Pictured: Team USA's Cadet World Championship gold medalist Meyer Shapiro (Maryland) celebrating after a big fall in the freestyle finals to claim gold. Photo: Kadir Caliskan/UWW.
Official release courtesy of Mike Willis/USA Wrestling.
Budapest, Hungary – The second day of the Cadet World Championships wrapped up with Meyer Shapiro bringing home a gold medal for the Red White and Blue. Shapiro, the 65 kg champion, defeated Georgia’s Giorgi Gogritchiani in the finals, 8-4.
Shapiro got on the board first, earning a passivity point in the first period. However, 20 seconds into the second period, Gogritchiani executed a perfectly-timed lateral whip for four points. Shapiro quickly got a reversal to cut the score to 4-2.
With only 90 seconds left in the match, Shapiro got to work, setting a high pace and increasing his attack rate. He scored his first takedown at the one minute mark, still trailing on criteria, 4-4. 20 seconds later, he converted on another takedown taking the lead 6-4. He tacked on another two points countering a last-ditch throw attempt by Gogritchiani, nearly earning a pin before the final buzzer.
While celebrating his victory, Shapiro was already thinking ahead to his future goals.
“It’s the best feeling ever. After that kid tried to throw me, I saw his back just slap on the mat, I was really hype. I don’t really remember what happened after that, but I was definitely super excited. I think it’s probably one of the best feelings I’ll ever had. I can’t wait to try to make a Junior Team next year and try to win again,” he said in his post-match interview.
The other three Americans in tonight’s finals may have fell short of their goals, but they will come home wearing hard-earned silver medals.
At 48 kg, Luke Lilledahl dropped a tight 5-2 bout to India’s Aman Aman. Lilledahl fought back from a 3-0 deficit, scoring a go-behind late in the second period to cut the score to 3-2. However, Aman was able to capitalize on his aggression, picking up a takedown at the buzzer to clinch the match.
James Rowley fell to another Indian opponent, Sagar Jagland, 4-0. All four of Jagland’s points came on step outs.
In the final match of the evening, Iran’s Amirreza Masoumi Valadi defeated Jim Mullen, 10-0. Masoumi Valadi scored two big four-point moves on the edge of the mat and finished the match off by spinning behind for another two points on a Mullen shot attempt.
Action resumes tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. EST with the first session of the women’s freestyle tournament. The final five men’s freestyle weight classes will kick off their medal round at 12:00 p.m. EST with Bo Basset going for gold at 45 kg and Nathan Jesuroga and Gavin Nelson wrestling for bronze at 51 kg and 92 kg respectively. All of the action will stream live on FloWrestling.
2021 Cadet World Championships
at Budapest, Hungary, July 19-25
Men’s Freestyle Results
48 kg: Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo.) – SILVER
WIN Akhmad Musakhadzhiev (Russia), 8-8
WIN Azim Abdykalykov (Kyrgyzstan), 8-1
WIN Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan), 4-3
LOSS Aman Aman (India). 5-2
55 kg: Spencer Moore (Crittenden, Kan.)
LOSS Andranik Avetisyan (Armenia), 6-0
65 kg: Meyer Shapiro (Woobine, Md.) – GOLD
WIN Timur Yusov (Ukraine), FALL
WIN Khabib Zaurbekov (Russia), 8-6
WIN Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
WIN Giorgi Gogritchiani, 8-4
80 kg: James Rowley (Corvallis, Ore.) – SILVER
WIN Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (Russia), 10-6
WIN Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine), 8-6
WIN Gabriele Niccolini (Italy), 12-2
LOSS Sagar Jagland (India), 4-0
110 kg: James Mullen (Harrington Park, N.J.) – SILVER
WIN Sahil Sahil (India), 8-8
WIN Milan Gellen (Hungary), 6-1
WIN Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan), 7-1
LOSS Amirreza Masoumi Valadi (Iran), 10-0
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