Hancock wins bronze medal, Smith and Tarpley place fifth at Thor Masters in Denmark
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Photo of G'Angelo Hancock receiving his 97 kg bronze medal courtesy of Matt Lindland.
NYKOBING FALSTER, Denmark – Two-time Senior World Team member G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won a bronze medal at 97 kg/213.5 lbs., the top U.S. performance at a very competive Thor Masters Greco-Roman international tournament which concluded on Saturday.
Hancock finished the event with a 5-1 record. He won his bronze-medal bout by injury default, after his opponent Ramsin Azizsir of Germany did not come out to wrestle.
The hosts are using the old two-pool, double-elimination international system, in which every athlete is guaranteed at least two matches. The medal matches are determined based upon the results from each pool. Hancock was the lone U.S. entry to qualify for a medal match.
Hancock opened with a pair of nice wins, beating two-time Military World champion Oleksandr Shyshman of Ukraine, 5-0 and getting a 9-0 technical fall over Billy Raaf of Sweden. In his third match, Hancock was beaten by Elias Kusmanen of Finland in a 9-1 technical fall. Kusmanen was a 2018 Military World champion and a 2017 U23 World silver medalist.
Hancock powered back with two more nice wins to finish second in his pool and earn a bronze medal match. He beat Artur Omarov of Czechia, 7-2 and 2018 U23 World silver medalist Zsolt Torok of Hungary, 6-2.
It has been a strong year of competitive results for Hancock this year, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the UWW Ranking Series at 97 kg. (Note: Thor Masters is not a ranking tournament).
Hancock won a gold medal at the Hungarian Grand Prix and a bronze medal at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia, both ranking tournaments. He also won a gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in February in his hometown of Colorado Springs.
“The U.S. Greco-Roman program continues to improve and move in the right direction. Hancock continues to impress with another great performance, and is three-for-three on making the podium in his most recent campaign,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
Two U.S. wrestlers placed fifth, after placing third in their pools: 2017 World team member and two-time Pan American champion Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 77 kg/169.5 lbs. and Nick Tarpley (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. They did not have fifth-place matches, and Smith and Tarpley took fifth based upon the classification points they scored in the weight class.
Smith finished with a 3-2 record in the tournament, with victories of U.S. wrestler Jesse Porter, Niko Erkkola of Finland and Leos Drmola of Slovakia. Tarpley finished with a 1-2 record, but included was an 8-0 technical fall over Flavio Freuler of Switzerland.
The USA had 19 entries in the tournament, with nine placing in the top 10 of their weight class. In the team standings, the USA placed in a tie for eighth with two points. The hosts use a medal-point system for the team standings. Germany won the team title, in a field of 19 nations.
“The Thor Masters has consistently been a very strong event and this year it was very strong again. We like the Nordic bracket system where our younger less-experienced athletes are guaranteed a minimum of two matches. I was happy to see many of our athletes step up and get wins with solid performances,” said Lindland.
The U.S. Greco-Roman program has been active in recent months, getting valuable international experience and training opportunities.
THOR MASTERS
At Nykobing Falster, Denmark, Mar. 15-16
55 kg
Gold - Fabian Schmitt, Germany
Silver - Marat Garipov, Brazil
Bronze - Anders Rønningen, Norway
60 kg
Gold - Etienne Kinsinger, Germany
Silver - Christoper Kraemer, Germany
Bronze - Lauri Mähonen, Finland
63 kg
Gold - Stig-Andre Berge, Norway
Silver - Lenur Temirov, Ukraine
Bronze - Nasrullakh Nassibov, Ukraine
67 kg
1. Fredrik Bjerrehuus, Denmark
2. Ruslan Kudrynets, Ukraine
3. Oleksii Kalinichenko, Ukraine
72 kg
1. Parviz Nasibov, Ukraine
2. Vegard Jørgensen, Norway
3. Michael Widmayer, Germany
77 kg
1. Roland Schwarz, Germany
2. Florian Neumaier, Germany
3., Volodymyr Yakovliev Ukraine
87 kg
1. Zakarias Berg, Sweden
2. Denis Kudla, Germany
3. Amer Hrustanovic, Austria
97 kg
1. Elias Kuosmanen, Finland
2. Felix Baldauf, Norway
3. Tracy Hancock, USA
130 kg
1. Mykola Kuchmii, Ukraine
2. Eduard Popp, Germany
3. Konsta Mäenpää, Finland
Team Standings
1. Germany, 30 points
2. Ukraine, 21
3. Norway, 12
4. Denmark, 9
5. Finland, 9
6. Sweden, 7
7. Brazil, 3
8. (tie) USA and Austria, 2
10. (tie), Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, 1
(of 19 nations)
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
60 kg/132 lbs. – Justin Feldman (Camarillo, Calif./All-Navy) , 9th place
LOSS Etienne Kinsinger (Germany), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Lauri Karjalainen (Finland), tech. fall 8-0
63 kg/138.5 lbs. – Dominic Damon (Seattle, Wash./Vandit Wrestling Academy), dnp/11th
LOSS Nazrullakh Nassibov (Ukraine), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Bence Kovacs (Hungary), 8-3
63 kg/138.5 lbs. – Sammy Jones (Marquette, Mich./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 7th place
WIN Kasper Ravn (Denmark), 11-9
WIN Stig Andre Berg (Norway), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Dymytro Tsybaliuk (Ukraine), 5-0
LOSS Justas Petravicius (Lithuania), 8-3
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Morgan Flaharty (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC), dnp/18th
LOSS Oleksii Kalinichenko (Ukraine), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Alksandars Jurkans (Latvia), tech. fall 9-0
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Austin Morrow (Wenatchee, Wash./NYAC), dnp/17th
LOSS Fredrik Bjerrehuus (Denmark), tech. fall 11-0
LOSS Manrikos Theodoridis (Greece), 6-3
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Jessy Williams (Windsor, N.Y./NYAC), dnp/15th
LOSS Denis Bolunov (Estonia), 9-5
LOSS Daniel Soini (Sweden), tech. fall 10-1
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Nick Tarpley (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC), 5th place
LOSS Dawid Karecinski (Poland), 8-3
WIN Flavio Freuler (Switzerland), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine), 4-1
77 kg/169.5 lbs. – Jesse Porter (Ballston Lake, N.Y./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 9th place
WIN Jevgenijs Kolcovs (Latvia), tech. fall 10-1
LOSS Volodymyr Yakovliev (Ukraine), 5-3
WIN Andre Isberg (Sweden), tech. fall 12-4
LOSS Pat Smith (USA), 4-0
77 kg/169.5 lbs. – Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm), 5th place
WIN Niko Erkkola (Finland), 4-0
WIN Leos Drmola (Slovakia), 9-2
LOSS Roland Schwarz (Germany), tech. fall 9-0
WIN Jesse Porter (USA), 4-0
LOSS Volodymyr Yakovliev (Ukraine), 5-1
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Corey Fitzgerald (Green, Ohio/NMU-OTS), dnp/14th
LOSS Anton Olsson (Sweden), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Carter Nielsen (USA), tech. fall 8-0
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Carter Nielsen (Foley, Minn./Minnesota Storm/NMU-OTS), 9th place
WIN Marc Weber (Switzerland), pin
WIN Corey Fitzgerald (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Dmitrios Papadopoulos (Greece), 7-6
LOSS Bogdan Kourinnoi (Sweden), inj. dft.
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Spencer Woods (Kotzebue, Alaska/NYAC/NMU-OTS), dnp/13th
LOSS Petr Novak (Czechia), pin
LOSS Hannes Wagner (Germany), tech. fall 11-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Tommy Brackett (Memphis, Tenn./NMU-OTS), dnp/15th
LOSS Patrick Martinez (USA), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Dmitrios Tsekeridis (Greece), tech fall 8-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Alan Vera Garcia (Oviedo, Fla./Florida Jets), dnp/14th
LOSS Dmitrios Tsekeridis (Greece), pin
LOSS Iurii Shkriuba (Lithuania), 10-9
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Trey Hardy (Plantation, Fla./NMU-OTS), dnp/15th
LOSS Albin Frid (Sweden), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Zakarias Berg (Sweden), tech. fall 10-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Patrick Martinez (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC/OTC), 7th place
WIN Tommy Brackett (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Eividas Stankevicius (Lithuania), 2-0
LOSS Amer Hrustanovic (Austria), 3-1
LOSS Denis Kudla (Germany), 2-1
97 kg/213.5 lbs. – Orry Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 9th place
LOSS Artur Omarov (Czechia), tech fall 9-0
WIN Billy Raaf (Sweden), pin
LOSS Elias Kusmanen (Finland), 7-2
97 kg/213.5 lbs. – G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), bronze medal
WIN Oleksandr Shyshman (Ukraine), 5-0
WIN Billy Raaf (Sweden), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Elias Kusmanen (Finland), tech. fall 9-1
WIN Artur Omarov (Czechia), 7-2
WIN Zsolt Torok (Hungary), 6-2
WIN Ramsin Azizsir (Germany), injury default
130 kg/286.5 lbs. – Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids/EAP), dnp/11th
LOSS Toumas Lahti (Finland), 4-3
LOSS Vladyslav Voronyi (Ukraine), 4-3
NYKOBING FALSTER, Denmark – Two-time Senior World Team member G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won a bronze medal at 97 kg/213.5 lbs., the top U.S. performance at a very competive Thor Masters Greco-Roman international tournament which concluded on Saturday.
Hancock finished the event with a 5-1 record. He won his bronze-medal bout by injury default, after his opponent Ramsin Azizsir of Germany did not come out to wrestle.
The hosts are using the old two-pool, double-elimination international system, in which every athlete is guaranteed at least two matches. The medal matches are determined based upon the results from each pool. Hancock was the lone U.S. entry to qualify for a medal match.
Hancock opened with a pair of nice wins, beating two-time Military World champion Oleksandr Shyshman of Ukraine, 5-0 and getting a 9-0 technical fall over Billy Raaf of Sweden. In his third match, Hancock was beaten by Elias Kusmanen of Finland in a 9-1 technical fall. Kusmanen was a 2018 Military World champion and a 2017 U23 World silver medalist.
Hancock powered back with two more nice wins to finish second in his pool and earn a bronze medal match. He beat Artur Omarov of Czechia, 7-2 and 2018 U23 World silver medalist Zsolt Torok of Hungary, 6-2.
It has been a strong year of competitive results for Hancock this year, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the UWW Ranking Series at 97 kg. (Note: Thor Masters is not a ranking tournament).
Hancock won a gold medal at the Hungarian Grand Prix and a bronze medal at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Croatia, both ranking tournaments. He also won a gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in February in his hometown of Colorado Springs.
“The U.S. Greco-Roman program continues to improve and move in the right direction. Hancock continues to impress with another great performance, and is three-for-three on making the podium in his most recent campaign,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
Two U.S. wrestlers placed fifth, after placing third in their pools: 2017 World team member and two-time Pan American champion Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 77 kg/169.5 lbs. and Nick Tarpley (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. They did not have fifth-place matches, and Smith and Tarpley took fifth based upon the classification points they scored in the weight class.
Smith finished with a 3-2 record in the tournament, with victories of U.S. wrestler Jesse Porter, Niko Erkkola of Finland and Leos Drmola of Slovakia. Tarpley finished with a 1-2 record, but included was an 8-0 technical fall over Flavio Freuler of Switzerland.
The USA had 19 entries in the tournament, with nine placing in the top 10 of their weight class. In the team standings, the USA placed in a tie for eighth with two points. The hosts use a medal-point system for the team standings. Germany won the team title, in a field of 19 nations.
“The Thor Masters has consistently been a very strong event and this year it was very strong again. We like the Nordic bracket system where our younger less-experienced athletes are guaranteed a minimum of two matches. I was happy to see many of our athletes step up and get wins with solid performances,” said Lindland.
The U.S. Greco-Roman program has been active in recent months, getting valuable international experience and training opportunities.
THOR MASTERS
At Nykobing Falster, Denmark, Mar. 15-16
55 kg
Gold - Fabian Schmitt, Germany
Silver - Marat Garipov, Brazil
Bronze - Anders Rønningen, Norway
60 kg
Gold - Etienne Kinsinger, Germany
Silver - Christoper Kraemer, Germany
Bronze - Lauri Mähonen, Finland
63 kg
Gold - Stig-Andre Berge, Norway
Silver - Lenur Temirov, Ukraine
Bronze - Nasrullakh Nassibov, Ukraine
67 kg
1. Fredrik Bjerrehuus, Denmark
2. Ruslan Kudrynets, Ukraine
3. Oleksii Kalinichenko, Ukraine
72 kg
1. Parviz Nasibov, Ukraine
2. Vegard Jørgensen, Norway
3. Michael Widmayer, Germany
77 kg
1. Roland Schwarz, Germany
2. Florian Neumaier, Germany
3., Volodymyr Yakovliev Ukraine
87 kg
1. Zakarias Berg, Sweden
2. Denis Kudla, Germany
3. Amer Hrustanovic, Austria
97 kg
1. Elias Kuosmanen, Finland
2. Felix Baldauf, Norway
3. Tracy Hancock, USA
130 kg
1. Mykola Kuchmii, Ukraine
2. Eduard Popp, Germany
3. Konsta Mäenpää, Finland
Team Standings
1. Germany, 30 points
2. Ukraine, 21
3. Norway, 12
4. Denmark, 9
5. Finland, 9
6. Sweden, 7
7. Brazil, 3
8. (tie) USA and Austria, 2
10. (tie), Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, 1
(of 19 nations)
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
60 kg/132 lbs. – Justin Feldman (Camarillo, Calif./All-Navy) , 9th place
LOSS Etienne Kinsinger (Germany), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Lauri Karjalainen (Finland), tech. fall 8-0
63 kg/138.5 lbs. – Dominic Damon (Seattle, Wash./Vandit Wrestling Academy), dnp/11th
LOSS Nazrullakh Nassibov (Ukraine), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Bence Kovacs (Hungary), 8-3
63 kg/138.5 lbs. – Sammy Jones (Marquette, Mich./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 7th place
WIN Kasper Ravn (Denmark), 11-9
WIN Stig Andre Berg (Norway), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Dymytro Tsybaliuk (Ukraine), 5-0
LOSS Justas Petravicius (Lithuania), 8-3
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Morgan Flaharty (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC), dnp/18th
LOSS Oleksii Kalinichenko (Ukraine), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Alksandars Jurkans (Latvia), tech. fall 9-0
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Austin Morrow (Wenatchee, Wash./NYAC), dnp/17th
LOSS Fredrik Bjerrehuus (Denmark), tech. fall 11-0
LOSS Manrikos Theodoridis (Greece), 6-3
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Jessy Williams (Windsor, N.Y./NYAC), dnp/15th
LOSS Denis Bolunov (Estonia), 9-5
LOSS Daniel Soini (Sweden), tech. fall 10-1
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Nick Tarpley (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC), 5th place
LOSS Dawid Karecinski (Poland), 8-3
WIN Flavio Freuler (Switzerland), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine), 4-1
77 kg/169.5 lbs. – Jesse Porter (Ballston Lake, N.Y./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 9th place
WIN Jevgenijs Kolcovs (Latvia), tech. fall 10-1
LOSS Volodymyr Yakovliev (Ukraine), 5-3
WIN Andre Isberg (Sweden), tech. fall 12-4
LOSS Pat Smith (USA), 4-0
77 kg/169.5 lbs. – Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm), 5th place
WIN Niko Erkkola (Finland), 4-0
WIN Leos Drmola (Slovakia), 9-2
LOSS Roland Schwarz (Germany), tech. fall 9-0
WIN Jesse Porter (USA), 4-0
LOSS Volodymyr Yakovliev (Ukraine), 5-1
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Corey Fitzgerald (Green, Ohio/NMU-OTS), dnp/14th
LOSS Anton Olsson (Sweden), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Carter Nielsen (USA), tech. fall 8-0
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Carter Nielsen (Foley, Minn./Minnesota Storm/NMU-OTS), 9th place
WIN Marc Weber (Switzerland), pin
WIN Corey Fitzgerald (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Dmitrios Papadopoulos (Greece), 7-6
LOSS Bogdan Kourinnoi (Sweden), inj. dft.
82 kg/180.5 lbs. – Spencer Woods (Kotzebue, Alaska/NYAC/NMU-OTS), dnp/13th
LOSS Petr Novak (Czechia), pin
LOSS Hannes Wagner (Germany), tech. fall 11-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Tommy Brackett (Memphis, Tenn./NMU-OTS), dnp/15th
LOSS Patrick Martinez (USA), tech. fall 8-0
LOSS Dmitrios Tsekeridis (Greece), tech fall 8-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Alan Vera Garcia (Oviedo, Fla./Florida Jets), dnp/14th
LOSS Dmitrios Tsekeridis (Greece), pin
LOSS Iurii Shkriuba (Lithuania), 10-9
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Trey Hardy (Plantation, Fla./NMU-OTS), dnp/15th
LOSS Albin Frid (Sweden), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Zakarias Berg (Sweden), tech. fall 10-0
87 kg/191.5 lbs. – Patrick Martinez (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC/OTC), 7th place
WIN Tommy Brackett (USA), tech. fall 8-0
WIN Eividas Stankevicius (Lithuania), 2-0
LOSS Amer Hrustanovic (Austria), 3-1
LOSS Denis Kudla (Germany), 2-1
97 kg/213.5 lbs. – Orry Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./NYAC/NMU-OTS), 9th place
LOSS Artur Omarov (Czechia), tech fall 9-0
WIN Billy Raaf (Sweden), pin
LOSS Elias Kusmanen (Finland), 7-2
97 kg/213.5 lbs. – G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), bronze medal
WIN Oleksandr Shyshman (Ukraine), 5-0
WIN Billy Raaf (Sweden), tech. fall 9-0
LOSS Elias Kusmanen (Finland), tech. fall 9-1
WIN Artur Omarov (Czechia), 7-2
WIN Zsolt Torok (Hungary), 6-2
WIN Ramsin Azizsir (Germany), injury default
130 kg/286.5 lbs. – Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids/EAP), dnp/11th
LOSS Toumas Lahti (Finland), 4-3
LOSS Vladyslav Voronyi (Ukraine), 4-3
