Aiello wins gold, Cassioppi takes silver at Waclaw Ziolkowski in Poland
by Taylor Gregorio, USA Wrestling
WARSAW, Poland – USA Wrestling closed out its competition at the Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial International on Thursday with two more medals, a gold and a silver, bringing the squads total to nine medals.
Earning spots on the podium today were champion Jay Aiello and runner-up Tony Cassioppi.
Competing at 92 kg, 2021 U23 World bronze medalist Aiello did not surrender a single point en route to his first international gold medal. He opened with back-to-back 11-0 technical falls against opponents from Poland and Ukraine, respectively. In his final bout, Aiello shut down 2015 European Games bronze medalist Radoslaw Marcinkiewicz from Poland, 5-0, for the title.
Cassioppi, the reigning U23 World champion at heavyweight, put together a solid morning session with three wins, including an 18-8 tech fall over U23 European champion Solomon Manashvili of Georgia, to secure his spot in the finals. There, he fell four-time Senior European medalist Robert Baran from Poland in a tight 3-0 decision to finish with silver.
The other two USA athletes competing today earned fifth-place finishes with Mike Macchiavello at 97 kg and Derek White at 125 kg. Both athletes went 2-2 on the day. Macchiavello claimed an 11-0 tech fall and a 5-4 win, while White’s victories came in the form of decisions, 1-1 and 2-1, respectively.
Overall, the U.S. earned nine medals, including three gold, two silver and four bronze. Below are Team USA’s full results from the tournament.
WACLAW ZIOLKOWSKI MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
Warsaw, Poland | July 20-24
U.S. men’s freestyle results
57 kg: Vitali Arujau (Spartan Combat WC/TMWC) – BRONZE
WIN Robert Dingashvili (Georgia), 11-3
LOSS Andriy Yatsenko (Ukraine), 9-6
WIN Wanhao Zou (China), 8-2
WIN Giorgi Gegelashvili (Georgia), 12-2
61 kg: Joe Colon (Wildcat WC/TMWC) – GOLD
WIN Nil Leutert (Switzerland), 10-0
WIN Minghu Liu (China), 13-2
WIN Taras Markovych (Ukraine), 16-13
61 kg: Austin DeSanto (Hawkeye WC) – BRONZE
WIN Valentyn Bliasetskyi (Ukraine), 10-0
LOSS Taras Markovych (Ukraine), 5-4
WIN Daniel DeShazer (USA), 11-0
61 kg: Daniel DeShazer (Gopher WC RTC) – FIFTH
LOSS Taras Markovych (Ukraine), 6-4
WIN Valentyn Bliasetskyi (Ukraine), 5-2
LOSS Austin DeSanto (USA), 11-0
65 kg: Joey McKenna (Pennsylvania RTC/TMWC) – BRONZE
WIN Vasyl Shuptar (Ukraine), 10-0
WIN Nino Leutert (Switzerland), 9-2
LOSS Tsogbadrakh Tseveensuren (Mongolia), 2-1
WIN Krzysztof Bienkowski (Poland), 3-1
65 kg: Matthew Kolodzik (NJ RTC/NYAC)
LOSS Tsogbadrakh Tseveensuren (Mongolia), 11-8
WIN Tony Tolbert (USA), 10-0
LOSS Vasyl Shuptar (Ukraine), 7-5
65 kg: Tony Tolbert (NYC RTC)
LOSS Tornike Katamadze (Georgia), 4-0
LOSS Matthew Kolodzik (USA), 10-0
70 kg: Alec Pantaleo (Michigan RTC/TMWC) – SILVER
WIN Zurabi Iakobishvili (Georgia), 2-1
WIN Oleksiy Boruta (Ukraine), 6-2
LOSS Arman Andreasyan (Armenia), 3-2
70 kg: Yahya Thomas (Wildcat WC/TMWC) – FIFTH
LOSS Igor Nykyforuk (Ukraine), 5-4
WIN Marc Dietsche (Switzerland), 5-0
LOSS Oleksiy Boruta (Ukraine), 4-3
74 kg: David Carr (Cyclone RTC/TMWC) – GOLD
WIN Menghejigan Menghejigan (China), 13-2
WIN Shengsong Xia (China), 12-1
WIN Giorgi Sulava (Georgia), 10-0
WIN Zelimkhan Tohuzov (Ukraine), 11-0
79 kg: David McFadden (Pennsylvania RTC/TMWC) – BRONZE
WIN Jose O’Neil (Angola), 10-0
WIN Alex Marinelli (USA), 10-0
LOSS Vasyl Mykhaylov (Ukraine), 6-0
WIN Csaba Vida (Hungary) 10-0
79 kg: Alex Marinelli (Hawkeye WC/TMWC)
WIN Mateusz Pedzicki (Poland), 11-0
LOSS David McFadden (USA), 10-0
WIN Erik Reinbok (Estonia), 10-0
LOSS Csaba Vida (Hungary), 15-13
92 kg: Jay Aiello (Cavalier WC/TMWC) – GOLD
WIN Patryk Dublinowski (Poland), 11-0
WIN Andriy Vlasov (Ukraine), 11-0
WIN Radoslaw Marcinkiewicz (Poland), 5-0
97 kg: Mike Macchiavello (Wolfpack WC/TMWC) – FIFTH
WIN Thomas Barns (Australia), 11-0
WIN Tuerxunbieki Muheite (China), 5-4
LOSS Givi Matcharashvili (Georgia), 8-6
LOSS Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia), 9-1
125 kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Hawkeye WC/TMWC) – SILVER
WIN Jere Heino (Finland), 5-0
WIN Solomon Manashvili (Georgia), 18-8
WIN Kamil Kosciolek (Poland), 10-5
LOSS Robert Baran (Poland), 3-0
125 kg: Derek White (Michigan RTC/TMWC) – FIFTH
LOSS Daniel Ligeti (Hungary), 7-0
WIN Oleksander Koldovskyi (Ukraine), 1-1
WIN Zhiwei Deng (China), 2-1
LOSS Kamil Kosciolek (Poland), 11-0