Fix, Brooks and Elam secure spots in the Junior World semifinals

TRNAVA, Slovakia – In the first day of men’s freestyle competition, USA put three wrestlers into the Junior World Championships semifinals in Trnava, Slovakia, including Daton Fix at 57 kg, Aaron Brooks at 79 kg and Zach Elam at 97 kg.

Returning to the Junior World semifinals for the second year in a row is reigning Junior World champion Fix, who barely broke a sweat on Friday morning.

Fix shutout both of his first-session opponents with a pair of 10-0 technical falls to start his tournament at 57 kg.

In the first round, the Oklahoma State wrestler faced Ahmet Tas of Turkey, who was eighth at this event last year. Fix rattled of a takedown with three turns from a trapped-arm gutwrench for an early 8-0 lead. The champ finished it off with another takedown to seal his first 10-0 win.

The quarterfinals pitted Fix against 2016 Cadet World champion and 2018 Junior European silver medalist Andrey Dzhelep of Ukraine.

Fix led 8-0 at the break with three takedowns, one of which was worth four points. Less than 30 seconds into the second period, Fix got behind for one final takedown and secured another trip to the Junior World semis.

Tonight, the 2018 Final X runner-up will face Naveen Naveen of India, who was a 2015 Cadet Asian champion.

2017 Cadet World champion Brooks was hardly challenged in his Junior Worlds debut, securing a spot in the 79 kg semifinals.

To start off his day, Brooks put up a fast 12-1 tech fall over Daniar Meldebek of Kazakhstan, who was seventh at this year’s Junior Asian Championships.

In the quarterfinals, Brooks battled 2018 Junior European silver medalist Andrian Grosul of Moldova.

Grosul was on the board first with a takedown, but Brooks responded immediately with a takedown of his own to take a lead on criteria. With two more takedowns, Brooks led 6-2 at the break. In the final minute, both wrestlers exchanged takedowns, but it was Brooks who walked away with a 9-4 victory.

In the semifinals, Brooks will face two-time age-group World bronze medalist Orhan Abasov of Azerbaijan. Abasov, who took third at the Junior European Championships, won his last World medal at the 2016 Junior Worlds.

Elam, the U.S. Junior World Team member replacement at 97 kg, dominated his way to the Junior World semifinals with two impressive first-session performances.

In his opening match, Elam pinned 2018 Junior Asian bronze medalist Kunai Nurdavletov of Kyrgyzstan early in the second period. The American was leading 11-1 at the time of the pin.

To secure a bid in the semifinals, Elam defeated the other Junior Asian bronze medalist from this year, Korea’s Han Hyunsu.

The Korean scored first on a takedown, but it was all Elam from there. The Mizzou wrestler put together a combination of takedowns and turns for an eventual 13-2 technical fall.

In tonight’s semis, Elam will take on Junior Asian silver medalist Serik Bakytkhanov from Kazakhstan.

At 70 kg, two-time age-group World Team member Brady Berge fell in a tough first-round bout to Rambek Zhamalov, who finished eighth at the Medved tournament earlier this month.

Berge awaits his fate tonight. Should Zhamalov win his semifinal match tonight, Berge will be pulled back in to compete in tomorrow’s repechage.

Making his second-consecutive Junior Worlds appearance and first in freestyle was Dom Demas, who dominated in his first bout at 65 kg over Ikhtiyor Normurodov of Uzbekistan. Demas led 10-4 before Normurodov injury defaulted out of the match.

In his next match, Demas fell to 2018 Junior European bronze medalist Gegham Galstyan of Armenia in an 8-4 bout. Galstyan failed to make it to the finals, losing in the quarterfinals and ending Demas’ 2018 Junior World Championships.

The semifinals are set for Friday at 5:15 p.m. local time (11:15 a.m. ET), followed by the last of the women’s freestyle medal matches at 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET). Alisha Howk, the U.S. womne’s representative at 53 kg, will wrestle for bronze tonight.

Fans can watch all the action live on Trackwrestling.

2018 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Trnava, Slovakia

U.S. men’s freestyle results

57 kg: Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla./Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC)
WIN Ahmet Tas (Turkey), 10-0
WIN Andrey Dzhelep (Ukraine), 10-0
vs. Naveen Naveen (India)

65 kg: Domonick Demas (Dublin, Ohio/OKRTC)
WIN Ikhtiyor Normurodov (Uzbekistan), inj. default, 10-4
LOSS Gegham Galstyan (Armenia), 8-4

70 kg: Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn./Nittany Lion WC)
LOSS Razambek Zhamalov (Russia), 13-3

79 kg: Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md./USOTC)
WIN Daniar Meldebek (Kazakhstan), 12-1
WIN Andrian Grosul (Moldova), 9-4
vs. Orhan Abasov (Azerbaijan)

97 kg: Zach Elam (Kansas City, Mo./Team Central WC)
WIN Kunai Nurdavletov (Kyrgyzstan), fall 3:37
WIN Han Hyunsu (Korea), 13-2
vs. Serik Bakytkhanov (Kazakhstan)