Fueffinger, Mango score big wins during wide-open Greco-Roman semifinals at Marine Corps U.S. Open
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Kamal Bey throws Jon Jay Chavez in the 77 kg Greco-Roman semifinals at the U.S. Open. Photo by Robbert Wijtman.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Marine Corps U.S. Open Greco-Roman semifinals featured a healthy mix of veteran stars and some young talents making a statement. There seemed to be no respect for past achievements in some of the high profile matches on Thursday night.
In a battle of U.S. Army teammates at 60 kg, past Junior World Team member Mike Fuenffinger edged 2017 World Team member Ildar Hafizov, 4-3. Fuenffinger will battle two-time Junior World Team member Dalton Roberts of the New York AC in the finals, a 9-4 winner over 2016 Junior World medalist Taylor LaMont of the Sunkist Kids.
“This is what I’ve been working for all year and it’s finally coming together. I just wanted to keep moving and keep the pressure on (Hafizov) and continue to build the lead. It kind of caught me off guard with that two points he got for the caution, but I just stuck to the plan and kept going forward on him,” said Fueffinger.
With a pair of big throws, Ryan Mango of Army WCAP scored a first-period technical fall over 2016 Olympian Jesse Thielke (New York AC/Legends of Gold), 9-0. Thielke had defeated Ryan’s older brother Spenser, a two-time Olympian, in the 2016 Olympic Trials.
“As usual, my coaches did a great job of preparing us for this tournament. I feel great at this weight. It’s a good weight for me for day-of weigh-ins. The semifinals were kind of a blur for me. I just had a game plan going in. I’ve been preparing for this for months. I just tried to follow my game plan as best as I could and it worked out for me,” said Mango.
The Army WCAP program had a strong start to the semifinals, putting a team member in the finals in the first four weight classes. Joining Fuenffinger and Mango in the finals are Max Nowry at 55 kg and 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman at 67 kg.
Nowry, a past University World champion, will face 2012 freestyle Olympian Sam Hazewinkel of the Sunkist Kids in the championship finals. Hazewinkel, who was a U.S. Open champion in Greco-Roman early in his career, is making a comeback at age 35, after recently becoming the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma City University.
The heavyweight finals which many people had anticipated will be a reality, with 2016 Olympian and four-time World Team member Robby Smith facing Junior World medalist and 2018 NCAA runner-up Adam Coon of the New York AC in the finals. It is a rematch of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials finals, won by Smith
“I just want to have fun,” Coon said. “I haven’t wrestled Greco in a while. I’ve been training and stuff, but it hasn’t been in competition. I had to sit out last year because of a shoulder injury, so I was taken out of that Greco competition. It feels really good to get back into it. I’m just going to go out and have fun and hopefully dust off some cobwebs.”
Two-time Olympian Ben Provisor of the New York AC will face 2014 World Team member Joe Rau of the Minnesota Storm in the finals at 87 kg. Rau defeated two-time World Team member Cheney Haight of the New York AC in the semifinals, 4-0, while Provisor controlled Kevin Radford, 6-1.
Reaching the finals at 77 kg was 2017 Junior World champion Kamal Bey of the Sunkist Kids, who hit some powerful throws to defeat Jon Jay Chavez of the New York AC by a 10-0 technical fall in 45 seconds. His finals opponent is U.S. Marine Corps wrestler Peyton Walsh.
The gold-medal finals are set for 7:00 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, and will be aired live on Flowrestling.
MARINE CORPS U.S. OPEN
At Las Vegas, Nev., April 26
Greco-Roman finals pairings
55 kg - Max Nowry (Army WCAP) vs. Sam Hazewinkel (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg - Mike Fuenffinger (Army WCAP) vs. Dalton Roberts (New York AC)
63 kg - Sammy Jones (New York AC) vs. Ryan Mango (Army WCAP)
67 kg - Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) vs. Jessy Williams (New York AC)
72 kg - RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC) vs. Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm)
77 kg - Kamal Bey (Sunkist Kids) vs. Peyton Walsh (Marines)
82 kg - Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) vs. Geordan Speiller (Florida Jets)
87 kg - Ben Provisor (New York AC/Nittany Lion WC) vs. Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm)
97 kg - Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dan Miller (Marines)
130 kg - Robby Smith (New York AC) vs. Adam Coon (New York AC/MWC)
Greco-Roman semifinal results
55 kg
Max Nowry (Army WCAP) tech. fall Jabari Moody (New York AC), 14-2, 4:06
Sam Hazewinkel (Sunkist Kids) vs. Randon Miranda (New York AC), 10-4
60 kg
Mike Fuenffinger (Army WCAP) dec. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP), 4-3
Dalton Roberts (New York AC) dec. Taylor LaMont (Sunkist Kids), 9-4
63 kg
Sammy Jones (New York AC) tech. fall Travis Rice (NMU-OTS), 9-0. 1:37
Ryan Mango (Army WCAP) tech. fall Jesse Thielke (New York AC/Legends of Gold), 9-0, 1:31
67 kg
Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) tech. fall Austin Morrow (New York AC), 10-0, 3:55
Jessy Williams (New York AC) dec. Raymond Bunker (Marines), 8-4
72 kg
RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC) tech. fall Chris Gonzalez (New York AC) , 10-0, 3:26
Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm) disq. Alejandro Sancho (New York AC)
77 kg
Kamal Bey (Sunkist Kids) tech. fall Jon Jay Chavez (New York AC), 10-0, 0:45
Peyton Walsh (Marines) dec. Jesse Porter (New York AC), 5-5
82 kg
Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) inj. dft. Jon Stefanowicz (Marines), 4:53
Geordan Speiller (Florida Jets) dec. Courtney Myers (Army WCAP), 5-1
87 kg
Ben Provisor (New York AC/Nittany Lion WC) dec. Kevin Radford (Sunkist Kids), 6-1
Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm) dec. Cheney Haight (New York AC), 4-0
97 kg
Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP), 7-6
Dan Miller (Marines) dec. Enock Francois (New York AC), 6-3
130 kg
Robby Smith (New York AC) tech. fall Alton Meeks (Florida Jets), 8-0
Adam Coon (New York AC/MWC) pin Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm), 0:59
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Marine Corps U.S. Open Greco-Roman semifinals featured a healthy mix of veteran stars and some young talents making a statement. There seemed to be no respect for past achievements in some of the high profile matches on Thursday night.
In a battle of U.S. Army teammates at 60 kg, past Junior World Team member Mike Fuenffinger edged 2017 World Team member Ildar Hafizov, 4-3. Fuenffinger will battle two-time Junior World Team member Dalton Roberts of the New York AC in the finals, a 9-4 winner over 2016 Junior World medalist Taylor LaMont of the Sunkist Kids.
“This is what I’ve been working for all year and it’s finally coming together. I just wanted to keep moving and keep the pressure on (Hafizov) and continue to build the lead. It kind of caught me off guard with that two points he got for the caution, but I just stuck to the plan and kept going forward on him,” said Fueffinger.
With a pair of big throws, Ryan Mango of Army WCAP scored a first-period technical fall over 2016 Olympian Jesse Thielke (New York AC/Legends of Gold), 9-0. Thielke had defeated Ryan’s older brother Spenser, a two-time Olympian, in the 2016 Olympic Trials.
“As usual, my coaches did a great job of preparing us for this tournament. I feel great at this weight. It’s a good weight for me for day-of weigh-ins. The semifinals were kind of a blur for me. I just had a game plan going in. I’ve been preparing for this for months. I just tried to follow my game plan as best as I could and it worked out for me,” said Mango.
The Army WCAP program had a strong start to the semifinals, putting a team member in the finals in the first four weight classes. Joining Fuenffinger and Mango in the finals are Max Nowry at 55 kg and 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman at 67 kg.
Nowry, a past University World champion, will face 2012 freestyle Olympian Sam Hazewinkel of the Sunkist Kids in the championship finals. Hazewinkel, who was a U.S. Open champion in Greco-Roman early in his career, is making a comeback at age 35, after recently becoming the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma City University.
The heavyweight finals which many people had anticipated will be a reality, with 2016 Olympian and four-time World Team member Robby Smith facing Junior World medalist and 2018 NCAA runner-up Adam Coon of the New York AC in the finals. It is a rematch of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials finals, won by Smith
“I just want to have fun,” Coon said. “I haven’t wrestled Greco in a while. I’ve been training and stuff, but it hasn’t been in competition. I had to sit out last year because of a shoulder injury, so I was taken out of that Greco competition. It feels really good to get back into it. I’m just going to go out and have fun and hopefully dust off some cobwebs.”
Two-time Olympian Ben Provisor of the New York AC will face 2014 World Team member Joe Rau of the Minnesota Storm in the finals at 87 kg. Rau defeated two-time World Team member Cheney Haight of the New York AC in the semifinals, 4-0, while Provisor controlled Kevin Radford, 6-1.
Reaching the finals at 77 kg was 2017 Junior World champion Kamal Bey of the Sunkist Kids, who hit some powerful throws to defeat Jon Jay Chavez of the New York AC by a 10-0 technical fall in 45 seconds. His finals opponent is U.S. Marine Corps wrestler Peyton Walsh.
The gold-medal finals are set for 7:00 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, and will be aired live on Flowrestling.
MARINE CORPS U.S. OPEN
At Las Vegas, Nev., April 26
Greco-Roman finals pairings
55 kg - Max Nowry (Army WCAP) vs. Sam Hazewinkel (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg - Mike Fuenffinger (Army WCAP) vs. Dalton Roberts (New York AC)
63 kg - Sammy Jones (New York AC) vs. Ryan Mango (Army WCAP)
67 kg - Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) vs. Jessy Williams (New York AC)
72 kg - RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC) vs. Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm)
77 kg - Kamal Bey (Sunkist Kids) vs. Peyton Walsh (Marines)
82 kg - Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) vs. Geordan Speiller (Florida Jets)
87 kg - Ben Provisor (New York AC/Nittany Lion WC) vs. Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm)
97 kg - Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dan Miller (Marines)
130 kg - Robby Smith (New York AC) vs. Adam Coon (New York AC/MWC)
Greco-Roman semifinal results
55 kg
Max Nowry (Army WCAP) tech. fall Jabari Moody (New York AC), 14-2, 4:06
Sam Hazewinkel (Sunkist Kids) vs. Randon Miranda (New York AC), 10-4
60 kg
Mike Fuenffinger (Army WCAP) dec. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP), 4-3
Dalton Roberts (New York AC) dec. Taylor LaMont (Sunkist Kids), 9-4
63 kg
Sammy Jones (New York AC) tech. fall Travis Rice (NMU-OTS), 9-0. 1:37
Ryan Mango (Army WCAP) tech. fall Jesse Thielke (New York AC/Legends of Gold), 9-0, 1:31
67 kg
Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) tech. fall Austin Morrow (New York AC), 10-0, 3:55
Jessy Williams (New York AC) dec. Raymond Bunker (Marines), 8-4
72 kg
RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC) tech. fall Chris Gonzalez (New York AC) , 10-0, 3:26
Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm) disq. Alejandro Sancho (New York AC)
77 kg
Kamal Bey (Sunkist Kids) tech. fall Jon Jay Chavez (New York AC), 10-0, 0:45
Peyton Walsh (Marines) dec. Jesse Porter (New York AC), 5-5
82 kg
Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) inj. dft. Jon Stefanowicz (Marines), 4:53
Geordan Speiller (Florida Jets) dec. Courtney Myers (Army WCAP), 5-1
87 kg
Ben Provisor (New York AC/Nittany Lion WC) dec. Kevin Radford (Sunkist Kids), 6-1
Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm) dec. Cheney Haight (New York AC), 4-0
97 kg
Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP), 7-6
Dan Miller (Marines) dec. Enock Francois (New York AC), 6-3
130 kg
Robby Smith (New York AC) tech. fall Alton Meeks (Florida Jets), 8-0
Adam Coon (New York AC/MWC) pin Donny Longendyke (Minnesota Storm), 0:59
