Burroughs wins GOLD!!!!! 1-0, 1-0.

... and looked great in doing so!!

Scott, Herbert, Dlagnev weigh in and get draws for Olympic freestyle wrestling on Aug. 11


By Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
08/10/2012

LONDON, England – Three U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers who will compete in the 2012 Olympic Games have weighed in and received their draws for their competition on Saturday, August 11: Coleman Scott (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Jake Herbert (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs. and Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

Scott drew the No. 2 spot, and will face 2010 Asian bronze medalist Seung-Chul Lee of Korea.

Should Scott win, he will face the winner of the match between Malkhaz Zarkua of Georgia and Vasyl Fedoryshin of Ukraine. Fedoryshin was a 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2010 World silver medalist. Zarkua was fifth at the 2011 World Championships.

“The guy with the most improvement the last four to six months has been Coleman Scott. That confidence out of winning the World Cup means a lot. He hot. He had a tough path to make the team. He is ready. We’ve seen the Korean quite a bit. He’s wrestled a long time and has competed for a medal. But the momentum Coleman has right now, that Korean will have a hard time with Coleman,” said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones.

Herbert drew the No. 10 spot, and will face Humberto Arencibia of Cuba. Herbert defeated Arencibia in the finals of the 2011 Pan American Games. Arencibia won the 2012 Pan American Olympic Qualifier.

Should Herbert win, he will face the winner of the match between Ibrahim Bolukbasi of Turkey and 2011 World champion Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan. Bolukbasi was fifth in the 2011 European Championships.

“He has a Cuban in the first round, a guy he wrestled in the Pan American Games. We are very familiar with him. Jake has had great preparation. We had him wrestle a lot of foreigners last week. That will make a big difference. He needed to get that foreign feel in competition. That will pay off at the end,” said Jones.

Dlagnev drew the No. 1 spot, and will face Eldesoky Shaban of Egypt, who won the 2012 Olympic Qualification Tournament for Africa and Oceania.

Should Dlagnev win, he will face the winner of the match between 2011 World champion Aleksei Shemarov of Belarus and Daniel Ligety of Hungary. Shemarov defeated Dlagnev in the semifinals at the 2011 World Championships. Ligety was fifth in the 2009 and 2010 World Championships.

Also in Dlagnev's half-bracket is 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan, who is a potential semifinal opponent.

“He’s on track. He is a wrestling genius. He understands everything that is about to occur tomorrow. He’s been through the process. He knows what to expect. He knows he has to go out there, be tough and be ready for a fight from the beginning. He is ready to roll,” said Jones.

Scott is competing in his first Olympic Games. He has had a great 2012 season, winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa, the World Cup in Azerbaijan and the 60 kg Olympic Team Wrestle-off in Times Square in New York City. Scott was third in the U.S. World Team Trials for three straight years (2009-11). He was second in the 2008 U.S. Open and third in 2009 and 2010.

Scott is a native of Wayneburg, Pa., where he won three state high school titles for Waynesburg Central High School. He attended Oklahoma State, where he was a 2008 NCAA champion and a four-time All-American for the Cowboys. He currently trains at Oklahoma State.

Herbert is competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a 2009 World silver medalist, and a member of the 2010 U.S. World Team. He was a U.S. Open national champion for three straight years (2009-11). Herbert won a pair of University World medals, with bronze medals in 2006 and 2008.

Herbert is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., where he won a state high school title for North Allegheny High School. He attended Northwestern Univ., where he was a two-time NCAA champion (2007 and 2009) and a four-time All-American. He won the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 2009. He currently trains with the Cliff Keen WC at the University of Michigan.

Dlagnev is competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a 2009 World bronze medalist and placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships. Dlagnev won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games, and added Pan American Championships titles in 2010 and 2012. He was a University World champion in 2008.

Dlagnev was born in Bulgaria, and raised in Arlington, Texas, where he was a state placewinner for Arlington High School in only his second year wrestling. He attended the Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney, where he was a two-time NCAA Div. II national champion and a four-time All-American. He currently trains at the Ohio Regional Training Center at Ohio State University.

Tervel Dlagnev won
Coleman Scott won
Jake Herbert won

Sweet

Today's guys still all have a shot at bronze

Tervel Dlagnev
Coleman Scott
Jake Herbert

Herbert is out

Scott & Dlagnev each wrestling for bronze

What is everyones thought on Herbert's match? Was it called correct? I thought it should have been 3-3.

Definitely thought that the first scoring move belonged to Herbert. Either 2-3 or 3-3; but no way it should have been 0-6.

I do not agree with "all international refs hate USA" comments. I have watched most every match and overall it has been a well-officiated tournament. There are always tough calls that go this way or that.

This call was a tough one, but the replay appeared to show that Herbert stopped the shot and initiated the throw, so 3-2 in favor of Herbert in that series, and then take away the point that was given for the challenge, since the challenge would have changed the call.

If you listen to Zeke Jones podcast, he said what frustrated him is that this is what the "jury table" (which has final say in a challenge) gave this final verdict, but it was influenced by a FILA official (?). And this bothered Zeke, and gave him the yellow card.

That event definitely turned the match. Would have been 3-2 lead with :30 remaining that period, or so.

Zeke gives good explanation in his podcast.

I still don't understand the 0-6 outcome, I can't add it up.

3 medals in freestyle - 2 gold and one bronze


CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': Jake Varner wins Olympic gold medal for U.S.



By Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
08/12/2012

Jake Varner captured an Olympic gold medal on Sunday afternoon. John Sachs photo.

LONDON – It was one of the last gold-medal moments for the United States on the final day of the 2012 Olympic Games.

And it belonged to American Jake Varner and the U.S. freestyle wrestling team.

Varner realized a lifelong dream when he capped a phenomenal performance by winning an Olympic gold medal at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. on Sunday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 6,500 fans at ExCeL North Arena 2.

Varner, a California native, took control early to sweep Ukraine’s Valeri Andriitsev 1-0, 1-0 in the Olympic gold-medal finals.

Varner scored early in both periods – on an ankle pick in the first period and on a pushout in the second period – to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

"Every time I step on the mat I expect to win," Varner said. "This is exciting. I came in here with a goal of winning a gold medal and I did my job for our team. I'm just enjoying the moment right now. I will probably have some chocolate milk or a Mountain Dew to celebrate."

Following his gold-medal victory, the normally low-key Varner grabbed an American flag and ran around the mat while pumping his right fist. He then dropped to his knees while taking in his dramatic moment.

He walked off the mat and jumped into the arms of his mentor, close friend, coach and training partner, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson, as the crowd stood and roared. Varner trains with Sanderson as a member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in State College, Pa.

"It's awesome to have Cael in my corner," Varner said. "He's an Olympic champion and I'm an Olympic champion now. I'm still not sure I'm in his league. I can't thank him enough for everything. I owe him a lot, that's for sure."

"Jake Varner is an Olympic champion - that's what he wanted to do since he was a little kid," Sanderson said. "It's awesome. I'm really excited for him. He loves to compete. He showed great composure out there, and that's why he got a gold medal."

Varner earned $250,000 from the Living the Dream Medal Fund, supported mainly by the wrestling community, for his gold-medal victory.

"That's pretty sweet," Varner said. "You don't wrestle for the money, you wrestle for the gold medal. The money is icing on the cake. It's a nice chunk of change and it's nice to have."

Varner, 26, a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State University, was competing in his first Olympic Games. He is a native of Bakersfield, Calif.

Andriitsev was second in the European Championships this year and is a past Junior World champion.

The U.S. captured multiple Olympic freestyle gold medals for the first time since 1996.

Varner joins teammate Jordan Burroughs, who won an Olympic freestyle gold medal for the U.S. on Friday. Coleman Scott won an Olympic bronze medal for the U.S. on Saturday. Burroughs was one of the first people to congratulate Varner after his gold-medal win.

The U.S. won its 49th Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

The U.S. finished a close third in the unofficial team standings, under FILA scoring. The U.S. finished with 38 points. Russia and Georgia tied for first with 40 points.

"It's been a tremendous tournament for us, and what a way to cap it off with Jake's gold medal," U.S. Coach Zeke Jones said. "We've made a lot of progress as a team. We don't come for third, we come for first, so we've still got work to do. But I really like where we're headed."

In the semifinals, Varner scored on a pushout early in the third period to earn a hard-fought 0-2, 1-0, 1-0 win over Georgia’s Georgi Gogshelidze, a past World champion and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist.

Varner scored on two takedowns – on ankle pick in the first period and a throw-by in the second period – to sweep Canada’s Khetag Pliev 1-0, 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

Varner opened by earning a hard-fought 1-0, 0-1, 1-0 win over past World bronze medalist Kurban Kurbanov of Uzbekistan. Varner was the aggressor the whole way and his persistence paid off when he spun behind Kurbanov midway through the period for the eventual winning takedown.

American Jared Frayer dropped his opening match to Ali Shabanau of Belarus at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Frayer won a ball draw after a scoreless second period, but was unable to finish in the leg clinch.

“Jared just made a mistake out of the clinch,” U.S. Olympic Coach John Smith said. “He had the leg up and then dropped the leg. We obviously weren’t able to finish and it cost us.”

Shabanau won the match 3-0, 1-0. Frayer was eliminated when Shabanau fell short of making the finals. Frayer told reporters it was the last match of his career.

Frayer, 33, an NCAA runner-up for Oklahoma, was wrestling in his first Olympics. He is an assistant coach at Oklahoma.

“It’s frustrating because I know how much the coaches put into me and I know how good I was feeling,” Frayer said. “I ran into an unorthodox guy and I didn’t wrestle the way I’m capable of. It’s hard.”

The bottom line is Herbert put himself in these semi out of control positions and officials had to make tough calls. I too did not agree with the calls, but I could also see why they scored the action like they did.

When I was watching live online they would jump to the challenge screen and you could see what the officials saw and what they looked at during each review. It did seem like the slow motion replay was not helping Herberts case.

Challenges took place in 2 of his matches and multiple points scored against him both times. In both matches Herbert was down a period already and trying to make things happen, admirable. I thought he fought hard overall and wrestled better than in previous years. He was in the mix.

USA USA USA!!!!!

I thought that our freestyle team wrestled well. We were a couple of points away from a better showing, but I think that we improved 1000% over 2008. I think that our stable is starting to fill up and we should be able to start closing the gap on the Russians.

On a side note....Herberts call was very questionable, but I think the better wresstler won that match.

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/jordan-burroughs-part-1-81412/1413394


Pretty awesome videos from Jordan Burroughs on the tonight show

That was a real good interview. And of course I liked the shout out to the University of Nebraska and the "Go Big Red" from Jordan!