World Champions Bey and Schultz lead U.S. Greco into Junior Worlds in Slovakia

The U.S. Junior Greco-Roman World Team will kick off the 2018 Junior World Championships for Team USA next week in Trnava, Slovakia, Sept. 17-19. The team is led by three past World medalists and features several other skilled athletes.

Making his third-straight trip to the Junior World Championships is Kamal Bey, who, in 2017, became the first U.S. Greco-Roman Junior World champion since 1999, winning the 75 kg bracket in Tampere, Finland.

This year, as the UWW weights shifted in order to go to 10 World Championship weights, Bey will wrestle at 77 kg. Waiting for him in the bracket are the other three medalists from last year’s 75 kg field.

For the last couple of years, Bey has been one of USA’s fiercest Greco competitors. In the early years of his elite career, 20-year-old Bey has won two Senior U.S. Opens, represented the U.S. at four age-group World Championships and collected multiple Senior international medals.

Last year, Bey did double duty, wrestling at Junior Worlds as well as the inaugural U23 World Championships. This year, he carries the same burden, but this time, in addition to Junior Worlds, Bey will represent the U.S. at the Senior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in October.

Bey isn’t the only World champion heading to Slovakia with the U.S. Joining him is 2017 Cadet World champion Cohlton Schultz, who won the first Cadet Greco World title for the U.S. since 1997.

Similar to Bey, Schultz is doing back-to-back years with two World Championship appearances. Last year, prior to winning his Cadet World title, Schultz competed at the Junior World Championships. This year, he will travel to Bucharest, Romania, for the U23 Worlds in November.

Overall, Schultz is a two-time Cadet World Teamer, two-time Junior World Teamer and a 2018 U23 World Team member.

Since last year, Schultz, who won his Cadet World title at 110 kg, has put on 20 kg of muscle and will compete at 130 kg.

Making his sixth-consecutive trip to an age-group World Championships is 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Taylor LaMont. At last year’s Junior Worlds, LaMont finished fifth in the World, falling in the bronze-medal match.

LaMont has suited up for the U.S. three times at the Cadet level (2013, 2014, 2015) and three times at the Junior level (2016, 2017, 2018). In Trnava, he will wrestle at 60 kg.

A sophomore at Utah Valley University, LaMont is a five-time Fargo champion and claimed bronze at the 2018 U.S. Open.

Two wrestlers will had to Worlds for the second time, including Peyton Omania at 67 kg and Brady Koontz at 55 kg.

Omania finished 11th at the 2016 Cadet World Championships, while Koontz did not place at Cadet Worlds in 2015.

Earlier this summer, Omania, who is attending Michigan State, won UWW Junior Greco-Roman Nationals and Fargo Junior Greco-Roman titles.

A freshman at Ohio State, Koontz was a 2017 Junior Greco Fargo runner-up to seal his fifth Fargo All-American honor.

Alston Nutter, a wrestler at the Northern Michigan Olympic Training Site, has a significant amount of international experience at only 19 years old. He owns a bronze medals from the 2017 Junior Greco-Roman Austrian Open and also tabbed top-five finishes at the 2016 Malar Cup and 2017 Klippan Cup. Nutter will wrestle in his first World Championships at 63 kg in Slovakia.

Junior Greco Fargo champions Tyler Dow (72 kg) of University of Wisconsin and Andrew Berreyesa (82 kg) of Cornell will make their World debuts as well as Barrett Hughes of Oklahoma State at 97 kg and Chad Porter of Arizona State at 87 kg.

The 2018 Junior World Championships are set for Sept. 17-23 in Trnava, Slovakia. The women’s freestyle portion of the competition will take place Sept. 17-19. Fans can watch the tournament live on Trackwrestling.com and keep up with @USAWrestling on Twitter for live updates.

2018 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Trnava, Slovakia, Sept. 17-23

U.S. Greco-Roman roster
55 kg: Brady Koontz (Plover, Wisc./Ohio RTC)
60 kg: Taylor LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Sunkist Kids)
63 kg: Alston Nutter (Fennimore, Wisc./NMU-OTS/Combat WC)
67 kg: Peyton Omania (Concord, Calif./CYC)
72 kg: Tyler Dow (Stoughton, Wisc./Badger RTC)
77 kg: Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
82 kg: Andrew Berreyesa (Las Vegas, Nev./New York AC/Finger Lakes WC)
87 kg: Barret Hughes (Coweta, Okla./Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC)
97 kg: Chad Porter (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)
130 kg: Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./New York AC)

U.S. Manager of Greco-Roman Programs – Gary Mayabb, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach – Nate Engel, Stanford, Calif.
Coach – Herb House, Castle Rock, Colo.

Medical – Dr. Steve Broman, Fort Collins, Colo.
Medical – Becky Ball, Lakewood, Colo.

Referee – Tim Pierson, Virginia Beach, Va.
Referee – Bill Harper, Drexel, Mo.
Referee – Danny Blackshear, Oklahoma City, Okla.

USA Wrestling communications – Taylor Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Schedule

Monday, Sept. 17
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (Greco-Roman 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg)
6 p.m. – Semifinals (Greco-Roman 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg)

Tuesday, Sept. 18
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (Greco-Roman 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (Greco-Roman 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg)
4:45 p.m.  – Opening ceremonies
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (Greco-Roman 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (Greco-Roman 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 87 kg, 130 kg)

Wednesday, Sept. 19
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (women’s FS 50 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (Greco-Roman 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (women’s FS 50 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (Greco-Roman 60 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg)

Thursday, Sept. 20
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (women’s FS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (women’s FS 50 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (women’s FS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (women’s FS 50 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg, 76 kg)

Friday, Sept. 21
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (men’s FS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (women’s FS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (men’s FS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (women’s FS 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 72 kg)

Saturday, Sept. 22
10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (men’s FS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
10:30 a.m. – Repechage (men’s FS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)
5:15 p.m. – Semifinals (men’s FS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
6 p.m. – Finals (men’s FS 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, 97 kg)

Sunday, Sept. 23
4 p.m. – Repechage (men’s FS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)
6 p.m. - Finals(men’s FS 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg, 125 kg)