Jordan Burroughs won by tech. fall over Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- For the second year in a row, Team USA fell to Iran in World Cup action by a score of 5-3. This year it was for the gold medal, while last year it happened in pool competition.
The meet was filled with drama and wasn't decided until the final period of the heavyweight match.
At 57 kilos, American Tony Ramos faced 2013 World champion Hassan Rahimi, an opponent who had defeated him 9-1 last November. Down 2-1 in the second period, Ramos countered a Rahimi shot which resulted in a wild scramble that was scored 2-2. USA protested the scoring sequence and lost the protest. The remainder of the period was filled with action and emotion and saw Rahimi win 6-5.
At 61 kilos, Coleman Scott opened the match with fireworks against Behnam Ehsanpoor, hitting a four-point throw and then holding Ehsanpoor on his back to earn and extra point. He took a 7-2 lead into the second period, but Ehsanpoor's conditioning became a factor allowing him to rally for a 9-7 win. The match was eerily similar to the 61 kilos World Cup match between the same countries a year ago when Reece Humphrey lost a big lead against Masmoud Esmailpour.
Esmailpour returned to the Iranian World Cup lineup again this year, only at 65 kilos. In the USA match, he faced Brent Metcalf, who got USA on the board with a solid 3-1 win.
"I know I can score more points than that," Metcalf said. "Good. I won, but I've got to be able to get to their legs. I feel the high crotch I hit was a pretty darn good one."
USA narrowed the gap to 3-2 with a dazzling 10-0 win by Jordan Burroughs over Peyman Yarahmadi. After the match, Burroughs elaborated on the ease of his victory.
"He's a lefty. And anyone who has followed my career knows that our assistant coach at Nebraska, Bryan Snyder, is a lefty. I've wrestled with him a ton. I know how to finish on lefty high crotches, lefty singles. And I'm like 'Man, this is awesome.'"
Filling in for an injured Ed Ruth at 86 kilos, Clayton Foster opened up the scoring on Meysam Jokar to take a 2-0 lead, but Jokar was able to find his groove and scored two four point moves and ultimately earn a technical fall.
With the match score then at 4 for Iran and 2 for USA, the final two American athletes had to both win in order for any possibility of winning on criteria. While one of the more anticipated matchups of the weekend was 2012 Olympic Champ Jake Varner taking on 2013 World Champ Reza Yazdani, Yazdani suffered a 9-1 loss to Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan and looked very winded in the second period. The Iran coaching staff decided to go with Mohammad Hossei Askari Mohammadian, a 2013 bronze medalist at 86 kilos who had since moved up in weight. Mohammadian scored a takedown in the second period and held a 3-1 lead late in the match. However, Varner found a takedown and a turn late in the match to find a way to win and keep Team USA's hopes alive.
"I don't feel like I wrestled to my best potential," Varner said. "But I left it all out there. I got taken down. That happens, but I know how to score."
Despite two 10-0 technical fall wins in two matches this weekend, Tervel Dlagnev, who is still recovering from injury, was not given the nod to face his longtime rival Komeil Ghasemi in the gold-medal match. Zack Rey filled in admirably and held a 1-0 lead going into the final period, but Ghasemi tied the score and then earned a takedown with twenty second left to win the match and give Iran the victory.
Results:
57 kilos: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) dec. Tony Ramos (USA), 6-5
61 kilos: Behnam Ehsanpoor (Iran) dec. Coleman Scott (USA), 9-7
65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Masmoud Esmailpour (Iran), 3-1
70 kilos: Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) dec. Nick Marable (USA), 3-1
74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech. fall Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Iran) 10-0
86 kilos: Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran) tech. fall Clayton Foster (USA) 12-2
97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) dec. Mohammad Hossien Mohammadian (Iran) 3-3
125 kilos: Komeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Zack Rey (USA) 3-1
USA shuts out Mongolia in pool competition
Team USA looked impressive in its first dual meet on the second day of the World Cup by shutting out a strong team from Mongolia to advance to the gold-medal match. The marquee bout came at 65 kilos where Brent Metcalf squared off against Mandakhnaran Ganzorig, a 2014 bronze medalist. Metcalf opened up the scoring by exposing Ganzorig off a front headlock and lead the entire match to win 7-2.
"He's a really slimy wrestler in terms of the things he's good at. I feel like I left some points out there from my point of view, but I also feel like a wrestled smart."
Two matches were tied on the scoreboard but won on criteria by U.S. athletes. Tony Ramos at 57 kilos and Clayton Foster at 86 kilos. Ramos's match featured many wild scrambles that resulted in no points. Although the scoreboard was tied 1-1, Ramos was declared the winner by virtue of scoring last.
Ramos was a bit upset that his opponent was not Bekhbayar Erdenebat, who was listed on the roster but did not make the trip. Erdenebat and Ramos met in the 2014 World Championships, with Erdenbat winning 7-4.
"Yeah, he didn't make the trip, but this guy was ranked 10thin the world and took fifth at Yarygin."
Clayton Foster was given the nod to start against Mongolia as Ed Ruth incurred a minor shoulder injury. Ruth warmed up for the meet and the meet was sewn up by the time 86 kilos came up. Down 2-0, Foster scored a takedown in the second period to tie the match on the scoreboard, but go ahead on criteria.
Coleman Scott appeared much sharper during the second day of World Cup action and picked up a 6-2 victory over Nemekhbayar Batsaikhan.
Immediately following the USA's win over Mongolia, Iran dominated Azerbaijan to set up the gold-medal final match.
Results:
57 kilos: Tony Ramos (USA) dec. Tsogtbaatar Damdinbazar (Mongolia), 1-1
61 kilos: Coleman Scott (USA) dec. Memekhbayar Batsaikhan (Mongolia), 8-5
65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia), 8-2
70 kilos: Nick Marable (USA) dec. Ankhbayar Batchuluun (Mongolia), 4-1
74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) dec. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia), 6-0
86 kilos: Clayton Foster (USA) dec. Usukhbaatar Purevee (Mongolia), 2-2
97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) dec. Khuderbulga Dorjkhand (Mongolia), 3-0
125 kilos: Tervel Dlagnev (USA) tech. fall Chuluunbat Jargal Saikhan (Mongolia), 10-0
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