U.S. women earn three medals, two Olympic spots at Olympic Games Qualifier in Mongolia

Helen Maroulis works over Alma Jane Valencia of Mexico on way to gold at Olympic Qualifier Saturday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo: Dr. Fred Roberto

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – 2015 World champion Helen Maroulis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Sunkist Kids) cruised to victory in the finals of the 1st Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament to bring back a gold medal for the U.S. women’s freestyle team.

Maroulis picked apart 2012 World bronze medalist Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in the championship bout at 53 kg/116.5 lbs. to win by technical fall, 10-0. Her gold medal performance qualified Maroulis to compete for the U.S. at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August.

Earlier in the day, the three-time World medalist Maroulis cruised to an 8-2 decision over Alma Jane Valencia Escoto of Mexico, a 10-0 technical fall over Kumari Babita of India and a 28-second pin over Lilya Horishna of Ukraine to make the finals in Mongolia.

Also qualifying to compete for the U.S. at the Olympic Games was 48 kg/105.5 lbs. Olympic Trials champion Haley Augello (Lockport, Ill./New York AC/OTC) who finished the day with a silver medal.

Augello won all three of her morning matches by technical fall and outscored her opponents by a combined total of 32-1. However, the young American wound up falling in the finals to 2014 World bronze medalist Hyon-Gyong Kim of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 9-2.

Athletes in today’s women’s freestyle competition needed to place top-two to qualify her country to compete at the Olympic Games.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC/OTC) fell one-point shy of qualifying herself for the Olympic Games at 69 kg/152 lbs. after losing to eventual champion Ilana Kratysh of Israel, 6-5, in the semifinals. Mensah battled back to win a bronze medal with a 7-0 win over Diana Paulina Miranda Gonzales of Mexico.

In her quest to qualify for her second-straight Olympic Games, Kelsey Campbell (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) dropped her opening round bout at 58 kg/128 lbs. to 2013 World bronze medalist Emese Barka of Hungary, 1-1, on criteria. Barka would lose her next bout eliminating Campbell from repechage contention.

Mensah and Campbell will have one final opportunity to qualify for the Rio Olympics two weeks from today at the 2nd Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.

The U.S. is now qualified to compete at 48 kg, 53 kg, 63 kg and 75 kg at the Olympic Games in women’s freestyle wrestling. Overall, the U.S. has guaranteed 11 of the 18 Olympic weight classes will compete in Rio across the three international styles.

The final day of competition in Mongolia is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time/8 p.m. Eastern Time with the men’s freestyle tournament. U.S. Olympic Team Trials champions Frank Molinaro (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) and J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo./Missouri WF) are the only two U.S. competitors looking to book their trips to Rio tomorrow.

All the action from Mongolia can be viewed live courtesy of United World Wrestling at www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

1st OLYMPIC GAMES WORLD QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
April 23 at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Women’s freestyle results

48 kg/105.5. lbs.
Gold – Hyon-Gyong Kim (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
Silver – Haley Augello (United States)
Bronze – Anna Lukasiak (Poland)
Bronze – Mariya Livach (Ukraine)

Medal matches
Gold – Hyon-Gyong Kim (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) dec. Haley Augello (United States), 9-2
Bronze – Anna Lukasiak (Poland) dec. Jaqueline Schellin (Germany), 3-1
Bronze – Mariya Livach (Ukraine) tech. fall Viyaleta Chyryk (Belarus), 10-0

53 kg/116.5 lbs.
Gold – Helen Maroulis (United States)
Silver – Maria Prevolaraki (Greece)
Bronze – Natalia Malysheva (Russia)
Bronze – Alma Jane Valencia Escoto (Mexico)

Medal matches
Gold – Helen Maroulis (United States) tech. fall Maria Prevolaraki (Greece), 10-0
Bronze – Natalia Malysheva (Russia) fall Bediha Gun (Turkey), 1:59
Bronze – Alma Jane Valencia Escoto (Mexico) fall Lilya Horishna (Ukraine), 5:31

58 kg/128 lbs.
Gold – Lissette Alexandra Antes Castillo (Ecuador)
Silver – Luisa Helga Gerda Niemesch (Germany)
Bronze – Zhangting Zhou (China)
Bronze – Natalia Golts (Russia)

Medal matches
Gold – Lissette Alexandra Antes Castillo (Ecuador) dec. Luisa Helga Gerda Niemesch (Germany), 4-1
Bronze – Zhangting Zhou (China) tech. fall Mariana Cherdivara Esanu (Moldova), 10-0
Bronze – Natalia Golts (Russia) dec. Ayaulym Kassymova (Kazakhstan), 10-5

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold – Hafize Sahin (Turkey)
Silver – Marianna Sastin (Hungary)
Bronze – Koumba Selene Fanta Larroque (France)
Bronze – Monika Ewa Michalik (Poland)

Medal matches
Gold – Hafize Sahin (Turkey) forfeit Marianna Sastin (Hungary)
Bronze – Koumba Selene Fanta Larroque (France) tech. fall Tayla Tuahine Ford (New Zealand), 10-0
Bronze – Monika Ewa Michalik (Poland) dec. Leidy Marcela Izquierdo Mendez (Colombia), 6-2

69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold – Ilana Kratysh (Israel)
Silver – Maria Jose Acosta (Venezuela)
Bronze – Alla Belinska (Ukraine)
Bronze – Tamyra Mensah (United States)

Medal matches
Gold – Ilana Kratysh (Israel) fall Maria Jose Acosta (Venezuela), 2:47
Bronze – Alla Belinska (Ukraine) fall Yauheniya Andreichykava (Belarus), 2:39
Bronze – Tamyra Mensah (United States) dec. Diana Paulina Miranda Gonzales (Mexico), 7-0

75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold – Cynthia Vanessa Vescan (France)
Silver – Zsanett Nemeth (Hungary)
Bronze – Anna Carmen Schell (Germany)
Bronze – Ekaterina Bukina (Russia)

Medal matches
Gold – Cynthia Vanessa Vescan (France) dec. Zsanett Nemeth (Hungary), 6-2
Bronze – Anna Carmen Schell (Germany) tech. fall Hui-Tsz Chang (Chinese Taipei)
Bronze – Ekaterina Bukina (Russia) dec. Svetlana Saenko (Moldova), 7-0

U.S. women’s freestyle performances

48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Haley Augello, Lockport, Ill. (New York AC/OTC), Silver
WIN Viyaleta Chyryk (Belarus), 12-1
WIN Sarianne Savola (Finland), 10-0
WIN Mariya Livach (Ukraine), 10-0
LOSS Hyon-Gyong Kim (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), 9-2

53 kg/116.5 lbs. – Helen Maroulis, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Sunkist Kids), Gold
WIN Alma Jane Valenica Escoto (Mexico), 8-2
WIN Kumari Babita (India), 10-0
WIN Lilya Horishna (Ukraine), Fall 0:28
WIN Maria Prevolaraki (Greece), 10-0

58 kg/128 lbs. – Kelsey Campbell, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids), DNP
LOSS Emese Barka (Hungary), 1-1

69 kg/152 lbs. – Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC/OTC), Bronze
WIN Kaur Navjot (India), 10-0
WIN Gozal Zutova (Azerbaijan), 10-7
LOSS Ilana Kratysh (Israel), 6-5
WIN Diana Paulina Miranda Gonzales (Mexico), 7-0