13 foreign wrestlers to watch at the Bill Farrell International

Photo of Michelle Fazzari at the 2017 World Champions by Tony Rotundo.

While many are focused on which Americans will earn bids to the Olympic Team Trials in April, the rest of the World has also sent some of their best competitors to New York City to participate in the Bill Farrell International. In particular, the women’s freestyle brackets are loaded with world-class competitors. Take a look at some of the top international talent that will be wrestling over the next two days.
Women’s freestyle


50 kg Miho Igarashi (Japan)
Igarashi has yet to crack the Senior Japanese World Team but has had extensive success at the age-group level. She is a 2017 U23 World Champion, a two-time Junior World champion (2015 and 2016) and a 2014 Cadet World champion.
53 kg Yuka Yago (Japan)
Yago hasn’t competed at a World Championship at any level, but she won the Bill Farrell in 2015 and 2016, the only two years she entered. She is also a two-time Junior Asian Championships gold medalist.
62 kg Michelle Fazzari (Canada)
Fazzari was a seasoned vet at her fourth World Championships in 2017 when she finally broke through to earn a bronze medal. Eight months later, she suffered a knee injury in the Commonwealth Games and hasn’t seen international competition since. It will be interesting to see if Fazzari needs to shake any rust off, or if she’s ready to go.
62 kg Yuki Sakano (Japan)
In case you haven’t caught on by now, the Japanese are excellent in women’s freestyle. Sakano placed fifth at the non-Olympic Senior World Championships in 2016. In 2017, Sakano was the U23 World Champion. This year, she won the UWW Test Tournament.
68 kg Danielle Lappage (Canada)
Lappage, a 2010 Junior World champion, earned a silver medal at the 2018 World Championships at 65 kg. In 2019, she finished eighth at 68 kg. The Bill Farrell will be an opportunity to see how Lappage has continued adjusting to the new weight class.


76 kg Aline da Silva Ferreira (Brazil)
A 2014 World Silver medalist, da Silva Ferreira has competed in 10 Senior World Championships and an Olympic Games over the course of her career. She also has a Junior World silver medal from 2005.
76 kg Erica Wiebe (Canada)
Wiebe was the 2016 Olympic champion. She is a 2018 World bronze medalist. She placed ninth in the 2019 World Championships. This year she also won the Yasar Dogu and the Canada Cup.
Greco-Roman


60 kg Kristian Fris (Serbia)
A 2007 World bronze medalist, Fris has staying power. He placed fifth at the 2019 World Championships. Total, he has competed in eight Senior World Championships.
77 kg Davor Stefanek (Serbia)
Stefanek is a 2016 Olympic champion, a 2014 World Champion, a 2018 World silver medalist and a 2015 World bronze medalist. He did not compete in the 2019 World Championships, but he is the most credentialed wrestler in the entire Greco tournament.
87 kg Alexander Kikinov (Belarus)
Kikinov is a two-time Bill Farrell champion, winning the tournament in 2016 and 2018. He is also a 2009 World bronze medalist and placed fifth in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Men’s Freestyle
86 kg Boris Makoev (Slovakia)
Americans may remember Makoev as the wrestler that defeated J’den Cox in the semifinals of the 2017 World Championships. Makoev went on to finish second. That is Makoev’s best finish to date, as he placed eighth and 24th at the past two World Championships.


86 kg Akhsarbek Gulaev (Slovakia)
Earlier this year Gulaev finished as a runner-up to Alex Dieringer at the Yasar Dogu wrestling at 79 kg. Like Dieringer, Gulaev also decided to make the move up to 86 kg. Gulaev finished as a runner-up at the 2019 U23 European Championships and is a 2017 U23 World Silver medalist at 74 kg.


125 kg Amar Dheshi (Canada)
Dheshi was a three-time All-American for Oregon State, but the big man also has freestyle chops. Dheshi is a 2014 Junior World champion.