Former Wisconsin AA Graff earns first World berth at Final X Lincoln
Jordan Burroughs, the World/Olympic champion, added to his legacy when he qualified for a ninth straight World Championships by beating Isaiah Martinez in three matches Saturday night in Session II of Final X Lincoln.
But it was another 30-year-old, Tyler Graff, who made even bigger news when the former NCAA All-American from Wisconsin, qualified for his first-ever World tournament at 61 kilos.
These were among five men’s freestyle matches – and nine overall Final X bouts — that will eventually send 30 wrestlers in three styles to the 2019 UWW World Championships, Sept. 14-22, in Kazakhstan.
Former World medalists James Green (70k) and Kyle Snyder (97k) also qualified for their first World tournament, while three women — Kayla Miracle (62k), Sara Hildebrandt and Adeline Gray — will be among 10 women who will compete at the Worlds.
The final man to qualify for the 2019 Worlds was Adam Coon, the 2018 World silver medalist, at 130 kilograms.
A week earlier, 14 wrestlers also earned their spots on the 2019 World Team. Meanwhile, fans must wait for an upcoming bout between World champion Kyle Dake and Alex Dieringer.
The following are Session II highlights Final X Lincoln, June 15:
Bout 1: Women’s FS 62 kg/136.5 lbs – Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids/Hawkeye WC) defeated Mallory Velte (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none
Match 1 — Miracle won by TF 12-2 — In a rematch of last year’s Final X, Miracle ended the mat with 1:48 left in the second period when she used a strong single to produce six consecutive back points in 25 seconds. Miracle opened the match with a strong fireman’s carry to lead 4-0 before adding a single leg 30 seconds later.
Match 2 — Miracle won 4-0 — Miracle scored a takedown 30 seconds into the bout, then added two more stepout points to earn a trip to her first World Championships.
Bout 2: Women’s FS 53 kg/116.5 lbs – Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC/OTC) defeated Katherine Shai (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none
Match 1 — Hildebrandt won 3-0 — The 2018 World silver medalist clinched the match on a throw-by with 38 seconds left. The only other point came via a shot clock violation against Shai with 1:32 left in the first period.
Match 2 —Hildebrandt won 8-0 — Hildebrandt broke open the match a little over halfway through the first period with a takedown and three straight ankle laces for an 8-0 lead in the first period. That would be all the points scored in a bout that sent Hildebrandt to a third World tournament.
Bout 3: Women’s FS 76 kg/167.5 – Adeline Gray (New York AC) defeated Precious Bell (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none
Match 1 — Gray won by fall, 1:04 — About 30 seconds after the four-time World champ scored a four-point takedown, she scored a pair of back points and then ended the match by coming out of a scramble with Bell on her back.
Match 2 — Gray won by TF 10-0, 1:24 — Gray jumped out to a 4-0 lead less than 30 seconds into the match after Bell came out firing off the whistle wit a single-leg. Gray then reeled off three more exposures to post the technical superiority to punch her ticket to a seventh World Championships.
Bout 4: Men’s GR 130 kg / 286.5 lbs – Adam Coon (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) defeated Cohlton Schultz (Sunkist Kids/EAP), two matches to none
Match 1 — Coon won by TF, 8-0 (1:18) The 2018 World silver medalist scored the match’s only take — countering a throw by Schultz — with a minute into the match, then used three consecutive gutwrenches for the technical fall.
Match 2 —Coon won 5-1 — Schultz scored first at 1:37 after Coon warned a second time for passivity. Coon got the first offensive points at the 1:53 mark of the second period when Coon got a takedown off a body-lock on the edge, 2-1. The former Wolverine added another point with 1:24 left when Schultz was hit for passivity, then made it 5-1 with a gut for exposure with just under a minute to go.
Bout 5: Men’s FS 61 kg/134.5 lbs – Tyler Graff (Titan Mercury WC/NJRTC) defeated Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC/Valley RTC) two matches to one
Match 1 — Colon won 6-4 — All the points were scored in the first 1:40 of the bout, including a pair of defensive tilts and a strong gut by the 2018 World bronze medalist. Graff scored his points on a pair of takedowns.
Match 2 —Graff won 9-2 — Graff took a 4-0 lead into the break after a takedown with about 15 seconds to go in the first period, a failed challenge of the takedown by Colon’s corner and a passivity point rounded out the scoring. With :48 left in the match, Colon threw Graff for two by Graff got four points out of the scramble, then came out of the scramble with control for the 9-2 win and the eventual win.
Match 3 – Graff won by TF 12-2 — After giving up two exposure points to open the match to World bronze medalist Colon, Graff exploded with six straight ankle laces to punch his first Senior Worlds ticket as a 30-year old.
Bout 6: Men’s FS 97 kg / 213.5 lbs – Kyle Snyder (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) defeated Kyven Gadson (Titan Mercury WC/Cyclone RTC), two matches to none
Match 1 — Snyder won 4-0 — The two-time World champ and 2018 silver medalist scored two takedown in the first period; the first coming off a single with 20 seconds gone in the bout and the second on a high crotch with 28 seconds left in the first frame.
Match 2 —Snyder won by TF 12-1 — Snyder snap-down three seconds into the match, then used a trapped-arm but not long after two times for a 6-0 lead. Snyder then threw Gadson for four and quickly transitioned into a high gut for the 12-1 technical superiority win.
Bout 7: Men’s FS 70 kg / 154 lbs – James Green (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) defeated Ryan Deakin (Titan Mercury WC/Chicago RTC) two matches to none
Match 1 — Green won by TF, 10-0 — The former Nebraska All-American needed17 seconds to score his only takedown and four leglace turns to end the bout. A final point came when Deakin’s video challenge was overruled.
Match 2 —Green won 4-3 — Green got the eventual match-winning takedown with :22 left in the match with a slick takedown on the edge off a scramble with the match tied 2-2. Deakin was able to get a step-out to pull within one but couldn’t get another point to force match three. Green took the first-period 2-0 lead after a step-out and passivity point after Deakin wasn’t able to score from the shotclock.
Bout 8: Men’s FS 57 kg / 125.5 lbs – Daton Fix (Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC) vs. Thomas Gilman (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), two matches to one
Match 1 — Fix won 9-1 — After surrendering the first point from a stepout, the 2018 NCAA runner-up from Oklahoma State used a strong defense against Gilman’s low single shot, including one with 13 seconds left in the first period when Fix used a strong gut for a 5-1 lead at intermission. The final takedown after Fix countered a gut attempt by the former Iowa Hawkeye.
Match 2 —Gilman won 3-2 — Fix was penalized for hands to the face for the only points of the first period. Fix took the lead 30 seconds into the second period countering a Gilman double. Gilman took the 3-2 lead with 1:09 left in the bout with a takedown, and the one-point lead stood.
Match 3 — Fix won 6-3 — Fix scored the first points of the rubber match while being on the activity clock with :46 seconds let off a snap-down for two-point lead. In the second, Fix got a third-point off the shot clock and Gilman scored off a stepout. With 1:04 left, Gilman got a two-point exposure during a scramble for 3-3 criteria lead. With :28 left, Fix countered a Gilman shot for a takedown and 5-3 lead. Gilman’s corner challenged the takedown, but the call stood making it 6-3 for denied challenge.
Bout 9: Men’s FS 74 kg / 163.5 lbs – Jordan Burroughs (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) defeated Isaiah Martinez (Titan Mercury WC/Illinois RTC), two matches to one
Match 1 — Burroughs won 5-4 — About 15 seconds after giving Martinez a 4-3 lead when Burroughs stepped out, the World/Olympic champion exploded with a takedown with eight second left for the victory. Martinez, the former NCAA champ from Illinois held a 3-1 lead on three stepouts by Burroughs before the former NCAA champ from Nebraska scored a takedown with 1:08 left in the second period.
Match 2 —Martinez won 5-5 on criteria — Burroughs opened the scoring about a minute into the bout with a step-out and nearly had a takedown. The 2011 Hodge winner added another later in the period to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Imar then took at 5-2 lead in the first minute of the second period off a takedown and an ankle lace on Burroughs. Burroughs responded with :40 to go with a taekdown of his own to pull within one, 5-4. Burroughs tied the match off a passivity call with :13 to go, but Martinez had criteria in the 5-5 tie. Burroughs nearly got the match-winner with about four seconds to go off a step-out, but Martinez was able to circle back in on the edge and avoid the push-out to force a match three.
Match 3 – Burroughs won 7-1 — A seemingly-refreshed Jordan Burroughs completely dominated Martinez in the first period with two first-period takedowns and two step-outs gave to give them former Husker a 6-0 lead going into the break. Burroughs added a seventh point off a step-out less than 15 seconds into the second period. Martinez didn’t get on the board until forcing a step-out with :17 seconds left.
Results from Final X Lincoln, Session I
Click here to read Session I story of Final X Lincoln
Greco-Roman
60k/132 lb — Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) defeated Leslie Fuenffinger (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), two matches to none (7-5, pin)
63k/138.75 lb — Ryan Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) defeated Xavier Johnson (Camp LeJeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps), two matches to none (11-2, 6-5)
72k/158.5 lb — Raymond Bunker (Camp LeJeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps) defeated Alex Mossing (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Force RTC), two matches to none (3-1, 7-0)
Women’s Freestyle
55k/121.5 lb – Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) defeated Dominique Parrish (Scotts Valley, Calif./Titan Mercury WC/Burnaby Mountain WC), two matches to none (10-0, 8-3)
59k/130 lb — Alli Ragan (Sunkist Kids/Hawkeye WC) defeated Lauren Louive (New York AC/Hawkeye WC), two matches to none (10-0, 10-0)
Another Final X event was held at Rutgers, where 14 weights were determined.
Click here to read story on Session I at Final X Rutgers
Click here to read story on Session II at Final X Rutgers