Moore takes out Karimimachiani, Anthony and Nette win gold, Zillmer and Nelson claim medals at Matteo Pellicone
by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Photo of Kollin Moore by Justin Hoch, jhoch.com.
ROME – Team USA put together an incredible session on Saturday at the Matteo Pellicone International in Rome, Italy, on Friday, winning three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
Champions for the United States were Kollin Moore in men’s freestyle and Victoria Anthony and Abby Nette in women’s freestyle. Others winning medals were Tony Nelson, who claimed a silver and Hayden Zillmer, who collected bronze. Overall, the five U.S. wrestlers went 13-2 on the day.
A heroic performance from Kollin Moore gave the USA a gold at 97 kg. Facing 2019 World silver medalist and two-time World bronze winner Alireza Karimimachiani from Iran, Moore had a tall order ahead of him. The American scored first on a step out after being put on the shot clock. Karimimachiani responded with a step out of his own and a takedown to lead 3-1 at the break. In the second period, Moore scored a pivotal double-leg takedown, which ultimately led him to a 3-3 win on criteria.
At 50 kg, Victoria Anthony came out on top in an exciting back-and-forth match against 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist Miglena Selishka from Bulgaria. Anthony led the whole first period, scoring a takedown with two tilts in her opening sequence and adding a step out and takedown for a 7-3 lead. The first period closed in mayhem as Anthony countered a shot from the Bulgarian and scored two on exposure. Bulgaria’s corner challenged at the buzzer and was eventually awarded two points for exposure as well. The second period started with Anthony ahead 9-5. The two wrestlers continued to exchange points and Selishka had a 10-9 lead with less than one minute left. In the final 30 seconds, Anthony hit a four-point takedown and held on for a 13-10 win.
Abby Nette, competing at 59 kg, followed up Anthony’s win with a gold-medal performance of her own. Taking on 2019 Grand Prix of Germany silver medalist Diana Kayumova of Kazakhstan, Nette scored three takedowns, all from a single leg attack to propel her to a 6-0 victory. This marks Nette’s first international gold medal.
Tony Nelson, who completed his tournament in the morning session, secured a silver medal in a five-man round robin at 125 kg with a 3-1 record. In his first match, he defeated Sumit Sumit of India, 2-0, and kicked up his offense in the second round, powering through Kazakhstan’s Yusup Batirmurzaev, 14-4. In the third round, Nelson fell to 2014 Junior World champion Amar Dhesi in a 5-0 decision. But Nelson bounced back in his final match of the day, defeating Oleg Boltin from Kazakhstan, 7-1.
The final medal came from Hayden Zillmer, who bounced back from a quarterfinal loss and defeated 2017 Junior World bronze medalist Ibrahim Ciftci from Turkey. Zillmer held just a 1-0 lead at the break. Despite a battle from Ciftci, Zillmer added three takedowns in the second period for an eventual 7-4 win.
Wrestling concludes Sunday at 4:30 a.m. ET with the remaining men’s freestyle weights. Fans can watch all the action live on FloWrestling.
2021 MATTEO PELLICONE INTERNATIONAL
March 4-7, 2021 | Rome, Italy
U.S. women’s freestyle results
50 kg: Victoria Anthony (Tempe. Ariz./Sunkist Kids) – GOLD
WIN Patricia Bermudez (Argentina), 10-0
WIN Valentina Islamova Brik (Kazakhstan), injury default (4-2)
WIN Emilia Vuc (Romania), 10-0
WIN Miglena Selishka (Bulgaria), 13-10
59 kg: Abby Nette (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) – GOLD
WIN Rebecca De Leo (Italy), 10-0
WIN Diana Kayumova (Kazakhstan), 6-0
U.S. men’s freestyle results
97 kg: Kollin Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC) – GOLD
WIN Feyzullah Akturk (Turkey), 12-1
WIN Alisher Yergali (Kazkhstan), 9-0
WIN Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 3-3
97 kg: Hayden Zillmer (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC) – BRONZE
LOSS Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-3
WIN Ibrahim Ciftci (Turkey), 7-4
125 kg: Tony Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC) – SILVER
WIN Sumit Sumit (India), 2-0
WIN Yusup Batirmurzaev (Kazakhstan), 14-4
LOSS Amar Dhesi (Canada), 5-0
WIN Oleg Boltin (Kazakhstan), 7-1