“It’s disappointing to lose, but it’s also a great accomplishment to be in the Youth Olympic Games,” Rogers, 16, said. “I had to win a national tournament and a qualifier to get here. These are elite guys from each country, and it’s amazing to be No. 2 out of all of the competition. This is my first time overseas, so it’s all new to me.”
Rogers made quick work of his first opponent, Victorin Kouagou of Benin. He followed with a close victory against Egypt’s Amr Ali, and also topped Christopher Aguon of Guam to win his pool competition.
“He didn’t win the match, but he had the opportunity to wrestle for a gold medal,” head coach Mark Halvorson said following Rogers’ medal match. “There are a lot of positives he can take out of this as well. Now, he’s got a taste of what it’s like to be in an Olympics and world-class competition. He’s got a lot to be proud of winning the silver medal – it was a tough competition.”
Rogers will be a junior at Mead High School in Spokane, Wash. He was a 2010 Cadet Nationals champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Rogers also claimed a 2010 FILA Cadet Nationals title in freestyle. He was a 2009 Cadet Nationals freestyle runner-up and won Schoolboy National titles in both styles in 2008. He was a Washington state high school champion in 2009, but missed the 2010 state meet due to an emergency appendectomy.
Quinton Murphy (Holley, N.Y.) had a solid pair of wins in pool play to advance to the bronze medal match in the -63 kg weight class. He finished fourth after falling to Irakli Mosidze of Georgia.
Murphy, 16, also started with a speedy defeat of Amadeus Pereira of Guinea-Bissau in just .19 seconds. He topped Algeria’s Mohamed Boudraa in his second match, before falling to Bakhodur Kadirov of Tajikistan in his final match of pool competition.
Murphy will be a junior at Holley High School in New York. He placed third in the 2010 FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle. He was a 2009 Central Regional Cadet freestyle champion, and has won numerous medals at USA Wrestling age-group regional events. He is a two-time New York state high school champion (2008 and 2010) and a state runner-up in 2009.
Team USA concluded wrestling competition with a silver medal won by Rogers. On Sunday, Lucas Sheridan (Concord, Calif.) finished fourth in Greco-Roman, and Jenna Burkert (Middle Island, N.Y.) finished fifth in the women’s freestyle wrestling -60 kg weight class Monday.
The wrestling lineup features 112 athletes – 80 men and 32 women – with eight participants in each weight class. An additional wrestling competition at the Youth Olympic Games, beach wrestling, will be held on Saturday, August 21 at Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island. This event is open to all YOG athletes in all sports. The U.S. wrestlers will have the opportunity for another competition if they enter the Beach Wrestling tournament.
Additional Quotes
Rogers: “The first match, it felt nice to get that out of the way. Usually you’re a little nervous for that first one, especially since I’ve never really been to international competition so it’s a newer experience. Once I got that first match out of the way, I started feeling a little more comfortable and felt a lot more confident going into the next matches.”
Rogers: “We competed early, so I’ve been focused on preparing for the competition. I’ve seen all that’s going on, and I’m really excited to get involved in all of the activities. It’s just a really cool experience to meet people from other countries.”
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
At Singapore, August 17
Men’s freestyle results
46 kg/101 lbs.
Gold – Aldar Balzhinimaev (Russia)
Silver – Mehran Sheikhi (Iran)
Bronze – Artak Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
4th – Andry Davila (Venezuela)
5th – Mohamed Abdelnaeem (Egypt)
6th – Robinson Rios (Peru)
54 kg/119 lbs.
Gold – Yuki Takahashi (Japan)
Silver – Kanan Guluyev (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Mehmet Ali Daylak (Turkey)
4th – Yerzon Hernandez (Colombia)
5th – Jayden Lawrence (Australia)
6th – Jeffry Serrata (Dominican Republic)
7th – Maher Ghanni (Tunisia)
8th – Kester Chun Yue Leung (Singapore)
9th – Prince Mbambi (Congo)
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold – Azamatti Pshnatlov (Russia)
Silver – Bakhodur Kadirov (Tajikistan)
Bronze – Irakli Mosidze (Georgia)
4th – Quinton Murphy (USA)
5th – Johnny Pilay (Ecuador)
6th – Mohamed Boudraa (Algeria)
7th – Amadeus Pereira (Guinee-Bisau)
8th – Haris Fazlic (Australia)
76 kg/167.5 lbs.
Gold – Resul Kalayci (Turkey)
Silver – Jordan Rogers (USA)
Bronze – Dierbek Ergashev (Uzbekistan)
4th – Amir Ali (Egypt)
5th – A, Hushtyn (Belarus)
6th – Victorin Kouagou (Benin)
7th – Dalton Webb (Canada)
8th – Christopher Aguon (Guam)
100 kg/220 lbs.
Gold – Ali Magomedabirov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Abraham de Jesus Conyedo Ruano (Cuba)
Bronze – Satywart Kadian (India)
4th – Geno Petriashvili (Georgia)
5th – Oyunbold Enkhtugs (Mongolia)
6th – Parmvir Dhesi (Canada)
7th – Andries Schutte (South Africa)
8th – Manuolefoaga Sualevai (American Samoa)
U.S. Men’s freestyle performances
63 kg/138.75 lbs - Quinton Murphy, Holley, N.Y., 4th
WIN Amadeus Pereira (Guinee-Bisau)
WIN Mohamad Boudraa (Algeria)
LOSS Bakhodur Kadirov (Tajikistan)
LOSS Irakli Mosidze (Georgia)
76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Jordan Rogers, Spokane, Wash., 2nd
WIN Victorin Kouagou (Benin)
WIN Amir Ali (Egypt)
WIN Christopher Aguon (Guam)
LOSS Resul Kalayci (Turkey)
About Team USA
The U.S. Team in Singapore is comprised of 82 athletes in 18 sports, the maximum number of qualified U.S. athletes. Team USA is competing in aquatics (swimming and diving), archery, badminton, basketball, boxing, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, sailing, table tennis, taekwondo, track & field, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. Complete information on Team USA can be found at youtholympicgames.teamusa.org.
About the 2010 Youth Olympic Games
Singapore is hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from Aug. 14-26, 2010, as young athletes age 14-18 compete in 26 sports and take part in the Culture and Education Program. Approximately 3,600 athletes from around the world will participate, and all 205 National Olympic Committees will be represented. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aim to inspire youth to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. More information can be found at www.singapore2010.sg.
For more information, visit www.teamusa.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now