McGowan lands spot in 2019 Cadet World semifinals in Bulgaria

Photo of Marc-Anthony McGowan by Kadir Caliskan of UWW.

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Marc-Anthony McGowan, the youngest member of the U.S. men’s freestyle team, landed a spot in the semifinals of the 2019 Cadet World Championships after a gutsy performance in the morning session on Tuesday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

McGowan, wrestling at 45 kg, impressed, defeating opponents from India and Armenia to move onto the semifinals.

Against 2019 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Suraj Annikeri of India, McGowan used a series of takedowns and a reversal to pick up a decisive 7-2 first-round victory.

In the quarterfinals, McGowan trailed 3-1 in the second period. But in the final minute, the American scored a takedown and a gut wrench, holding on for an eventual 5-3 win.

Tonight, McGowan will face 2019 Cadet European bronze medalist Tolga Ozbek of Turkey.

There are three U.S. athletes awaiting repechage fate tonight.

Returning World bronze medalist Alex Facundo seeks a shot at repechage as he lost his second-round match to Soslan Tigiev of Russia. Facundo trailed 5-1 in the second period but battled back with a takedown and later penalty point. It was not enough as Tigiev moved onto the quarterfinals with a 5-4 win.

In his first match, Facundo put together a dominant 9-0 decision over 2019 Cadet Asian silver medalist Shokhrukh Juraev of Uzbekistan.

Tonight, Tigiev will face 2019 Cadet European silver medalist Davit Kutchuashvili of Georgia in the semifinals. Should he win, Facundo will be pulled back into repechage.

2019 Cadet freestyle and Greco-Roman Pan American champion Jesse Mendez hopes to be pulled into repechage at 60 kg after going 1-1 in the morning session.

In his first match, Mendez defeated 2019 Cadet African champion Osama Abdellattif of Egypt with a quick pin in 1:22.

The quarterfinal match pitted Mendez against Farhad Karimli of Azerbaijan. Karimli took the bout with multiple takedowns for an 8-1 win.

Tonight, Karimli will take on 2019 Cadet Asian silver medalist Erfan Elahi of Iran in the 60 kg semis.        

At 92 kg, Kyle Haas looked solid, turning in a 12-0 tech fall over 2019 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Er Hurilebate of China in the first round.

In the quarterfinals, Haas put up an incredible fight against the other 2019 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Bekzat Tazhi of Kazakhstan but fell short. Trailing 4-2 at the break, Haas battled back, scoring a two takedowns and step out, however, Tazhi held on for an eventual 6-5 win.

Tonight, Tazhi will face Zagid Karimov of Russia in the semifinals.

Returning World silver medalist Richard Figueroa was eliminated from the tournament, losing his first match at 51 kg to Ato Maruyama of Japan. Maruyama failed to make it to the finals, losing to two-time U15 European champion Mukhamed Khaniev of Russia in the quarterfinals, ending Figueroa’s tournament.

The semifinals begin at 5:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET) live on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @USAWrestling on Twitter for live updates.

2019 CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Sofia, Bulgaria, July 29-Aug. 4

Men’s freestyle results

45 kg: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Tampa, Fla./BLR)

WIN Suraj Annikeri (India), 7-2

WIN Edik Harutyunyan (Armenia), 5-3

vs. Tolga Ozbek (Turkey)

51 kg: Richard Figueroa (Sanger, Calif./Sunkist Kids/Monster Garage)

LOSS Ato Maruyama (Japan), 10-0

60 kg: Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind./Bulldog Premier WC)

WIN Osama Abdellattif (Egypt), fall 1:22

LOSS Farhad Karimli (Azerbaijan), 8-1

71 kg: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich./Team Donahue)

WIN Shokhrukh Juraev (Uzbekistan), 9-0

LOSS Soslan Tigiev (Russia), 5-4

92 kg: Kyle Haas (Maize, Kan./Kansas-USA Wrestling)

WIN Er Hurilebate (China), 12-0

LOSS Bekzat Tazhi (Kazakhstan), 6-5