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Hancock, Bey, Coon get draws for World Championships in Budapest

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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling

BUDAPEST, Hungary – The final three U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers received their draws for the World Wrestling Championships. Competition in their weight classes begin on Saturday at the Papp Laszlo Arena.


Two-time Senior World Team member G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) has drawn 2012 Junior World silver medalist Peter Oehler of Germany in his opening match.


In Hancock’s half-bracket are 2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia, 2017 World silver medalist Musa Evloev of Russia, 2014 World champion Melonin Noumonvi of France, 2017 World bronze medalist Revazi Nadareishvili of Georgia, 2014 Junior World champion Orkhan Nuriyev of Azerbaijan and Mahdi Aliyarifeizagadi of Iran, who was fifth at the 2013 World Championships.


On the half-bracket on the other side from Hancock are 2009 World champion Balazs Kiss of Hungary and 2018 European silver medalist Mikheil Kajaia of Serbia.


Hancock has made his second straight Senior World Team. He was a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist. In 2017, he competed for the USA at three World Championships in different age groups (Senior, U23, Junior). Hancock has won international gold medals at the Dave Schultz Memorial and the Bill Farrell Memorial in the USA, as well as the Haavisto Cup in Finland and the Pytlasinski Memorial in Poland.


A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., Hancock was a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete and attends Daymar College.


2017 Junior World champion Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids/OTC) will open against 2017 Asian bronze medalist Ridong Zhang of China.


Also in Bey’s half-bracket are two-time World bronze medalist Elvin Mursaliyev of Azerbaijan and 2017 World champion Viktor Nemes of Serbia.


In the half-bracket on the other side from Bey are 2017 World bronze medalist Pascal Eisele of Germany, 2012 Olympic champion and 2013 World champion Hyeon-Woo Kim of Korea, Olympic silver medalist and 2017 World silver medalist Tamas Lorincz of Hungary and Bozo Starcevic of Croatia, who was fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games.


Bey is competing on his first Senior World Team. He won gold at the 2017 Junior World Championships, placed fifth at the 2018 Junior World Championships and also wrestled in the 2016 Junior World Championships. He also was a member of the 2017 U23 World Team for the United States. Bey won gold medals at both the Dave Schultz Memorial and the Bill Farrell Memorial in the United States.


A native of Oak Park, Ill., Bey completed high school in Colorado Springs, Colo. and became a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete. He attends Daymar College.


At 130 kg/286 lbs., Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./New York AC/Michigan RTC), Coon opens his first Senior World Championships against Rafal Krajewski of Poland, who was 10th in the 2018 European Championships.


Coon was a 2011 Cadet World champion in freestyle and also competed in Greco-Roman at that Cadet World Championships. In 2014, he won World bronze medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the Junior World Championships. This year, Coon made the U.S. Senior World Team in Greco-Roman and placed second in Final X in freestyle. He was second in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Greco-Roman.


A native of Fowlerville, Mich., Coon was a two-time NCAA runner-up and three-time All-American for the University of Michigan. He was the first two-time USA Wrestling Junior Triple Crown winner in high school.


Also in Coon’s half-bracket are , Eduard Popp of Germany, who was fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games, Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu of Romania, who was fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games.


On the opposite half-bracket away from Coon are , three-time World champion and five-time World-level finalist Riza Kayaalp of Turkey, two-time World champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Heiki Nabi of Estonia, 2017 World bronze medalist Yasmani Acosta Fernandez of Chile, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sergey Semenov of Russia, 2015 World bronze medalist Oleksandr Chernetski of Ukraine and 2017 World bronze medalist Oscar Pino Hinds of Cuba.

U.S. Greco-Roman first round draws for Saturday


77 kg/169.5 lbs. - Kamal Bey, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids/OTC)

Vs. Ridong Zhang (China), 3rd in 2017 Asian Championships, three-time World Team member


97 kg/213.75 lbs. - G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)

Vs. Peter Oehler (Germany), 2012 Junior World silver medalist, 9th in 2015 World Championships, 5th in 2015 European U23


130 kg/286 lbs. - Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (New York AC/Michigan RTC)

Vs. Rafal Krajewski of Poland, 10th in 2018 Europeans, 7th in 2017 U23 Worlds,

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