Matthew Brown wins bronze medal in men’s freestyle at CISM Military Worlds in Lithuania

KLAIPEDA, Lithuania – 2LT Matthew Brown of the U.S. Army won a bronze medal at 74 kg/163 lbs. on the second day of the CISM World Military Wrestling Championships on Thursday.

Brown, who was a 2015 NCAA champion for Penn State before joining the Army WCAP program, secured the CISM World bronze medal by defeating Zhao Yanqing of China, 6-2 in his medal-round match.

He edged 2016 Cadet European silver medalist Resad Yusifli of Azerbaijan, 9-8 in the quarterfinals. Brown was pinned in the semifinals by 2015 European U23 bronze medalist Andrei Karpach of Belarus, which sent Brown to a bronze-medal bout.

Brown claimed the second medal for the United States in the event, joining SGT Ryan Mango of the U.S. Army who won a CISM World silver medal in men’s freestyle at 61 kg/134 lbs. on Wednesday.

Two U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers dropped their opening bouts, and were not eligible for repechage when their opponents failed to reach the finals, SGT Vladyslav Dombrovskiy of the U.S. Army at 86 kg/189 lbs. and SGT Trent Osnes of the U.S. Marine Corps at 97 kg/213 lbs.

The men’s freestyle competition completed on Thursday, with Russia winning five of the eight individual gold medals, and claiming seven total medals. Other nations with an individual champion were Iran, Belarus and Azerbaijan.

A pair of U.S. women’s freestyle wrestlers finished fourth in five-athlete round robins with 1-3 records, PFC Areana Villaescusa of the U.S. Army at 58 kg/128 lbs. and PFC Jenna Burkert of U.S. Army at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.

Both U.S. women opened with victories, as Villaescusa pinned Huimin Feng of China and Burkert stopped Yulia Lisovska of Ukraine, 4-0. Both dropped their next three matches, facing talented international veterans in each of these bouts.

The Greco-Roman competition starts on Friday, with SPC Ildar Hafizov of the U.S. Army at 59 kg/130 lbs., SPC Ellis Coleman of the U.S. Army at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., 1LT Brandon Mueller of the U.S. Air Force at 71 kg/156 lbs. and SPC Dillon Cowan of the U.S. Army at 75 kg/165 lbs.

Hafizov and Coleman were members of the 2017 U.S. Senior World Team. Hafizov was a 2008 Olympian for Uzbekistan, while Coleman was a 2012 Olympian for the United States.

Another U.S. women freestyle wrestler is scheduled to compete on Friday, PV2 Katerina Lobsinger of the U.S. Army at 69 kg/152 lbs., a past Cadet World Team member.

A separate pairing story will be posted if the draw becomes available.

The CISM Military World Championships is considered a highly competitive tournament, with numerous World and Olympic medalists in the field in all three Olympic disciplines. Winning a medal at this event is an admirable achievement.

A website has been set up with updated results from the CISM World Military Wrestling Championships at:
http://www.liga-db.de/Turniere/FT/2017/EE/170918_Klaipeda,Lithuania/indexENG.htm

CISM WORLD MILITARY CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Klaipeda, Lithuania, September 21

Men’s freestyle medalists

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Khetik Tsabolov (Russia)
Silver – Andrei Karpach (Belarus)
Bronze – Reza Afzai Paemami (Iran)
Bronze – Matthew Brown (USA)

86 kg/189 lbs.
Gold – Ali Reza Karimi (Iran)
Silver – Hyeok Beom Gwon (Korea)
Bronze – Liubomyr Sagaliuk (Ukraine)
Bronze – Esref Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

97 kg/213 lbs.
Gold – Aliaksandr Hushtyn (Belarus)
Silver – Radoslaw Baran (Poland)
Bronze – Znaur Kotsiev (Russia)
Bronze – Josein Shahbazi Gazvar (Iran)

125 kg/275 lbs.
Gold – Alan Khugaev (Russia)
Silver – Deng Zhiwei (China)
Bronze – Amin Taheri (Iran)
Bronze – Vitali Piasniak (Belarus)

U.S. men’s freestyle performances

74 kg/163 lbs. - 2LT Matthew Brown (U.S. Army), bronze medal
WIN Resad Yusifli (Azerbaijan), 9-8
LOSS Andrei Karpach (Belarus), pin
WIN Zhao Yanqing (China), 6-2

86 kg/189 lbs. - SGT Vladyslav Dombrovskiy (U.S. Army), dnp/11th
LOSS Huwatibieke Bahetihan (China), tech. fall 10-0

97 kg/213 lbs. - SGT Trent Osnes (U.S. Marine Corps), 8th
LOSS Znaur Kotsiev (Russia), pin

Women’s freestyle medalists

58 kg/128 lbs.
Gold – Katarzyna Krawczyk (Poland)
Silver - Katsiaryna Hanchar (Belarus)
Bronze – Lhagvadulam Nansalmaa (Mongolia)

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold – Xiofang Chen (China)
Silver – Anastasiya Huchok (Belarus)
Bronze – Shinekhuu Purevkhu (Mongolia)

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold – Orhkon Purevdorj (Mongolia)
Silver - Veranika Ivanova (Belarus)
Bronze – Jia Liping (China)

U.S. women’s freestyle performances

58 kg/128 lbs. - PFC Areana Villaescusa (U.S. Army), 4th
WIN Huimin Feng (China), pin
LOSS Lhagvadulam Nansalmaa (Mongolia), pin
LOSS Katsiaryna Hanchar (Belarus), tech. fall 11-0
LOSS Katarzyna Krawczyk (Poland), 6-0

63 kg/138.75 lbs. – PFC Jenna Burkert (U.S. Army), 4th
WIN Yulia Lisovska (Ukraine), 4-0
LOSS Veranika Ivanova (Belarus), pin
LOSS Orhkon Purevdorj (Mongolia), tech. fall 12-2
LOSS Jia Liping (China), 2-1

Matthew Brown wins bronze medal in men’s freestyle at CISM Military Worlds in Lithuania

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