Burroughs, Cox, Green, Gwiazdowski receive draw for day two of men’s freestyle at World Championships
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – The second group of U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers, which includes four athletes, have received their draws for the World Wrestling Championships, and will start their competition on Friday.
At 70 kg, 2015 World bronze medalist and 2017 World silver medalist James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids WC/Nebraska WTC) will start out with Vincent De Marinis of Canada. De Marinis placed seventh at the Grand Prix of Spain and 11th at the City of Sassari Tournament. If Green wins his first two matches, he could face top seeded Adam Batirov of Bahrain (formerly Russia). Batirov was a 2018 World Championships runner-up.
2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Jordan Burroughs opens with the winner of Azmat Nurykau of Belarus and Johann Steinforth of Germany.
In the semifinals of the 74 kg bracket he could potentially meet returning World champion Zaurbek Sidakov of Russia. Sidakov defeated Burroughs on a last-second takedown in the semifinals of last year’s World Championships.
Returning World champion J’den Cox will open the 92 kg bracket with Mohamad Fardj of Algeria. If seeds hold, top-seeded Cox would see No. 4 seed Irakli Mtsituri of Georgia in the semifinals. Mtsituri is the 2019 European Championships bronze medalist.
At 125 kg, 2017 and 2018 World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski will have the winner of Yadollah Mohebbi of Iran and Khuderbulga Dorjkhand of Mongolia. If the seeds hold, Gwiazdowski would have No. 1 seed, three-time World Champion, Geno Petriashvili of Georgia in the semifinals.
U.S. Men’s freestyle draw for Friday
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC)
Vs. Vincent De Marinis (Canada), 7th 2019 Grand Prix of Spain, 11th 2019 City of Sassari Tournament, 3rd 2015 Pan American Championships
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC)
Vs. Azmat Nurykau, 5th 2019 Pan American Games, 3rd 2019 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix, 10th 2018 World Championships
Or John Steinforth (Germany), 7th 2019 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial, 15th 2019 European Championships
92 kg/202.5 lbs. – J’den Cox, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC)
Vs. Mohamad Fardj (Algeria), 1st 2019 Mediterranean Championships, 3rd 2019 All-African Games
125 kg/275 lbs. – Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC)
Vs. Yadollah Mohebbi (Iran), 1st 2019 Asian Championships, 2nd 2018 Yasar Dogu
Or Khuderbulga Dorjkhand (Mongolia) 12th, Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial, 3rd Mongolia Open
***ORIGINALLY POSTED AT: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/September/19/Day-2-mfs-draws