markasheva (Kazakhstan), 12-2
WIN Karina Chornomor (Ukraine), 10-0

46 kg/101 lbs. – Olivia Shore, St. Paris, Ohio (Ohio National Team) – 14th
LOSS Ekaterina Mikhailova (Russia), fall 3:51
LOSS Jekaterina Jermalonoka (Belarus), fall 1:59

49 kg/108 lbs. – Vayle Baker, Benton, Pa. (Team Pennsylvania) – 7th
WIN Maria Triantafyllidou (Greece), fall 1:19
LOSS Suzuna Yoshimura (Japan), 10-0
WIN Sevinj Ahadova (Azerbaijan), 12-2
LOSS Nataliia Varakina (Belarus), 16-8

52 kg/114 lbs. – Alisha Howk, River Falls, Wisc. – 12th
LOSS Mariana Dragutan (Moldova), 10-8

56 kg/123 lbs. – Gracie Figueroa, Selma, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC) – 8th
WIN Nuraida Anarkulova (Kyrgyzstan), fall 1:28
WIN Violleta Petrovska (Ukraine), 11-0
LOSS Ida Joensson (Sweden), fall 1:18

60 kg/132 lbs. – Alexandria Liles, Allen, Texas (Best Trained WC) – 9th
WIN Miriam Loetscher (Switzerland), 10-0
LOSS Erika Bognar (Hungary), 2-1

65 kg/145 lbs. – Alara Boyd, Muncie, Ind. (CIA) – SILVER
WIN Oksana Chudyk (Ukraine), 5-2
WIN Nyla Burgess (Canada), 11-0
WIN Siyka Ivanova (Bulgaria), fall 3:26
LOSS Honoka Nakai (Japan), 1-1

70 kg/154 lbs. – Kelani Corbett, Mililani, Hawai’i (Team Hawai’i) – 5th
WIN Khulan Tsermaa (Mongolia), 8-6
WIN Romana Vovchak (Ukraine), 8-4
LOSS Yuka Kagami (Japan), 11-0
LOSS Bernadett Nagy (Hungary), 2-1