Nagao and Cassioppi qualify for bronze-medal bouts at U23 World Championships in Spain

Aaron Nagao (USA) competing at the 2022 U23 World Championships. Photo by Kostadin Andonov, United World Wrestling


PONTEVEDRA, Spain – U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers Aaron Nagao (57 kg) and Tony Cassioppi (125 kg) won their Sunday afternoon repechage bouts and have qualified for a bronze-medal match at the U23 World Championships.


Nagao, who wrestles for Minnesota, defeated 2019 Pan American U20 silver medalist Elkin Espana Santa of Colombia, in a wide-open 14-4 technical fall. Nagao opened the match with a takedown. He added another takedown and was reversed with exposure, making the score 5-2. He opened the second period with a counter takedown and a tilt to make it 7-2. There was a 2-and-2 exchange in which the Columbia corner challenged and was denied making the score 12-4. A Nagao counter tilt as time was running out finished off the technical fall.


Nagao will face 2022 European U23 champion Emrah Ormanoglu of Turkey in a bronze-medal bout on Sunday night.


Cassioppi, a 2021 U23 World champion and two-time NCAA All-American for Iowa, scored a 33-second pin over Kai Shutto of Japan. Cassioppi got in on a leg shot, powered Shutto right to his back near the edge, and adjusted for the fast fall.


Cassioppi will battle 2019 European U23 silver medalist and two-time European U20 silver medalist Yurii Idzinskyi of Ukraine in a bronze-medal bout on Sunday night.


The USA will have four athletes going for medals on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. local time (six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time). Trent Hidlay (86 kg) and Jacob Cardenas (92 kg) are in the gold-medal finals along with the two going for bronze medals.

U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Pontevedra, Spain, October 23


U.S. Group Two U23 Men’s Freestyle results


61 kg: Aaron Nagao, La Habra, Calif. (Gopher WC RTC), in bronze-medal bout

LOSS Taiyrbek Zhumashbek (Kyrgyzstan), 9-0

Repechage – Elkin Espana Santa (Colombia), tech. fall 14-4

Bronze medal bout - Vs. Emrah Ormanoglu (Turkey)


74 kg: David Carr, Canton, Ohio (Cyclone RTC/TMWC), eliminated

WIN Sonny James Santiago (Puerto Rico), tech fall 12-2

LOSS Temuri Beruashvili (Georgia), 4-3


86 kg: Trent Hidlay, Lewiston, Pa. (Wolfpack WC/TMWC), in gold-medal bout

WIN Sajjad Gholami (Iran), 15-6

WIN Nurtilek Karypbaev (Kyrgyzstan), 6-0

WIN Maksat Satbaldy (Kazakhstan), 6-0

WIN Ivan Ichizli (Moldova), tech fall 11-0

Gold-Medal finals - Vs. Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei (Iran)


92 kg: Jacob Cardenas, Kearny, N.J. (Spartan Combat RTC/TMWC) in gold-medal bout

WIN Denys Sahaliuk (Ukraine), 4-0

WIN Baisal Kubatov (Kyrgyzstan), 7-2

WIN Miriani Maisuradze (Georgia), 8-0

Gold Medal finals – Vs. Tasuya Shirai (Japan)


125 kg: Anthony Cassioppi, Roscoe, Ill. (Hawkeye WC/TMWC), in bronze-medal bout

WIN Lior Altshuler (Israel), tech fall 10-0

LOSS Solomon Manashvili (Georgia), tech fall, 16-4

WIN Kai Shutto (Japan), pin 0:33

Bronze medal match – Vs. Yurii Idzinskyi (Ukraine)