#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 1

Monday, October 17, 2022 - 08:31 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 17) -- The U23 World Championships begins in Pontevedra with five Greco-Roman weight classes in action. Wrestlers from 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg will be on the mat for day one of the tournament.

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13:45: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) with a late takedown to pull off a 4-2 win over Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ) in the 77kg quarterfinals. In the next match, Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) scores a stepout to win 2-1 against Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ)

13:25: Denis MIHAI (ROU) moves closer to winning his first gold medal of the year. After missing out on the U20 world and European Championships, he moves into the semifinal at the U23 Worlds.

12:55: That's the big upset of the day. U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) continues his impressive year with another big win. He goes past Oslo world champion Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) 7-1 at 130kg. Yousofi got the par terre first but Vyshnyvetskyi locked his arm for two. In the second period, he extended his lead to 3-1 before a last-second four-pointer got him the win 

12:25: Maksat SAILAU (KAZ) with a bear hug against Sunil KUMAR (IND) and then keeps him down for a fall at 87kg. That came out of nowhere from Sailau.

12:00: U20 world bronze medalist Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) begins with a commanding 8-0 win over Sajan BHANWALA (IND). This is the sixth tournament of the year for the U20 European champion.

11:45: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)  Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) and it's Amoyan who has been called passive in the first period. He is up 1-0 but can't get the turn from par terre. In the second period, Amoyan is on the top but he also fails to get any turn. 1-1 criteria lead for Amoyan. He will hang on for the 1-1 win

11:30: Idris IBAEV (GER) continues his good form from the senior world championships and begins his defense of the 77kg gold medal with an 11-2 win over Davit SOLOGASHVILI (GEO) 

11:00: Returning silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) got a turn from par terre while Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR) failed to do so and Dad Marz wins the 55kg bout 3-1.

10:55: U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) takes no time in winning by fall over Marin NISHIMURA (JPN) at 130kg.

10:50: World champion from Oslo at 130kg Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) up against Paul MORALES (MEX). Yousofi keeps it a low affair and wins 6-0

1030: Welcome to Pontevedra. A rainy day here in the east coast city in Spain but the wrestlers are ready for their bouts.

#WrestleNoviSad

Mesenbrink takes steady steps to win U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 25, 2025 - 17:22 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 25) -- Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) remembers his last year's U23 World Championships campaign. He won a bronze medal, left Tirana a little frustrated and missing his training room in Penn State.

With lessons from that tournament and surrounded by his Penn State teammates and coaches, Mesenbrink made sure he did not return home without a medal. The former U20 world champion became U23 world champion after beating Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2, in the 74kg final.

Mesenbrink was a leg-attack machine in the final and Ozmus did little to defend those, giving up the final in 2:59, just on the stroke of the break.

"It's just about constantly getting better, technically, and emotionally, too," Mesenbrink said. "If I'm just running in there, trying to grab onto his head, he can get in. So just being able to constantly improve. I think that's a strong testament to the people around me and to the coaches that I have and the teammates that I have at Penn State."

Seven wrestler out of the 10 on the United States Freestyle team are part of the same training center -- the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, Penn State, which Mesenbrink said made a lot of difference this year.

"It's fun, because last year I came by myself. It was just me at the U23s. So it was fun this year that we had seven out of 10 guys," he said. "Last year, I knew the guys, but it wasn't my teammates, right? Now it's my teammates, the guys that I'm literally in the room with every day. We go over and it's almost like, are we even in Serbia right now? It feels like we're in America, because we got so many guys here."

In Tirana, the American wrestler lost to Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) in the quarterfinals but bounced back to win the bronze medal. But in Novi Sad on Friday, Mesenbrink faced Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) in the semifinals and came out on top 6-4, with a buzzer beating takedown.

The win boasted Mesenbrink's confidence who was close to make the U.S. senior team for World Championships in Zagreb where Takahashi won gold, but lost to David CARR (USA) domestically.

However, that loss made Mesenbrink think about his aims and how he wants to improve his wrestling on the mat.

"I think the big thing of not making the world team, it was just, I got to get better in those specific areas," he said. "That's the most fun part. I thought this is all this is, is a title. This is gonna be fading so quick. So I thought I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work on the things that I've been working on and I've been working really hard since Final X to get those improvements."

Mobin AZIMI (IRI)Mobin AZIMI (IRI) celebrates after winning the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the only other final of Freestyle, Mobin AZIMI (IRI) earned the first gold medal for Iran after beating Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3, in the 92kg final. Azimi broken Khaniev down in the final and scored three stepout points to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2

BRONZE: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. PARVINDER (IND), 8-2
BRONZE: Manuel WAGIN (GER) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 8-4

92kg
GOLD: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) df. Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR), 11-1
BRONZE: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 10-0

Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) df. Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB), 6-1
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 7-1

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Sina KHALILI (IRI)

SF 1: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. PJ DUKE (USA), 14-4
SF 2: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 8-2

79kg
GOLD: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) vs. Levi HAINES (USA)

SF 1: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 5-2
SF 2: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 11-4

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) vs. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW), 5-0
SF 2: Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 12-2