Gophers’ Deitchler Receives Draw in Beijing; Set to Wrestle Begaliev Tonight
August 12, 2008
University of Minnesota
wrestling recruit Jake Deitchler drew a first round bye in the 66
kg/145.5 lbs. Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing Olympics
and will wrestle 2006 World silver medalist Kanatbek Begaliev of
Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16 at 8:50 (CT) tonight. The match gets
underway at 9:50 a.m. Beijing time.
Deitchler, the 2008 Anoka High School graduate who became the first
wrestler in 32 years to make the Olympic team out of high school with a
victory at the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this summer, drew the No. 1
position in the bracket following his weigh-in and is one of 12
wrestlers in the 20-man class to receive a first-round bye.
The winner of the Deitchler-Begaliev matchup will face the winner of
the match featuring the reigning world champion and 2004 Olympic gold
medalist Farid Mansurov of Azerbaijan, who takes on Armen Vardanyan of
Ukraine.
The bracket will conclude with medal round bouts
tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. (CT). MSNBC will carry tape-delayed coverage of
the 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Greco-Roman wrestling bracket during its’ coverage
from 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (CT) Wednesday.
For more details on television coverage, visit www.nbcolympics.com. To keep current with Deitchler’s progress, or to view the 66 kg/145.5 lbs. bracket, visit www.themat.com.