Article: Dingo in Vegas at the World Championships

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Greetings from The Orleans in Las Vegas, Nevada! I'm one lucky Hoosier, as I will be covering the entire week of competition for my favorite website....this one. I got in this evening and walked around the casino and floor area a bit. I saw athletes, male and female, milling around the casino, some looking intense and focused, and some enjoying what Las Vegas is famous for. Athletes from countries like Japan, Kazakshtan, Bulgaria, Russia and, yes, Trinidad and Tobago are very easy to spot, with the telltale ears and scars that often grace high level wrestlers. There are a lot of folks here from around the world, and the buzz is palpable.

 

Tomorrow morning, Greco competition kicks off the action, as titles will be determined at 66, 75 and 98 kilos. Draws have been released for the US, and are as follows:

 

66 kg/145.5 lbs -- Bryce Saddoris vs Hugo Miguel Da Silva Passos (Portugal). Two-time World member Saddoris has a favorable draw for his first match in Passos, who has had minimal international success. A two-time All-American while competing at Navy, Saddoris is also a true hometown hero, as he was a four-time state champ in Nevada. Saddoris has a very solid chance to win his first match, but he has a very tough road for a medal. 2014 World champ Davor Stefanek of Serbia is the odds on favorite to win gold, and 2014 bronze medalist Tamas Lorincz of Hungary is another strong candidate to take it all. Outside of those two, many of the top competitors from the London Olympics and the 2014 World Championships are not representing their respective countries this year. An ideal scenario for Saddoris is for him to win his opening match and then get pulled into a repechage match, where a couple of upsets could spring a bronze medalist for the former Midshipmen standout, That said, it's likely too much to ask of Saddoris at this point in his career. Hope I'm wrong.

 

75 kg/165 lbs -- Andy Bisek vs Luis Eduardo Avendano Rojas (Venezuela). 2014 bronze medalist Bisek opens up against an opponent he handled easily at this year's Pan Am games. Bisek has been competing internationally for a solid decade and this is his fourth World Championship. He really seems to be peaking, as evidenced by his medal at last year's competition. Despite his recent success, he's still ranked only 14th in the world, a testament to the depth of talent at this weight. Like Saddoris, Bisek has a favorable early draw, and, hopefully, he can parlay an early win into a run to the medal session. Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea), the 2013 world champ, and Arsen Julfalakyan (Armenia), the 2014 world gold medalist, lead a strong, deep group and are the top favorites to win it all this year, although it would be foolish to underestimate Roman Vlasov of Russia, the 2012 Olympic champion and silver medalist at the 2013 Worlds. In a perfect world, Bisek puts it all together and makes a title run, but more realistically, he wins his opening match and benefits from a repechage situation. Bisek was the lone medalist in Greco for the US in 2014, and his performance on the opening day of competition could be an omen of things to come for the entire US Greco team.

 

98 kg/216 lb -- Caylor Williams vs Davi Jose Albino (Brazil). Three-time World team member Caylor Williams, who competed in college at UNC-Greensboro, has a tougher opening round match than Bisek and Saddoris in Albino. While Williams hasn't produced a lot of topnotch international finishes, he has displayed big-match potential, as evidenced by his huge upset of 2012 Olympic Silver medalist Rustam Totrov of Russia. However, in order to have any shot to medal tomorrow, Williams has to wrestle at his best each minute of each match. This is an especially loaded field, led by Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia), a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, 2013 World silver medalist and 2014 World champ, Islam Magomedov (Russia), the latest in a long line of nightmarish Russian grapplers, and Ghasem Rezaei (Iran), the London Olympic champion. It would be a fairly substantial upset if Williams managed a medal this year.

 

I will update this thread during the competition, although I have to be careful with the picture-taking, as they are very particular about this topic. I have my fingers crossed that Bisek can reproduce last year's impressive run, and either Saddoris or Williams can pull some upsets. LET'S GO U-S-A!!!!!

 

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[Dingo Brigade 311]

66kg underway. No big upsets thus far. A nice opening round match features two top-8 in the world competitors in #4 Artem Surkov of Russia and #8 Hasan Aliyev of Azerbaijan. In a very physical match, Surkov is the slight aggressor, and leads 2-0. Aliyev just can't through Surkov's defense. Surkov wins a tough opening match and now Aliyev has to hope for some repechage magic.

 

There was a big roar from the crowd when Ukraine's Denys Demyankov  picked up North Korea's Jin Choi Pan and planted him on the mat with force.

 

Saddoris will be the first US wrestler up, followed by Bisek and, later, Williams.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Dingo Brigade

[Dingo Brigade 311]

So far, the match of the day is at 66kg, where Austria's Benedikt Puffer and Tajikhstan's Khusrav Obloberdiev are facing off. They've exchanged big throws and each has nearly pinned the other. 4-4 the final, with Puffer winning on criteria.

 

No sooner than I had described this previous match as the best match of the day...along comes # 3 and former world champ Russian Roman Vlasov and former world champ #2 Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia. Very quickly, Vlasov slams Julfalakyan with incredible force squarely on his head. The crowd let out a collective gasp, as it looked like a potential serious injury. As quickly as the thought came, Julfalakyan started waving his hands while on his back to instruct his team to challenge that the move took place in bounds. The toughness of wrestlers is sometimes stupefying...Vlasov with a surprisingly easy time against Julfalakyan. Vlasov in control, wins 6-0. You won't find a more vicious looking slam than Vlasov's against the Armenian.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Dingo Brigade

[Dingo Brigade 311]

66kg Wow, that Migran Arutyunyan is some kind of showman. He was already in firm control against Greece's Vladimiros, but decided to entertain the crowd by picking up his Greek counterpart and spinning him close to 10 times (or so it seemed) before planting him on the ground on his back. Impressive little dude, but he likely has #2 Lorincz of Hungary lurking as his next opponent.

 

At 98kg, China's Xiao and Kazakhistan's Iskakov engaged in what looked like a fistfight. A lot more brutality than technique in this one, but the Chinese wrestler prevails.

 

Saddoris coming soon

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Saddoris up against the Portuguese wrestler Da Silva Pas. Saddoris attempts a throw, slips, quickly resets. No score early. Looked like a scoring opportunity for Saddoris, ref says no, back to their feet. Now they're in par terre, Saddoris on top, looking for a gut....no luck. Back to their feet, scoreless 1st period.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Saddoris on the board first, with a second passivity call against Da Silva Pas. Bryce leads 1-0...lots of time left. Looks like the Portuguese wrestler is a little tired, but then again he has had his mouth open the entire match. He looks like a fish trying to breathe out of water....it's a weird looking thing he's doing. Saddoris comes back with his head taped...big takedown by Saddoris....leads 3-0. He's in control at this point, holds on to give the US a win in its first match. Great, controlled match by the former Navy standout

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Right after Saddoris, here comes Andy Bisek. He'll tackle the Venezuelan Avendano Roj. Scoreless early, but a passivity call against Avendano gets Bisek a shot at a turn. Bisek active on top in par terre, but nothing doing...back to their feet. Bisek pushing the action. Bisek now down, the Venezuelan gets a pretty nice lift and turn, leads the 2014 bronze medalist 2-0. Bisek needs to turn up

 

Not to distract from Bisek's match, but #3 Ryu of Korea and #4 Surkov of Russia are up now at 66kg.

Another passivity against Avenado cuts the score to 2-1. Bisek with a couple of sweet gutwrenches, now leads 5-2. Great sense of timing and explosion by Bisek. Suddenly, he looks to be in full control.

 

Ryu and Surkov scoreless 3:30 in.

[MattM 865]

Solid start for USA Greco. 2 for 2 in the opening matches.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Bisek with another win for the US, 5-2 the final. Great comeback and a good momentum builder for the US.

 

Ryu and Surkov really neutralizing each other. 1 point for Ryu, the Russian running out of time.  Ryu's defense just too tough. Ryu with a huge win over the Russian 1-0

 

The quarters at 66kg are now set. Still a lot of elite firepower left at the weight

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Bisek will face India's Gurpreet in his next match.

 

Saddoris will face Bulgaria's Stas.

At 75kg, #1 Kim of S. Korea faces #5 Nemes of Serbia

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Kim and Nemes in a battle at 75kg. Kim with an early 2-0 lead, Nemes strikes back to tie it at 2-2. Passivity against Nemes, Kim leads 3-2. The Olympic gold medalist is being tested by the Serb. Kim hangs on to win 3-2.

[MattM 865]

Hopefully Williams can make it 3 for 3 in opening matches. Williams had lost against the Brazilian in the Pan-Ams, but all indications were that shouldn't have occurs.

Edited September 7, 2015 by MattM

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Williams up now, looking to make it 3-for-3 in opening matches for the US. He gets the Brazilian Albino. Nice explosion for Williams with a takedown on the edge of the mat. He leads 2-0. Williams looked to be in good shape to really put some space between himself and his opponent, but as he has attempting to turn Albino, the Brazilian reversed him and followed that up with a big lift and turn. Albino up 5-2. Wiliams looks like a different wrestler now....and not in a good way.

Wow, what a turn of events. Williams gets a penalty point, follows that up with a lift in par terre, picks Albino up and throws him to his back....FOR THE FALL!!!! The US is now 3 for 3. Great comebacks by Bisek and now Williams.

[MattM 865]

Williams returned the favor with his own lift and turned it into a fall. Good job staying in the match. U.S. Greco is usually not a major factor at worlds, but this team sure doesn't want to go away quietly.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

At 98kg, #3 Rezaei of Iran and #2 Magomedov of Russia are going toe to toe. Scoreless through nearly 3 minutes.

Good Lord, top ranked Aleksanyan of Armenia with 4 straight gut wrenches, to quickly dispatch Yonehira of Japan. Pure dominance.

 

Magomedov and Rezaei still scoreless after 4 minutes. An exchange of penalty points makes it 1-1. Magomedov down in par terre gets rolled by Rezaei, the Iranian looking for the big win, leads 3-1. One minute left

Near 2 pointer for Magomedov, but Rezaei holds own for the big win 4-2 over the Russian.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

We're wrapping up 98kg...Saddoris is coming up soon. He'll face the Bulgarian Stas in a tough but potentially winnable match.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Saddoris taking the mat against Stas. Both very physical and aggressive out of the gate. Both wrestlers working hard to establish limb control. Each snapping and trapping. Looks like Saddoris tripped on the ref. They're reviewing it, but the initial call is two points for Kas... Points removed! 0-0 still. Saddoris didn't need that bad break, so it's great that they corrected the scoring mistake. Saddoris back to snapping hard.. Still scoreless. Saddoris back to the drawing board.

Saddoris gets a passivity call, goes down. Stas looking for a gut, looks close, but Saddoris fights him off, still scoreless. Looked like a takedown for Saddoris, ref said the period expired. Still scoreless at the break. Very close opportunities for each. 3:30 gone now, still scoreless. Bad break, another passivity for Saddoris, now trails 1-0 and goes down. Nearly reverses in par terre, but at least he fights off Stas. 1-0, Saddoris better get after it now

Big spin around takedown, plus a gut....and another....HUGE performance for Saddoris, now leads 6-1

Saddoris on to the quarters with a stirring win.

[MattM 865]

Saddoris took it to the Bulgarian. Nice to see him moving on and also providing some energy for the rest of the team to feed off of.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

66kg Ryu had his hands full until he pulled out a WWE style piledriver against Norway's Thommesen. 6-0 lead for the 2013 World champ.

 

Looks like Saddoris' next opponent will be Germany's Staebler, currently 5th in the world

 

Upset win by Armenia's Arutyunyan over #2 Lorincz of Hungary.

75kg Bisek up now against Gurpreet of India, who was also very impressive in his first match

Passivity against Gurpreet...Bisek will try for a gut.....gets it...Huge move by Bisek, followed by another pickup and toss. Leads 4-0, very sharp in the early going

Gurpreet returns the favor with a takedown, trails Bisek 4-2. If Bisek can hold on here, he can make some hay in his portion of the bracket. Bisek working the paintbrush 'stache very efficiently. He's a throwback to the 1970s TV show if I've ever seen one....another sweet TD for Bisek...leads 6-2. Looking sharp

 

Saddoris will indeed face Staebler next round.

Slide by for Gurpreet...attempts the gut, Bisek slides out....6-4 Bisek leads. He needs to hold on here, but Gurpreet is wily and a much better athlete than he appears to be. Bisek wins....5 for 5 for the US. Two quarterfinalists now for the US

 

 

Quarters are now set at 66kg.

I don't know if I'm seeing things, but it looks like former World team member TC Dantzler just got into some kind of tussle in the crowd...interesting

Edited September 7, 2015 by Dingo Brigade

[MattM 865]

Bisek may need to be a little cleaner in his neutral position going into the next few big matches, but so far he's finding enough points to get the job done.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Well, here's a big upset...Kazakhistan's Kartikov over 2-time World and 1-time Olympic champ, as well as the current World #1, Kim of S. Korea 4-2. Lots of near misses for Kim in this match, and a huge upset for the Kazakh.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

75 kg #3 Vlasov beats his second former World champ in Hungary's Bacsi. With Kim's loss, Vlasov looks like a strong bet for the gold.

 

Caylor Williams up now against Bulgaria's Guri

Williams down on the passivity warning...Former world champ Guri nearly gets the gut. Instead, WIlliams steps over and gets the point. Leads 1-0. Great start for Wiliams, but he's got a long way to go still. Guri with injury stoppage. They're back now...3 minutes have elapsed.

[MattM 865]

Williams is living off of his gut wrench counter ability in this match.

[Dingo Brigade 311]

Williams looks like he lost concentration briefly, gets taken down near the edge of the mat. Guts Williams, who then steps over and guts Guri....ties it up 4-4...Great match thus far.Challenge issued by US coaches....Williams says no thanks. 4-4, but Guri has criteria, so Williams needs to get busy....a minute left

Williams needs a turn....20 secs left...nearly turns him...runs out of time. Easily could've, maybe should've, won this match....Big bummer. Williams wrestled a nice match, punctuated with a couple of mental lapses and some nasty defensive maneuvers against Guri's gutwrench attempts. Now he needs Guri to make the finals, but #3 Rezaei and #4 Ildem are waiting for him in the semis, so it's a longshot. So, so close for Williams.

[MattM 865]

Solid effort for Williams. He probably wasn't expected to win that match, but definitely had his opponent worried.