Burroughs wins gold, Molinaro silver, Cox and Snyder bronze at Grand Prix of Germany

Jordan Burroughs claims top prize at Grand Prix of Germany. Photo: Deutscher Ringer-Bund.

DORTMUND, Germany – The U.S. men’s freestyle Olympians went four-for-four on medals during day one of competition at the Grand Prix of Germany on Saturday.

Three-time World champion and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC) ran through the 74 kg/163 lbs. field to add another gold medal to his ever-growing collection.

After opening with 10-0 technical falls over Markus Knobel of Germany and Andrzej Sokalski of Poland, Burroughs downed 2014 World bronze medalist and NCAA All-American Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Uzbekistan, 9-3, to advance to the gold medal match. Burroughs won a tight 3-1 bout over hometown favorite Martin Obst of Germany in the finals.

“Jordan continues to be the leader on our team and to help elevate others around him. We continue to see progress in positions and improvement of our skills and that's what we want,” said U.S. coach Bill Zadick.

Burroughs now owns a landmark Senior-level record of 129-2 as he enters the final stretch of preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Upstart Olympian Frank Molinaro (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) was four seconds away from joining Burroughs in the gold medal club this weekend, but fell just short against 2012 Olympic champion Togrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan in the 65 kg/143 lbs. finals.

Molinaro struck early with a four-point double leg to lead Asgarov 4-0 midway through the first period. Asgarov slowly inched back with a barrage of step outs and shot clock points, including a match deciding step out with :04 remaining, to overtake Molinaro, 5-4.

With his silver medal performance in Germany, Molinaro now owns four international medals on the year. He won gold at the Pan American Championships and Freestyle World Cup, in addition to a bronze at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier.

World champion Kyle Snyder (Woodbine, Md./Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) and Olympian J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo./Missouri WF) were able to capture bronze medals on Saturday after dropping close matches to highly credentialed opponents.

Snyder, the youngest World champion in U.S. history, ran into seven-time World and Olympic medalist Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan in the 97 kg/213 lbs. semifinals. In the first meeting between the two Olympic title contenders, Gazyumov edged Snyder, 2-1. The American star came back to defeat two-time University World medalist Serdar Boeke of Turkey for bronze, 11-1.

After a first round thrashing of Kazakhstan’s Kanat Berdiev, Cox dropped a 6-2 decision to 2012 Olympic champion Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan. Repechage wins over Konstantin Volek of Germany and Adilet Davlumbaev of Kazakhstan earned Cox a bronze medal at 86 kg/189 lbs.

“We had a strong showing today at the German Grand Prix in Dortmund,” Zadick continued. “The international field was strong and included 6 World titles, 3 Olympic Gold medalists, and several additional medalists. Four of our Olympians competed and all of them won medals, including a gold from Jordan Burroughs. I'm eager to see Daniel Dennis compete tomorrow and finish out a great trip with another gold."

It was a difficult day for the U.S. on the Greco-Roman side with both Jayshon Wilson (Camp Lejeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps) and Daniel Miller (Camp Lejeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps) falling short of medals.

Wilson was able to pick up an 11-2 win over Khalil Rabbia of Palestine to make the semifinal round, but would drop his next two matches to finish in fifth place at 75 kg/165 lbs. Miller lost his opener at 98 kg/215 lbs. to two-time World bronze medalist Cenk Ildem of Turkey, 2-0.

Men’s Freestyle Olympian Daniel Dennis (Iowa City, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) and U.S. Marine Raymond Bunker (Camp Lejeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps) are the lone U.S. competitors for day two of competition in Dortmund.

Complete brackets and results for the Grand Prix of Germany can be found at http://www.gp-ringen-dortmund.de/cms/. Those wishing to watch live can do so at http://www.sporttv1.de/livestreams.php with action starting at 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) on Sunday.

GRAND PRIX OF GERMANY
July 2-3 at Dortmund, Germany

Final Results
Men’s freestyle
65 kg/143 lbs.
Gold – Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Frank Molinaro (United States)
Bronze – Tital Dzhafaryan (Ukraine)
Bronze – Mustafa Zopali (Turkey)

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Jordan Burroughs (United States)
Silver – Martin Obst (Germany)
Bronze – Oleg Motsalin (Greece)
Bronze – Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan)

86 kg/189 lbs.
Gold – Nurmagomed Gadzhiev (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – J’den Cox (United States)
Bronze – Amarhajy Mahamedau (Belarus)

97 kg/213 lbs.
Gold – Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Radoslaw Baran (Poland)
Bronze – Mamed Ibragimov (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Kyle Snyder (United States)

Greco-Roman
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Frank Staebler (Germany)
Silver – Artem Surkov (Russia)
Bronze – Giuk Chol (Korea)
Bronze – Matias Lipasti (Finland)

75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold – Rafik Huseynov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Chingiz Labazanov (Russia)
Bronze – Oldrich Varga (Czech Republic)
Bronze – Jinhyeak Kim (Korea)

85 kg/187 lbs.
Gold – Tadeusz Michalik (Poland)
Silver – Ramsin Azizsir (Germany)
Bronze – Denis Kudla (Germany)
Bronze – Metehan Basar (Turkey)

98 kg/215 lbs.
Gold – Musa Evloev (Russia)
Silver – Fredrik Schoen (Sweden)
Bronze – Vilius Laurinaitis (Lithuania)
Bronze – Daniel Gastl (Austria)

U.S. men’s freestyle results
65 kg/143 lbs. – Frank Molinaro, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC), Silver
WIN William Stier (Germany), 11-0
WIN Tital Dzhafaryan (Ukraine), 9-2
LOSS Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan), 5-4

74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC), Gold
WIN Markus Knobel (Germany), 10-0
WIN Andrzej Sokalski (Poland), 10-0
WIN Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan), 9-3
WIN Martin Obst (Germany), 3-1

86 kg/189 lbs. – J’Den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Missouri Wrestling Foundation), Bronze
WIN Kanat Berdiev (Kazakhstan), 10-0
LOSS Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan), 6-2
WIN Konstantin Volek (Germany), Fall
WIN Adilet Davlumbaev (Kazakhstan), 10-5

97 kg/213 lbs. – Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC), Bronze
WIN Nicolai Ceban (Moldova), 9-4
WIN Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti (Venezuela), 9-1
LOSS Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan), 2-1
WIN Serdar Boeke (Turkey), 11-1

U.S. Greco-Roman results
75 kg/165 lbs. – Jayshon Wilson, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marine Corps), 5th
WIN Khalil Rabbia (Palestine), 11-2
LOSS Rafik Huseynov (Azerbaijan), 12-2
LOSS Oldrich Varga (Czech Republic), 8-0

98 kg/215 lbs. – Daniel Miller, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (U.S. Marine Corps)
LOSS Cenk Ildem (Turkey), 2-0