Anthony and Gantt win freestyle exhibition bouts in Naples, Italy

NAPLES, ITALY – The U.S. won two of four matches in a freestyle exhibition dual meet in Naples, Italy, as a part of the Tussle for the Troops on Friday afternoon on the Naples Naval Base.

The freestyle matches opened for the main event, which was an NCAA dual between No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 5 North Carolina State.

Up first was two-time Junior World champion and two-time fifth-place Senior World finisher Victoria Anthony, who took on first-year Junior-level athlete Emanuela Liuzzi of Italy. Liuzzi competed at both the Cadet and Junior World Championships this summer in Athens, Greece, and Tampere, Finland, respectively.

The two wrestled at 48 kg/106 lbs. with world-No. 6 Anthony rolling to an easy 10-0 technical fall, picking up four takedowns and a gut wrench en route to the win.

At 74 kg/163 lbs., Tommy Gantt, a member of the Wolfpack Regional Training Center at NC State and two-time Senior U.S. Open All-American, outlasted Johnny Bur of France in a 10-8 battle.

A 2017 Henri Deglane champion, Bur led after the first period, 3-2, but Gantt quickly turned the tables, taking over the lead 10-6 with less than 10 seconds left. In the final moments, Bur registered a takedown, but it was not enough and Gantt took the win.

Americans Steven Midkiff and Timmy McCall, also a Wolfpack RTC athlete, lost their matches at 70 kg/154 lbs. and 97 kg/213 lbs.

As reported by Flowrestling, Midkiff, a junior at Virginia Military Institute, was traveling in Europe when he heard about the event and reached out for an opportunity to compete. He filled in at 70 kg, where he faced Gianluca Talamo, who represented Italy at the 2016 Junior World Championships in Macon, France.

Talamo jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, which, despite a successful head pinch for two, was insurmountable for Midkiff. Talamo took the win, 12-2.

Henri Deglane champion and Dave Schultz Memorial silver medalist McCall faced off against Cuba native Abraham Conyedo, who now wrestles for Italy.

With the match knotted at one apiece at the break, Conyedo, a 2015 Pan American silver medalist, scored on a crucial takedown and went right into a gutwrench to defeat the American, 5-1.

Later that afternoon, Oklahoma State held on for a 19-16 team win over NC State.

TUSSLE FOR THE TROOPS

at Naples Naval Base (Naples, Italy)

Freestyle matches
48 kg/106 lbs. – Victoria Anthony (USA) TF Emanuela Liuzzi (Italy), 10-0
70 kg/154 lbs. – Gianluca Talamo (Italy) TF Steven Midkiff (USA), 12-2
74 kg/163 lbs. – Tommy Gantt (USA) dec. Johnny Bur (France), 10-8
97 kg/213 lbs. – Abraham Conyedo (Italy) dec. Timmy McCall (USA), 5-1