Four past World champions to lead Team USA at 2021 Veterans World Championships in Greece, Oct. 19-24

Dan Chaid of the USA has his arm raised at the 2019 Veterans World Championships.

LOUTRAKI, Greece – The U.S. Veterans World Team is set to compete at the 2021 Veterans World Championships in Loutraki, a seaside town in Greece on the gulf of Corinth. The event, which takes place October 19-24, will feature a large group of American wrestlers who are all 35 years old and above.

The U.S. is set to have 41 wrestlers compete in the men’s freestyle tournament and 31 athletes in the Greco-Roman tournament. There will be 27 athletes will be competing in both styles.

In total, four past Veterans World champions are competing in this event. Octavius Bellamy of Bollingbrook, Ill. and Petros Petrosyn of Los Almanitos, Calif. both won titles in 2016, while Kevin Pine of Aberdeen, Wash. won a world title in 2018.

Most recently, Daniel Chaid of San Jose, Calif. won a world title in 2019 and is looking to become a repeat champion. He is entered into this year’s men’s freestyle tournament at 130kg Div. E. The 2019 win marked the second Veterans World title for Chaid, who also won the event in 2000.

In total, Americans won 22 medals at the 2019 Veterans World Championships, 15 in men’s freestyle and seven in Greco-Roman. Eleven 2019 men’s freestyle World medalists return to the 2021 tournament, while three Greco-Roman World medalists return.

Joseph Raia of South Elgin, Ill. returns to the event after medaling in both styles in 2019. He’ll be wrestling at 62 kg in Div. D in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. James Medeiros of Granada Hills, Calif. also medaled in both styles in 2019 and will compete this year – he is entered at 88 kg in Div. A.

Two athletes entered for the USA in this tournament are back-to-back returning Veterans World medalists (2018, 2019). Steven Horton of Cibolo, Texas and Jordin Humphrey of Monrovia, Calif. both will look to win medals in three-straight competitions in Loutraki. Horton is wrestling in both styles at 70 kg in Div. D, while Humphrey is wrestling both styles at 70 kg in Div. A.

Three-time U.S. World Team member Reece Humphrey is entered into the tournament at 70 kg in Div. A. He also will be wrestling both styles.

The coaches for the 2021 U.S. Veterans World team are Sandra George of Littleton, Colo. and Craig Van Dyke of Poway, Calif.

The team leader for Team USA is Chris Brown of Colorado Springs, Colo. He is a two-time UWW World Veterans Greco-Roman champion.

The first half of the tournament (Oct. 19-21) will feature all freestyle wrestling, while the final three days (Oct. 22-24) will be Greco-Roman action. The full competition schedule, including a breakdown of when each division is wrestling, can be found below.

The competition will be broadcast live by FloWrestling.

2021 VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Loutraki, Greece, October 19-24

U.S. Men’s Freestyle entries

Div. A
70 kg – Michael George, Littleton, Colo.
70 kg – Jordin Humphrey, Crestline, Calif.
70 kg – Reece Humphrey, Dayton, NJ
78 kg – Michael Morgan, Sheridan, Ind.
88 kg – James Medeiros II, Granada Hills, Calif.
100 kg – Marko Bojkovic, Westmont, Ill.
100 kg – Michael Harbison, Glen Carbon, Ill.

Div. B
62 kg – Nicholas Hull, Indianapolis, Ind.
62 kg – David Yi, Folsom, Calif.
62 kg – Roger Stewart Frederick, Dumfries, Va.
70 kg – William Anderson, Danville, Calif.
70 kg – Dennis Wymer, Mouth of Wilson, Va.
88 kg – Michael Burgett, Fishers, Ind.
88 kg – Rudolph James, St. Paul, Minn.
88 kg – Sion King, McKinney, Texas
100 kg – Karl Junitz, Chicago, Ill.
130 kg – Joseph Bellavia, San Diego, Calif.
130 kg – Christopher Pierce, Lemont Furnace, Penn.

Div. C
62 kg – Gary Cook, Syracuse, N.Y.
62 kg – Carlos Montano, Oceanside, Calif.
62 kg – Robinson Prebish, Richmond, Va.
78 kg – Thomas Donahue, Bethel, Ohio
78 kg – Brett Rainey, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
88 kg – Octavius Bellamy, Bollingbrook, Ill.
130 kg – Gregory Conn, Antelope, Calif.

Div. D
62 kg – Joseph Raia Jr., South Elgin, Ill.
70 kg – Stephen Horton, Cibolo, Texas
78 kg – Jon Banko, New Kensington, Penn.
88 kg – Jeffery Anderson, Zeeland, Mich.
88 kg – Kevin Pine, Aberdeen, Wash.
100 kg – Erik Hinckley, Lansing, Kan.

Div. E
62 kg – Jeffrey Mallett, Lanham, Md.
70 kg – David Manville, State College, Pa.
70 kg – Michael Madry, Saint Petersburg, Fla.
78 kg – Louis Orr, Rochester, Minn.
88 kg – Kevin Kares, Henderson, Nev.
88 kg – Petros Petrosyan, Los Almanitos, Calif.
88 kg – James Miller, League City, Texas
100 kg – Joseph Cattan, Mount Washington, Ky.
130 kg – Daniel Chaid, San Jose, Calif.
130 kg – Brian Jones, Los Angeles, Calif.

U.S. Greco-Roman entries

Div. A
70 kg – Jordin Humphrey, Crestline, Calif.
70 kg – Reece Humphrey, Dayton, NJ
88 kg – James Medeiros II, Granada Hills, Calif.
100 kg – Marko Bojkovic, Westmont, Ill.
130 kg – Ronald Dombkowski II, Waterford, Pa.

Div. B
62 kg – David Yi, Folsom, Calif.
62 kg – Roger Stewart Frederick, Dumfries, Va.
78 kg – Andrei Stashonak, Brooklyn, N.Y.
88 kg – Rudolph James, St. Paul, Minn.
100 kg – Karl Junitz, Chicago, Ill.
130 kg – Joseph Bellavia, San Diego, Calif.
130 kg – Christopher Pierce, Lemont Furnace, Penn.

Div. C
62 kg – Gary Cook, Syracuse, N.Y.
62 kg – Carlos Montano, Oceanside, Calif.
88 kg – Octavius Bellamy, Bollingbrook, Ill.
130 kg – Gregory Conn, Antelope, Calif.

Div. D
62 kg – Joseph Raia Jr., South Elgin, Ill.
70 kg – Stephen Horton, Cibolo, Texas
70 kg – Ernesto Alarcon, Houston, Texas
78 kg – Jon Banko, New Kensington, Penn.
88 kg – Jeffery Anderson, Zeeland, Mich.
88 kg – Kevin Pine, Aberdeen, Wash.
100 kg – Gelu Bors, Henderson, Nev.

Div. E
62 kg – Jeffrey Mallett, Lanham, Md.
70 kg – David Manville, State College, Pa.
70 kg – Michael Madry, Saint Petersburg, Fla.
78 kg – Louis Orr, Rochester, Minn.
88 kg – Kevin Kares, Henderson, Nev.
88 kg – Petros Petrosyan, Los Almanitos, Calif.
100 kg – Joseph Cattan, Mount Washington, Ky.
130 kg – Brian Jones, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Leader/Coach – Chris Brown, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach – Sandra George, Littleton, Colo.
Coach – Craig Van Dyke, Poway, Calif.
Referee – Paul Kruggel, Columbus, Ohio
Referee – Roy Scott, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Competition Schedule
Loutraki is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone

Tuesday, October 19
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Freestyle Div. B and Div. E
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Freestyle Div. B and Div. E

Wednesday, October 20
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Freestyle Div. C and Div. D
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Freestyle Div. C and Div. D

Thursday, October 21
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Freestyle Div. A
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Freestyle Div. A

Friday, October 22
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Greco-Roman Div. B and Div. E
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Greco-Roman Div. B and Div. E

Saturday, October 23
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Greco-Roman Div. C and Div. D
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Greco-Roman Div. C and Div. D

Sunday, October 24
10:30 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage for Greco-Roman Div. A
6:00 p.m. – Finals for Greco-Roman Div. A