Johnson Downed by Armenia; USA Finishes 2023 World Championships
Only one American athlete suited up for the fourth and final day of Greco-Roman in Belgrade. Xavier Johnson (63 kg, Army/WCAP) had gone 1-1 on Saturday following a destructive victory over India’s Vikram Kurade and a defeat to recent World medalist Murad Mammadov (AZE). But because Mammadov advanced to the gold-medal match, Johnson was back in action this morning with a chance to, potentially, compete for bronze. Given his opposition in the opening repechage round, it was going to be a difficult challenge.
Repechage on Day 4 of the 2023 World Championships began at 4:30pm local time from Belgrade, Serbia and aired live in the US on FLOWrestling.
Johnson needed to get past two-time U23 World bronze Hrachya Poghosyan but the bout quickly unraveled in the Armenian’s favor after an early takedown. Poghosyan was able to secure a lift that netted four points from the ensuing par terre and closed Johnson out with a gutwrench for two more. Poghosyan will face Georgi Tibilov (SRB) for bronze.
Johnson, 27, enjoyed a strong comeback season on the heels of a two-year absence in the wake of the All-Marine Team’s practical dissolution as a program, for whom he had previously competed. With still plenty of promise remaining in his wrestling aspirations, Johnson left the Marines in order to join Army/WCAP. An injury temporarily disrupted his return this year but a solid performance at the Nationals coupled with a triumph at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament propelled him right back towards the top. Johnson then took two straight matches from multi-time National Champion Hayden Tuma (Suples) at Final X: Newark, which resulted in his making the Senior World Team for a first time.
Notes and other insights from the 2023 World Championships will be available in the forthcoming Monday Roundup.
2023 WC DAY 1 RECAP
2023 WC DAY 2 RECAP
2023 WC DAY 3 RECAP
2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
September 21-24 — Belgrade, SRB
TEAM USA DAY 4 RESULTS
63 kg: Xavier Johnson (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Hrachya Poghosyan (ARM) 8-0, TF
TEAM USA FULL RESULTS
*Placings will be updated as they become official
55 kg: Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC) — 10th
WON Jeon Hyeokjin (KOR) 7-3
LOSS Denis Mihai (ROU) 9-0, TF … rest of story at … Fivepointmove.com/usa-greco/2023-worlds-day-4-xavier-johnson/Wrestling+News
Day 8 wrap: Johnson qualifies for repechage, Sancho falls in quarterfinals and eliminated, Braunagel & Rau out at Senior Worlds
BELGRADE, Serbia – Xavier Johnson has the final opportunity to win a medal in Greco-Roman for the United States, as he has qualified for the repechage round at 62 kg at the World Wrestling Championships in Stark Arena.
Johnson will wrestle Hrachya Poghosyan of Armenia in repechage on Sunday afternoon. If he wins against Poghosyan, he reaches a bronze medal match against Georgij Tibilov of Serbia.
Johnson, competing in his first Senior Worlds, opened up his competition with a 10-0 technical fall over India wrestler Vikram Kurade of UWW. In his second bout, he was edged by past World silver medalist Murad Mammedov of Azerbaijan, 3-1. Mammedov won his Saturday night semifinal, which made Johnson eligible for repechage. Only losers to a finalist may compete in repechage.
2020 Olympian Alejandro Sancho won two matches to reach the Saturday afternoon quarterfinals, where he was defeated by Slavik Galstyan of Armenia, 9-0. When Galstyan was defeated in the semifinals in the evening, Sancho was eliminated.
Sancho had a strong start, with wins over Valentin Petic of Moldova, 5-1 and Husiyuetu of China, 3-1.
The other wrestler in Group 3 of Greco-Roman, first-time Senior World Team member Zachary Braunagel, opened up his 86 kg competition with an 8-3 victory over Azym Annamagomedov ofTurkmenistan. In the next round, he was beaten by Olympic champion and two-time World champion Zhan Beleniuk of Ukraine, 5-1. When Beleniuk was beaten in the next round, Braunagel was eliminated from the tournament.
The other U.S. wrestler to compete was from Group 2, Joe Rau, who qualified for Saturday morning’s repechage at 97 kg. He was pinned by Nicu Ojog of Romania in 55 seconds. Rau finished with a 1-2 record for the tournament.
Both of the other U.S. wrestlers in Group 2 were eliminated on Friday, Patrick Smith at 72 kg and Olympian and multiple World Team member Ildar Hafizov at 60 kg. … rest of story at … Themat.com/news/2023/sept/23/day-8-wrap-johnson-qualifies-for-repechage-sancho-falls-in-quarterfinals-and-eliminated-braunagel-rau-out-at-senior-worlds
Ukrainian wrestler Zhan Beleniuk wins bronze at World Wrestling Championship, earns spot in 2024 Olympics
Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler and politician Zhan Beleniuk won bronze at the World Wrestling Championship in Belgrade on Sept. 22 and earned a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics. The two-time world champion was defeated by Turkish wrestler Ali Cengiz in the 87 kg division.
Beleniuk has competed at the Olympics twice before. In 2016, Beleniuk won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro before ultimately winning gold in 2021 in Tokyo.
The 32-year-old also won gold at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in the 85 kg division and again at the same competition in 2019 in the 87 kg.
That same year, Beleniuk was elected as a deputy to the Ukrainian parliament as a member of President Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. He is the first black MP in Ukrainian history. … rest of story at … Kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-wrestler-zhan-beleniuk-wins-bronze-at-world-wrestling-championship-earns-spot-in-2024-olympics
#458 Rob Koll – UNC Head Coach, NCAA Champion
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Rob Koll is the head coach of UNC. He was previously the head coach at Stanford and Cornell, where he built a dynasty coaching the likes of Kyle Dake, Yianni D, Gabe Dean and Vito Arujua. Coach Koll was an NCAA champ and 4x All American for UNC back in the 80s.
*PRESENTING SPONSOR
This Episode is presented by NCAA Champion Teague Moore’s business, The Wrestling Consultant. When should a Sophomore plan on calling and talking to a college wrestling coach? When should a Junior plan their official campus visit? Can they plan an unofficial visit? Does a Senior need to complete NCAA Eligibility Center registration if they have not taken an official visit? The Wrestling Consultant can answer these and many more questions for you. Set up a consultation today!
25 notable college wrestlers to watch in 2023-2024
With a little less than two months until the start of the 2023-2024 NCAA men’s wrestling season, it’s time to take stock of the field and evaluate the biggest names in the sport.
Right now, two athletes lead the pack: Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci.
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🚨 Alerts and updates on Bleacher Report
These three-time Penn State national champions will both begin this year with the goal of not only becoming the first four-time champs for the Nittany Lions but also becoming the only two wrestlers from the same team to become four-time champs in the same year. Only one other school in history has produced multiple four-time national champions, and that school — Cornell — just achieved that feat last year when Big Red senior Yianni Diakomihalis captured his fourth individual crown. Penn State is in a unique spot this year with their two upperweight stars, but Brooks and Starocci are far from the only athletes you need to know about heading into the 2023-2024 seasons.
Below is a list of the top 25 athletes to watch as we inch towards November, though the best part about college wrestling is all of the athletes who aren’t on the radar yet and will be poised to break into this tier of talent over the course of the season. This list is also not necessarily a pound-for-pound ranking and more of a subjective list of notable names, though previous achievement served as a key factor in who earned a spot on this year’s “names to watch” list.
1. Carter Starocci, Penn State, 174 pounds
A focused and fierce upperweight, Carter Starocci has collected three individual national titles in as many years for the Penn State Nittany Lions at 174 pounds, and he’s on track to potentially become Penn State’s first four-time national champion. While Starocci teased fans that he might not return for his fourth season (or potentially his fifth season next year), the Penn State coaching staff will no doubt want to do what they can to keep Starocci on the mat, given his historic success.
2023 BIG TENS: Penn State wins conference tournament with four champs
Starocci has amassed an 80-2 career record thus far with the Blue and White, only dropping matches to DJ Washington in the Indiana dual his freshman year and Michael Kemerer in the 2021 Big Ten finals. He’s avenged both those losses though and hasn’t dropped a bout since March 2021.
Starocci doesn’t just win, he dominates. He has bonused 66.67% of his opponents last year and comes into the season as the heavy favorite to run through the weight with force. The Hodge Trophy is a potential goal for Starocci as well, but he’s been clear that aspirations extend beyond college. He told reporters at the 2023 NCAA wrestling tournament that he sees himself winning the Olympics in 2024, and while that statement is bold, it’s par for the course for one of the most confident, competitive wrestlers in the Penn State lineup this year.
2. Aaron Brooks, Penn State, 197 pounds
Starocci isn’t the only Penn State wrestler with a chance to win his fourth NCAA title this season — Maryland native Aaron Brooks is also on this quest, and he’ll do so in a new weight class this year after winning his last three titles at 184 pounds. Brooks comes into his final season with the Nittany Lions holding a 67-3 varsity record with his losses coming against Marcus Coleman, Myles Amine and Taylor Venz, all of whom have since graduated.
BOYS IN BLUE: History, stats and records from the Penn State wrestling program
The 197-pound weight class will be an interesting new challenge for Brooks, as he’ll cross paths with returning NCAA finalist Tanner Sloan, former 184-pound national finalist Trent Hidlay, former teammate Michael Beard and a handful of other All-Americans who will be aiming to take down the Nittany Lion champ. Brooks’ credentials, dominance and strength though still make him the favorite. He earned the No. 1 ranking from Intermat to start the year, and he’ll be the top guy until proven otherwise.
Another interesting wrinkle this year for Brooks will be his efforts to manage folkstyle goals with freestyle opportunities because, like Starocci, Brooks has Olympic aspirations, and he’s one of a few college athletes with a real chance to challenge for a spot on the 2024 Olympic team. Brooks advanced to Final X this year after winning the U.S. Open, and he battled tough against now four-time World and Olympic champion David Taylor in that best two-out-of-three series. A former Penn State wrestler, Taylor has owned the 86kg weight for the U.S. for nearly half a decade, but Brooks is looking like the heir apparent at the weight, and he’ll have his shot against Taylor again at the Olympic Trials in April.
3. Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, 165 pounds
… rest of list and videos at … NCAA.com/news/wrestling/2023/25-notable-college-wrestlers-watch-2023-2024
Fargo Numbers Show Explosive Growth For Women’s Wrestling
USA Wrestling released its annual participation numbers. And women’s wrestling continues to rise.
Good news for women’s high school wrestling. USA Wrestling provided historical data for female participation at Fargo, female wrestlers who are members of USA Wrestling, and female leaders who are members of USA Wrestling.
And the numbers look good. The following data shows how far women’s wrestling has come.
Fargo growth (16U and Junior Nationals)
2018: 792
2023: 1605
USA Wrestling female athlete membership growth
2008: 3003
2023: 35,838
USA Wrestling female leader membership growth
2019: 1665
2023: 4056
Below are full historical figures for each demographic.
Women’s Fargo Numbers
| 16U WM FS Nationals (Fargo) | Junior WM FS Nationals (Fargo) | Total WM FS Nationals (Fargo) | |
| 2018 | 261 | 531 | 792 |
| 2019 | 361 | 607 | 968 |
| 2021 | 350 | 673 | 1023 |
| 2022 | 523 | 953 | 1476 |
| 2023 | 747 ** | 858 ** | 1605 ** |
** 2023 in Fargo was the first time 16U and Junior had identical schedules, meaning essentially zero athletes eligible for 16U and Junior competed in both like previously. Unique female participants up from 1163 in 2022 to 1602 in 2023. … rest of story and numbers at … Flowrestling.org/articles/11256210-fargo-numbers-show-explosive-growth-for-womens-wrestling
Amit Elor repeats as world wrestling champion at age 19 before Olympic shift
Amit Elor, who last year became the youngest American to win an Olympic or world wrestling title, repeated as world champion at 72kg on Thursday.
Elor, 19, won her four matches over the last two days by a combined 33-4, one year after outscoring opponents 27-2 in her senior worlds debut. She defeated Davaanasan Enkh Amar of Mongolia 8-2 in the final in Belgrade.
Elor, born Jan. 1, 2004, was one day too young to be eligible for the Tokyo Olympic Trials.
Since, she won two senior world titles, plus five junior world titles among U17, U20 and U23 divisions. Last year alone, she won U20 worlds in August, senior worlds in September and U23 worlds in October. She is two-thirds of the way to another U20, senior, U23 three-peat this year.
“It’s an opportunity that I can’t miss,” Elor, the youngest of six siblings born in California to parents from Israel, said of competing so much. “You’re only eligible for age-group world championships for so long. … Every time I go to world championships, any age group, I grow as a wrestler.”
If she makes the 2024 Olympic team, she is in line to become the youngest U.S. Olympic female wrestler in history, according to Olympedia.org.
But first, she must change weight classes as 72kg is not contested at the Olympics. She said Thursday that she is leaning to going down to 68kg rather than up to 76kg and will probably decide by January. … rest of story at … NBCsports.com/olympics/news/amit-elor-wrestling-world-championships
U.S. receives Greco-Roman draws for World Championships in Belgrade
The World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia concludes with Greco-Roman competition, held September 21-24. The United States, which brings an experienced team looking to have a breakthrough at the World level, received its draws for the competition.
The U.S. team 2020 U.S. Olympians, Ildar Hafizov (60 kg) and Alejandro Sancho (67 kg). Hafizov is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the 2008 Olympics for Uzbekistan before emigrating to the United States.
Hafizov opens against 2022 Asian silver medalist Mehdi Mohsen Nejad of Iran, who is the No. 6 seed. Hafizov has landed in the bottom half bracket, which also has No. 2 seed Zholaman Sharshenbekov of Kyrgyzstan, the 2022 World champion, and No. 3 seed Kerim Kamal of Turkey.
Sancho has a bye, then will face the winner of 2019 U23 World bronze medalist Valentin Petic of Moldova and Switzerland World Team member Andreas Vetsch. He has landed in the bottom half bracket, which features No. 2 seed Husiyuetu of China, a 2022 World bronze medalist, and No. 3 seed Hasrat Jafarov of Azerbaijan. Olympic champion Mohammadreza Geraei of Iran is also on his side.
Joining Hafizov and Sancho as past Senior World Team members are Patrick Smith (72 kg), Kamal Bey (77 kg), Spencer Woods (82 kg), Josef Rau (97 kg) and Cohlton Schultz (130 kg).
Smith will battle 2023 European bronze medalist Kamil Czarnecki of Poland in his first match. Smith is in the top half-bracket, which features No. 1 seed Celcuk Can of Turkey, a 2022 World bronze medalist, and No. 4 seed Ibrahim Ghanem of France.
Bey, whose best finish at a World Championships was seventh, looks to start strong against Swiss World Team member Fabio Dietsche. Bey is in the top half-bracket, led by No. 1 seed Levai of Hungary, a 2022 World silver medalist, and No. 4 seed Malkhas Amoyan of Armenia, a World bronze medalist. Also on this side is 2019 World champion Viktor Nemes of Serbia.
Woods faces Individual Neutral Athlete Stanislaw Shafarenko, … rest of story at … Themat.com/news/2023/u-s-receives-greco-roman-draws-for-world-championships-in-belgrade
Joe Dubuque Named Head Wrestling Coach
Joe Dubuque, a three-time NCAA All-American and two-time national champion wrestler who has spent the last 10 seasons on the coaching staff at Princeton University has been named the 11th head coach of Princeton Wrestling.
“I’m thrilled to name Joe as the head coach of Princeton Wrestling,” said Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack ‘00. “Rarely do you have the opportunity to hire a coach with Joe’s exceptional resume as both a coach and a wrestler. Most importantly, Joe has proven himself to be a tremendous leader for our wrestling program and someone who upholds the high values of our University.”
Since arriving at Princeton before the 2012-13 season, Dubuque has played an instrumental role in the recruitment and development of Princeton’s wrestlers. He has helped guide the Tigers to an Ivy League championship – its first in 34 years – in 2019-20 and has coached 14 All-Americans – including 2023 NCAA champion Patrick Glory.
Along the way, Dubuque has guided 10 Tigers to EIWA championships and four to Midlands titles. During his time on staff, Princeton has produced four of its top nine team finishes at the NCAA Championships including a 13th-place finish this past March in Tulsa to establish a new modern-day program record. … rest of story at … GOprincetontigers.com/news/2023/joe-dubuque-named-head-wrestling-coach
Micic Captures Gold; Amine, Parris Take Bronze at World Championships
By: Leah Howard
BELGRADE, Serbia — University of Michigan wrestling alumnus Stevan Micic captured the 57kg freestyle gold medal, while fellow Wolverine alums Myles Amine and Mason Parris claimed bronze at 86kg and 125kg, respectively, at the 2023 World Championships over Sunday and Monday (Sept. 17-18) at Stark Arena. With three medals, it was the most successful world performance in the history of the Michigan program.
Micic became Michigan’s first ever freestyle world champion and the program’s first champion since Joe Warren claimed the 60kg Greco-Roman gold in 2006. It was Micic’s second straight world medal after claiming 57kg bronze last year. It was the first senior-level medal for both Amine and Parris. Amine previously captured 86kg Olympic bronze for San Marino at the Tokyo Games, while Parris is a junior world champion (2019).
Micic and Amine both qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics — and their second straight Olympic Games — with their performances, while Parris also qualified in the weight class for the United States and earned an automatic berth to the championship finals at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials next April.
Representing Serbia in front of a spirited home crowd, Micic posted a 5-0 record and defeated world champions in each of his last three bouts, including a 7-4 win over Japan’s Rei Higuchi — the 2022 61kg world champion and an Olympic silver medalist at 57kg — in the championship final. After trading takedowns in the first period and giving up an early single in the second, Micic scored five unanswered points, taking the lead with a single-leg takedown of his own before countering a Higuchi shot to go up 6-4. He avoided giving up points on the edge on a deep single shot in the waning seconds of the bout and tacked on another point after a lost Japanese challenge. … rest of story at … Mgoblue.com/news/wrestling-micic-captures-gold-amine-parris-take-bronze-at-world-championships
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 