Mensah-Stock bumps up and knocks off Gray in battle of World champions on FloWrestling card

Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki.

The main event on FloWrestling’s ten-match card lived up to the hype, as Tamyra Mensah-Stock bested Adeline Gray, 4-0, in a clash between World champions.

Mensah-Stock, a 2019 World champion and 2018 World bronze medalist at 68 kg, moved up to 76 kg to challenge the five-time World champion Gray. Both wrestlers qualified their respective weight classes for the Tokyo Olympic Games with their gold-medal performances at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan and now sit in the best-of-three Olympic Team Trials finals. The pair wrestled once before, with Gray defeating Mensah-Stock in the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial finals, 8-0.

The margin of separation was thin and ultimately came down to one sequence. Midway through the first period, Mensah-Stock fired off a low-level shot which she transitioned into a leg lace, picking up two points for the takedown and another two points for the exposure. For the remainder of the match, Mensah-Stock stymied all of Gray’s attempted leg attacks, utilizing near-perfect positioning to keep one of the greatest American wrestlers of all time at bay.

Mensah-Stock will be back down to 68 kg next weekend when she competes at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in Nice, France.

In the event’s opening match, 2017 Junior World silver medalist Mitch McKee picked up a first period technical fall over Tristan Moran, 11-1. In college, the pair wrestled three times, with Moran holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. However, McKee’s freestyle savvy proved too much for Moran. To secure the tech, McKee locked up his signature head pinch for two points.

2015 Cadet World champion Ronna Heaton knocked off 62 kg National Team member Desiree Zavala in the night’s second bout. At the break, Zavala led, 3-3, on criteria. However, Heaton was not deterred and came back to earn a 10-8 win.

Nate Jackson looked relentless in the 215 pound match, dominating Wynn Michalak. Jackson led, 10-1, at the break, scoring four takedowns and an exposure with a leg lace. He iced the match in the second period with a score off a reattack. Michalak, an assistant coach at Michigan State, came out of retirement to take this match.

At 61 kg, Seth Gross, a 2018 NCAA champion, bested two-time Illinois All-American Zane Richards, 11-3. Gross trailed Richards 3-0, early before taking control of the match and rattling off 11 unanswered points.

In a clash of former Junior World Team members, Ethan Lizak quickly picked up a 10-0 technical fall over Matt McDonough. Lizak, an NCAA finalist for Minnesota, scored on a single leg takedown and locked up a high gut wrench, repeatedly turning McDonough to earn the tech. McDonough, a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa, also came out of retirement to compete. His last match was at the 2016 Olympic Team Trials.

At 65 kg, Joey McKenna took out 2018 World Team member Nahshon Garrett with a 12-2 technical fall. McKenna struck quickly with a four-point feet-to-back single leg takedown. Garrett responded, exposing McKenna in a scramble for two points. From there on, it was all McKenna. The U23 and Junior World medalist rattled off several takedowns before closing the match out with two turns from a gut wrench.

Erin Golston won a controlled match over Youth Olympic Games and Cadet World champion Emily Shilson. After allowing a step-out point, Golston, a former National Team member and three-time Junior World medalist, scored a takedown and transitioned into two turns with a leg lace to go up 6-1. In the second period, she added another takedown to extend her lead to 8-1. Shilson was able to convert on two takedowns in the match’s final minute, but it was not enough to surpass Golston’s lead, as she fell 8-5.

Two-time World medalist James Green defeated Pat Lugo of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in a low-scoring, 3-2, affair. Green scored a takedown and a step-out point to take a 3-0 lead. Lugo managed to score on two step-outs in the second period, but Green fended him off in the waning seconds for the win. Green, who has represented Team USA at the World Championships at 70 kg (154 pounds) for the past five years, is making the descent to 65 kg (143 pounds) for the Olympic year. He will also be competing at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix next weekend.

Two-time reigning World champion J’den Cox made his return to the mat after a ten month hiatus in the night’s penultimate bout. Cox was challenged by Hayden Zillmer, a former National Team member in both Greco-Roman and freestyle. Cox trailed 1-0 at the break off a passivity point. However, he turned up his pace in the second period, scoring a takedown into a gut wrench to go up, 4-1. Before the final whistle, he scored once more on a go behind, making the score 6-1.

Results
155 lbs: Mitch McKee TF Tristan Moran, 11-1
60 kg: Ronna Heaton DEF Desiree Zavala, 10-8
215 lbs: Nate Jackson TF Wynn Michalak, 12-1
61 kg: Seth Gross DEF Zane Richards, 11-3
143 lbs: Ethan Lizak TF Matt McDonough, 10-0
65 kg: Joey McKenna TF Nahshon Garrett , 12-2
51 kg: Erin Golston DEF Emily Shilson, 8-5
152 lbs: James Green DEF Pat Lugo, 3-2
97 kg: J'den Cox DEF Hayden Zillmer, 6-1
76 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock DEF Adeline Gray, 4-0