Day 3 wrap: Dake wins silver, Valencia gets bronze, Winchester to go for gold, Page for bronze, Snyder in repechage

The USA men’s freestylers have won six medals, with a silver from Kyle Dake and bronze from Zahid Valencia today. The U.S. women started with Jacarra Winchester reaching the finals and Jen Page going for a bronze tomorrow.

BELGRADE, Serbia – The United States added two more men’s freestyle medals on Monday and remained in the men’s freestyle team race at the World Wrestling Championships at Stark Arena.

In the Group Two finals, four-time World champion Kyle Dake had a classic battle with 2020 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Zaurbek Sidakov, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia at 74 kg. It was the last final of the night. When it was all over, after a number of challenges and close calls, Sidakov won his third career World title with a 10-7 victory over Dake.

Dake led 1-0 at the break on a step out, but things opened up in the second period. When Dake was on the shot clock, Sidakov got a takedown and added a point when the 30 seconds ran out on Dake to lead 3-0. A Dake takedown tied it at 3-3. There was a wild exchange which went to a challenge and when it was sorted out Sidakov led 8-7. A exchange at the end of the match also went to a challenge, and Sidakov was given two more points for a 10-7 finish.

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2023 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Terry Haws

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Terry Haws might not have ended up at Saint John’s University in the first place were it not for a rule change and an illicit cigarette.

It was the fall of 1966 and Haws was the athletic director and head football and wrestling coach at St. Cloud Cathedral High School. The previous spring, the school had elected to make a change to its disciplinary policy, increasing the punishment for being caught smoking from a three-day suspension to expulsion.

It was a move Haws – who had also been the boys guidance counselor at Cathedral – strongly opposed.

“His argument was that some kid was going to make a dumb mistake and it was going to cost them a full year of school,” recalls his son Pat, a student at Cathedral at the time. “He thought it was way too harsh.” Continue reading at gojohnnies.com →

Day 2 wrap: Taylor, Arujau, Retherford win gold, Parris gets bronze, Dake qualifies for Monday’s finals

Winning golds were David Taylor, Vito Arujau and Zain Retherford. A bronze went to Mason Parris. Kyle Dake reached Monday’s finals. The USA is in first place, and has earned three Olympic quotas so far.

BELGRADE, Serbia – The second day of the World Wrestling Championships was a big day for the United States.

All that Team USA did was win three individual World gold medals, claimed a World bronze, and placed another star in Monday’s night’s gold-medal finals. They increased the number of weights qualified for the Paris Olympic Games to three and led in the team standings after the first four weight classes.

Individual gold medalists on Sunday night were David Taylor (86 kg), Vitali Arujau (61 kg) and Zain Retherford (70 kg). It was a third career World title for Taylor, while Arujau and Retherford claimed their first.

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Day One Wrap: Taylor, Retherford, Arujau reach World finals, Parris to go for bronze in Belgrade

BELGRADE, Serbia – It was an excellent day for the United States in men’s freestyle, as the 2023 Senior World Championships got started in Stark Arena on Saturday.

Winning their semifinals match and earning a spot in Sunday’s gold-medal finals were 2000 Olympic champion and two-time World champion David Taylor (86 kg), 2022 World silver medalist Zain Retherford (70 kg) and first-time World Team member Vito Arujau (61 kg).

With his victory in the semifinals, Taylor has clinched a berth for the United States at 86 kg in men’s freestyle for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Taylor was on fire today, winning two matches by pin and two by technical fall. In the semifinals, he put away Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan in 3:38. He will face his archrival Hassan Yazdanicharati of Iran in the finals. Taylor has beaten him in two of their three finals matches at either the Olympics or Worlds, including Taylor’s victory at the 2020 Olympic Games.

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Powerful USA team set for World Championships in Serbia, Sept. 16-24, with Olympic berths up for grabs

The United States is sending an experienced and talented team to the 2023 Senior World Wrestling Championships, set for Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, September 16-24.

The United States is coming off one of its best Senior World Championships performances ever in 2022, with a total of 15 Senior World medals, including seven individual gold medalists, six silver medalists and two bronze medalists. The U.S. men’s freestyle team won the World Team Title in 2022 (its fourth ever), and the U.S. women’s freestyle team placed second in the final standings.

This event will serve as the first 2024 Olympic Games qualifying event for Paris, France. The top five athletes in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will qualify their nation for Paris.

The event kicks off with men’s freestyle competition, which runs September 16-19. The USA team features a pair of Olympic champions, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder (97 kg) and 2020 Olympic gold medalist David Taylor (86 kg). Snyder also boasts a 2020 Olympic silver medal. Both are also multiple Senior World champions, with Snyder owning three World titles and Taylor winning two World golds.

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2023 J-Club Hall of Honor Class: Lou Adderley ’55

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Lou Adderley had played some tennis prior to arriving at Saint John’s University as a freshman from The Bahamas in 1951.

He hadn’t wrestled at all.

But Adderley managed to master both sports during his time in Collegeville, going on to win conference championships in each over the course of his collegiate career.

“I was always so impressed with his work ethic,” recalls Patrick Wangen ’58, a tennis teammate during Adderley’s senior season in 1955 when he was not only a star player, but the team’s head coach. Continue reading at gojohnnies.com →