Gray, Blades win women’s freestyle bronze medals at Zagreb Open

ZAGREB, Croatia -  The U.S. women’s freestyle wrestlers closed out its tournament by winning two bronze medals on Saturday at the Zagreb Open, the first United World Wrestling Ranking Tournament of the 2024 year.

Both of the U.S. medals came at 76 kg, with Adeline Gray and Kennedy Blades both on the podium in third place.

Gray, a six-time World champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist, defeated 2022 European silver medalist Pauline Lecarpentier of France, 3-0 in the bronze-medal round. Gray scored a first-period takedown to lead 2-0 at the break. LeCarpentier was put on shot clock and did not score, making it 3-0 and ending the scoring.

Gray’s only loss came to two-time World medalist Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan, 10-0. She came back with a 12-2 technical fall over Individual Neutral Athlete Rita Talismanovaaa in repechage to reach the medal round.

In a battle of past U20 World champions from the United States, Kennedy Blades pinned Kylie Welker in 4:25. Blades scored a first-period takedown to lead 2-0 at the break. In the second period, Blades tossed Welker to her back and secured the pin. With the loss, Welker placed fifth.

Blades and Welker were both beaten by the same opponent, 2023 Asian Games bronze medalist Juan Wang of China. Wang beat Welker in the quarterfinals, 8-5, then stopped Blades in the semifinals, 3-3.

Blades was a 2021 U20 World champion, and a three-time age-group World medalist. Welker, who competes for the University of Iowa, was also a 2021 U20 World champion and has three age-group World titles for the USA. Welker competed on the 2021 Senior World Team.

At 53 kg, 2022 World champion Dom Parrish placed fifth. She was pinned by 2022 World bronze medalist Jowita Wrzesien of Poland in 2:34. Parrish opened the match with a pair of step outs on single leg attacks, to lead 2-0. Wrzesien scored a takedown on a dump, then turned Parrish for a 4-2 lead, completing the fall with 26 seconds left in the first period. She finished the day with a 2-2 record.

The United States placed third in the women’s freestyle standings with 65 points. Ukraine won the tournament with 125 points, with China in second with 115 points. The USA finished with four medals, also claiming silver medals on Friday from Kayla Miracle (62 kg) and Forrest Molinari (68 kg).

Three U.S. Greco-Roman athletes competed on Saturday, losing their opening match and not getting pulled into repechage when their opponent failed to make the finals: Peyton Omania (67 kg), Olympian Alejandro Sancho (67 kg) and Robert Perez III (67 kg). Omania fell in his opening match to Oleksii Masyk of Ukraine, 6-2. Sancho dropped his opening match to Hasrat Jafarov of Azerbaijan, and Perez fell to Lei Li of China.

The tournament concludes on Sunday with six Greco-Roman weight classes (55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg).

All of the action is live on FloWrestling.

ZAGREB OPEN

At Zagreb, Croatia, Jan. 13

Women’s freestyle results

53 kg

Gold - Pang Qianyu (China)

Silver - Stalvira Orshush (Hungary)

Bronze - Jowita Wrzesien (Poland)

Bronze - Annika Wendle (Germany)

5^th - Dom Parrish (USA)

5^th - Min Zhang (China)

7^th - Anastasia Blayvas (Germany)

8^th - Christianah Ogunsanya (Nigeria)

9^th -  Liliia Malanchuk (Ukaine)

10^th - Mariia Yefremova (Ukraine)

Gold – Qianyu inj. dft. Orshush, 0:00

Bronze – Wrzesien pin Parrish, 2:34

Bronze – Wendle dec. Zhang, 5-3

57 kg

Gold - Kexin Hong (China)

Silver - Qi Zhang (China)

Bronze - Yongxin Feng (China)

Bronze - Anastasia Nichita (Moldova)

5^th - Hannah Taylor (Canada)

5^th - Zhala Aliyeva (Azerbaijan)

7^th - Giullia Oliveira (Brazil)

8^th - Anhelina Lysak (Ukraine)

9^th - Elena Brugger (Germany)

10^th - Mathilde Riviere (France)

Gold – Hong dec. Zhang, 7-2

Bronze – Nichita tech fall Aliyeva, 14-4

Bronze – Feng tech fall Taylor, 10-0

72 kg

Gold – Iryna Zablotzka (Ukraine)

Silver – Fanni Nagy Nad (Serbia)

Gold – Zablotzka dec. Nagy Nad, 5-0

76 kg

Gold - Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)

Silver - Juan Wang (China)

Bronze- Kennedy Blades (USA)

Bronze - Adeline Gray (USA)

5^th - Kylie Welker (USA)

5^th - Pauline LeCarpentier (France)

7^th - Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (Ukraine)

8^th - Anastasiia Osniach (Ukraine)

9^th - Rita Talismanovaaa (Individual Neutral Athlete)

10^th - Anastasiya Zimiankova (Individual Neutral Athlete)

Gold –Medet Kyzy dec. Wang, 2-1

Bronze – Gray dec. LeCarpentier, 3-0

Bronze – Blades pin Welker, 4:25

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Results

53 kg – Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC), no placement

LOSS Qianyu Pang (China), forfeit

53 kg – Dom Parrish (Scotts Valley, Calif./Sunkist Kids WC), 5^th place

WIN Lucia Yepez Guzman (Ecuador), inj. def.

LOSS Stalvira Orshush (Hungary), 10-0

WIN Liliia Malanchuk (Ukraine), 14-4

LOSS Jowita Wrzesien (Poland), pin 2:34

53 kg – Haley Augello (Lockport, Ill./New York AC/Izzy Style WC), 19^th place

LOSS Karla Godinez Gonzalez (Canada), 5-2

57 kg – Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Titan Mercury WC/Cardinal WC), 17^th place

LOSS Anhelina Lysak (Poland), fall 2:11

76 kg – Adeline Gray (New York AC/Beaver Dam RTC), Bronze Medal

WIN Yuanyuan Huang (China), 4-0

LOSS Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan), tech fall 10-0

WIN Rita Talismanovaaa (AIN), tech fall 12-2

WIN Pauline Lecarpentier (France), 3-0

76 kg – Kennedy Blades (Chicago, Ill./Sunkist Kids WC), Bronze Medal

WIN Elmira Syzdykova (Kazakhstan), 10-0

WIN Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (Ukraine), 5-4

LOSS Juan Wang (China), 3-3

WIN Kylie Welker (USA), pin 4:25

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Franksville, Wis./Titan Mercury WC/Iowa Women’s WC), 5^th place

WIN Kendra Dacher (France), fall 2:18

LOSS Juan Wang (China), 8-5

WIN Gaucaite (Lithuania), fall 1:08

LOSS Kennedy Blades (USA), pin 4:25

Women’s Freestyle Team Standings

1. Ukraine, 125

2. China, 115

3. United States, 65

4. Kyrgyzstan, 50

5. Moldova, 50

6. Hungary, 50

7. Canada, 45

9. Turkiye, 45

9. Poland, 45

10. Japan, 35

Greco-Roman Results

63 kg

Gold - Leri Abuladze (Georgia)

Silver - Virgil Bica (Sweden)

Bronze - Georgij Tibilov (Serbia)

Bronze - Jacopo Sandron (Italy)

5^th - Aleksandrs Jurkjans (Latvia)

5^th - Murad Mammadov (Azerbaijan)

7^th - Stefan Clement (France)

8^th - Mehmet Ceker (Turkiye)

9^th - Ivan Lizatovic (Croatia)

10^th - Rayan Mazen B Hawsawi (Saudi Arabia)

Gold – Abuladze tech fall Bica, 9-0

Bronze -Sandron inj. dft. Mammadov

Bronze – Tibilov tech fall Jurkjans, 9-0

67 kg

Gold - Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine)

Silver - Gagik Snjoyan (France)

Bronze - Aslan Visaitov (Individual Neutral Athlete)

Bronze - Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan)

5^th - Sebastian Nad (Serbia)

5^th - Moustafa Alameldin (Egypt)

7^th - Lei Li (China)

8^th - Oleksii Masyk (Ukraine)

9^th - Seyed Sohrabi (Iran)

10^th - Mohamed ElSayed (Egypt)

Gold – Nasibov dec. Snjoyan, 4-3

Bronze – Jafarov dec. Alameldin, 5-1

Bronze – Visaitov dec. Nad, 4-3

U.S. Greco-Roman results

67 kg: Peyton Omania (Michigan WC), 24th place

LOSS Oleksii Masyk (Ukraine), 6-2

67 kg: Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP), 26th place

LOSS Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan), 3-1

67 kg: Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids), 22nd place

LOSS Lei Li (China), 5-3