2022 U17 World Championship

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Yankeefan33

Well-known member
It's back! International wrestling is back! It's been such a long year, and we are finally back with Cadet...wait, that's U17 World Championships. Greco and women are mostly done already, I'll post a little about them tomorrow, but mens freestyle starts tomorrow.

From USAWrestling: Men’s freestyle action starts Friday and runs through Sunday. Representing the U.S. tomorrow are Christian Castillo (48 kg), Jax Forrest (55 kg), Tyler Kasak (65 kg), Zack Ryder (80 kg) and Koy Hopke (110 kg). Taking the mat on Saturday are Domenic Munaretto (45 kg), Luke Lilledahl (51 kg), Kyler Larkin (60 kg), Joseph Sealey (71 kg) and Max McEnelly (92 kg).

Personally, I'm expecting big things with no Russia. Gotta think half medal with a champ, I'm feeling good about this team.
 
 
Well, today was nothing short of excellent for Team USA men's freestyle. Four wrestlers moved onto the finals tomorrow, with several exciting matches and finishes.

- Christian Castillo (48kg) had a great finish to his quarters match against Iran, hitting a flying squirrel (shoutout Ellis Coleman) in the last five seconds to win 8-6.; he will face Baghirov of Azerbaijan tomorrow for gold.
- Jax Forrest had an equally impressive late-match victory, beating India 9-7 with a takedown on the edge with two seconds left. He has looked outstanding in my opinion, and should be the favorite in the final against Askerbek of Kazakhstan in the finals.
- Tyler Kasak had HIS own late-match takedown today too, beating Uzbekistan with a takedown with 6 seconds left. He will face Isayev of Azerbaijan, which seems like a pretty even match to me.
- US dominance at 110kg continues, with Koy Hopke outscoring his three opponents 37-7 to make the finals. Lagvilava of France looked pretty good in his semis match to me, but I wouldn't count out Hopke the way he has been getting to his offense.
- Zack Ryder lost to Iran 10-0 in the first round, but was brought back via repechage and will face Stamenov of Bulgaria tomorrow early. You never like guys to go one and done at Cadets, so I am happy he gets another shot at it.
 
An almost equally excellent second day for Team USA, as three move on to the finals with an additional wrestler in the bronze medal match.

- Dom Munaretto (45kg) had three wins to make the finals, looking excellent in each one. He will face Azerbaijan in the finals, a match I think he is the favorite in.
- Luke Lilledahl returns to the U17 world championships and returns to the finals at 48kg. Really nice win in the semis over a U17 bronze last year, Lilledahl will face Asadi of Iran in the finals, a wrestler who has looked great today.
- Kyler Larkin is the only US wrestler eliminated, winning his first match before losing 2-1 to Japan at 60kg.
- Joe Sealey has been the best US wrestler today, with four techs in four matches at 71kg. He faces Raul Caso of Italy, a match he is favored in.
- Max McEnelly grabbed two wins at 92kg before losing via tech in the semis to Kurugliyev of Kazakhstan. Kurugliyev was excellent (and huge), no shame in that loss. McEnelly will face either India or Turkey in the bronze match.

Finals from yesterday right now! Go watch!
 
Day 1 Finals-

48kg- Christian Castillo drops his finals match 5-3 in a close one to Baghirov of Azerbaijan. Was 1-1 late with Castillo losing, gave up a TD+turn before getting a reversal and almost getting the pin as time expired. Great tourney for him, awesome to see the kid wrestle a bit, was unfamiliar with him before.

55kg- Jax Forrest loses a tough one for gold, 11-10. Got headlocked twice for 8 total points, was up 7-2 before that. Only the second medal for Team USA at 54/55kg, besting Daton Fix's bronze seven years ago.

65kg- Tyler Kasak loses a heartbreaker, allowing the step-out with two seconds left to lose 4-3. It's really tough to hold onto a 3-3 lead for 40 seconds, and Kasak was just shy of doing so. He'll take silver after an excellent tourney, but has to be disappointing.

80kg- Zack Ryder has a great day, winning twice in repechage and controlling the bronze match 8-0 to come home with a medal. Always tough to fight back after getting teched in the first match, but he got to his positions and will return with hardware.

110kg- Koy Hopke breaks a kid in half, wins gold 11-6! Hopke seemed to be pushed around a little at the beginning, but got a TD at very end of 1st to make it 4-3. Lagvilava was absolutely gassed in the second half, though, and had nothing for Hopke's pace. Great win for the USA there, joins a couple guys names Coon, Steveson, and Kerkvliet with Cadet/U17 gold medals at 100/110kg.
 
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Oh, and Team USA freestyle locked up the team title and are up like 60 points on Iran. Very similar to US women last year when Japan was not present, Team USA takes advantage of no Russia.

Speaking of the US women, they won three silver medals this week. Erica Pastoriza, Gabriella Gomez (younger sister of Wisconsin's Austin Gomez), and Valerie Hamilton all are returning with medals, the second for Pastoriza after her gold last year. Maybe a little down, but last year was an anomaly with no Japan.

Men's Greco had a very successful couple of days too with Joel Adams (Nebraska) absolutely demolishing the competition for gold. Adams outscored his five opponents 42-0 to win gold, the first for USA Greco since Cohlton Schultz in 2017. Cody Merrill (California/Daniel Cormier's club) won bronze as well, and with Arvin Khosravy's fifth place finish, U17 Greco finished 8th in the team standings, their best result ever.
 
45kg- Domenic Munaretto starts the day off right with a World Championship! Wins 2-0 over Azerbaijan, slowed the match way down after a TD in the 1st. Third straight year Team USA has won 45kg after Bo Bassett and Marc-Anthony McGowan

51kg- Luke Lilledahl goes back-to-back for Team USA and also wins gold! Improves on his silver medal last year, was brilliant offensively the last two days, utilizing a killer ankle pick to score several times in a 10-1 win over Iran.

71kg- Joe Sealey, have a tourney! Wins in the finals 12-0, five techs in five matches! Unbelievable, solidifies himself as the top guy in the 2024 class

92kg- Max McEnelly holds tight, wins 2-1 over India for bronze. Defense wins the day here, didn't score an offensive point but made it work. What a day/tourney for Team USA, four golds, three silvers, and two bronzes. 9/10 medals is a historic tourney, will not be matched at any level any time soon. I'll have some more stuff later for sure!
 
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9/10 medal is a great showing, obviously, though clouded by the absence of Russia.

Regardless, something right is happening on the development side domestically in freestyle on the male side.

Was Jesuroga a weight lower last year (51 KG) when he won gold? He lost two real tight matches to Forrest in Vegas having won the first one decisively to get displaced from 55 kilo world spot.
 
bucksman said:
9/10 medal is a great showing, obviously, though clouded by the absence of Russia.

Regardless, something right is happening on the development side domestically in freestyle on the male side.

Was Jesuroga a weight lower last year (51 KG) when he won gold? He lost two real tight matches to Forrest in Vegas having won the first one decisively to get displaced from 55 kilo world spot.
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Jesuroga won bronze at 51kg last year. USA probably had two top 5 guys in the world at 55kg this year
 
One random historical fact from each weight:

45kg- USA has won this weight three times in a row, and has never won silver or bronze- only gold or DNP
48kg- Christian Castillo is the first U17 medalist from Arizona, their fifth wrestler total
51kg- Luke Lilledahl is the first US wrestler to medal at U17, return, and place higher. Kerkvliet also won silver/gold, but in the inverse order.
55kg- Jax Forrest's silver is the highest finish ever for the US here, besting Daton Fix's bronze
60kg- The US has DNP'd the last five years at this weight
65kg- Tyler Kasak is the third Pennsylvanian to medal at this weight, joining Jarod Verkleeren and Zain Retherford
71kg- Joe Sealey was the first North Carolinian to make the U17 team
80kg- Zack Ryder joins Yianni, Vito, and Jacori Teemer as medalists from New York
92kg- Max McEnelly continues one of the weirder streaks for Team USA- they have six bronze medals here, and no other medals. Consistently third
110kg- Hopke joins an illustrious collection of Kerkvliet, Steveson, and Coon as winners here.
 
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