Team Kentucky was selected winner of Team Sportsmanship Award.
MASSA REPEATS FREESTYLE TITLE AT FILA JUNIOR NATIONALS CLEVELAND – Michigan’s Taylor Massa continues to make his mark in USA Wrestling events.
Massa repeated as champion and was named Outstanding Wrestler after win- ning the FILA Junior Nationals freestyle title on April 10 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium.
Massa downed Nebraska’s Robert Kokesh 3-1, 2-1 to win the title at 74 kg/163 lbs. Massa won the title at 70 kg/154.25 lbs. last year.
Massa was joined as a repeat champi- on by Nick Roberts (50 kg/110 lbs.), Ethen Lofthouse (79 kg/174 lbs.) and Lee Munster (84 kg/185 lbs.). Massa is a jun- ior in high school. He won the USA Wrestling Cadet Triple Crown in 2009. “This year, it feels so much better to win it,” Massa said. “I feel like I had one of the toughest charts in the tournament, if not the toughest. My goal is to make the Junior World Team. It’s always a real tough tournament. I trained hard and it paid off.” Roberts was fifth at the 2010 Junior
World Championships. Iowa’s Tony Ramos, fifth in the 2009
Message from Kevin Hansen, USA Wrestling’s Manager for Junior Olympic Programming:
Junior Worlds, beat returning champion Nick Dardanes 1-1, 1-0 in the finals at 60 kg/132 lbs.
“I had a pretty decent tournament over- all,” Ramos said. “I had to come out and pick it up after being in the round of 12 (at NCAAs). It wasn’t the performance I wanted. I needed to get back at the top of my game. I got to my offense more and stayed in good position, and didn’t make too many mistakes. I want to get back on that (Junior World Team) and win a gold medal.”
The Junior age group consists of 17-20 year olds, featuring some of the nation’s top wrestlers, as well as underclassmen from the college level.
The champions in each of the seven Olympic weight classes, plus 50 kg/110 lbs., advance to the best-of-3 finals for the FILA Junior World Team Trials. The Junior World Team Trials are set for May 19-20 in Franklin, Ind.
The top six finishers in the seven Olympic classes, plus 50 kg, qualify for the Junior World Team Trials.
THIELKE NAMED OW AFTER WINNING FILA JUNIOR NATIONALS IN GRECO CLEVELAND – Jesse Thielke is hoping for another shot at competing in the Junior World Championships. Thielke fell short of placing in back-to-
back trips to the Junior Worlds in 2009 and 2010, but the standout wrestler from Wisconsin is hoping to change his for- tunes this season.
Thielke took a big step toward having that opportunity after winning the FILA Junior Nationals Greco-Roman competi- tion on April 7.
Thielke downed Minnesota’s Justin Lavalle 1-0, 1-0 to earn the title at 60 kg/132 lbs. Thielke was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. “I was wrestling up a weight, so it was tough wrestling some of these bigger guys,” Thielke said. “I want to be a Junior World champion. I know I’m right there with the best guys and I’m excited to see what I can do this year.”
Champions crowned also included Colton Howell (50 kg/110 lbs.), Mike Fuenffinger (55 kg/121 lbs.), Jamel Johnson (63 kg/138.75 lbs.), Joseph Locksmith (66 kg/145.5 lbs.), Justin Koethe (70 kg/154 lbs.), Josh Castellano (74 kg/163 lbs.), Jake Waste (79 kg/174 lbs.), Devin Peterson (84 kg/185 lbs.), Marcus Finau (96 kg/211.5 lbs.) and Toby Erickson (120 kg/264.5 lbs.). Ellis Coleman is the lone returning Junior World medalist in Greco-Roman. He won a Junior World bronze medal last year at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. He did not com- pete because of an injury.
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39 USA Wrestler
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