Rising Gopher redshirt freshman Brayton Lee received his draw for the UWW Junior World Wrestling Championships which begin Monday in Talinn, Estonia.
When action kicks off at 2:30 am CT Lee will face the winner of Ashraf Ashirov (Azerbaijan) and Raul Zarbaliev (Israel). Ashirov finished 8th at the 2018 Cadet World Championships while Zarbilev finished 9th at the 2019 European Juniors.
Indiana native and 2019 U.S. Junior world teamer Brayton Lee joins The MatBoss Podcast with Chad Dennis this week. Lee talks about his redshirt season at Minnesota and his expected weight class next season, but most of the show focuses on Lee earning the spot to represent Team USA in Estonia later this summer at the Junior World Championships. Lee gets into a tactical and technical discussion about his freestyle wrestling abilities and where that came from.
Brayton Lee just won’t give up. Whether he’s down in a match or facing a foe he’s lost to several times, Lee faces the challenge with confidence.
This past weekend at the 2019 UWW Junior Team Trials, Lee displayed that grit for the whole wrestling world to see. In his final three bouts in the bracket, Lee rallied in the second period. Against Sammy Sasso in a best-of-three series, who he had lost to earlier this May, Lee rallied to take down the Buckeye and show off his amazing conditioning.
“I just kept pressuring and keeping good position like the coaches were telling me,” Lee said. “Something Coach Eggum always talks about is wrestling every position, making them work, and staying aggressive the whole time.”
Lee finished his redshirt campaign in the Maroon and Gold with a 26-7 record with eight technical falls. The Brownsburg, Indiana, native won the National Collegiate Open and was runner-up at the Edinboro Open as well as the recent UWW Junior Nationals in Las Vegas. Both times against Sasso.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The gash on Brayton Lee’s forehead left the Minnesota freshman bloodied and bandaged Saturday at the conclusion of the World Team Trials, but that was nothing compared to what he encountered last week.
His back hurt so much last week that he ordered an Uber ride to haul him a block from his dorm room to the Minnesota practice facility.
Do you think this guy is going to get deterred by a few deficits? Continue reading at trackwrestling.com
Competing at the National Collegiate Open in Smyrna, Delaware, both 149-pound Brayton Lee and 197-pound Garrett Joles were crowned champions. Both competing unattached, Lee and Joles gave the Gophers two champions out of two grapplers.
Minnesota was one of only three teams to crown two tournament champions and they did so with the fewest number of competitors.
Fargo, ND – Three future Gophers took to the mats in Fargo this week competing at the Junior National Championships. Brayton Lee and Patrick Mckee each ended their tournaments on the podium gaining Junior National All-American Honors.
Brayton Lee wrestled to a first-place finish in Fargo and earned the title of Junior National Champion at the 152-pound weight class. The Brownsburg, Ind., native held an unblemished record through seven matches and entered the finals of his weight class having won all of his previous matches by technical fall, outscoring his opponents by a score of 61-0. Lee defeated his final opponent by criteria after finishing the match 3-3 and taking the top spot on the podium.
STILLWATER, Okla. — The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced Thursday afternoon the state winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA). Incoming University of Minnesota student-athletes Gable Steveson (Minnesota) and Brayton Lee (Indiana) both received the honor of their respective state.