USA at the Worlds Sept 15-16

USA at the 2019 UWW World Championships

Competing Sept. 15-16

Greco-Roman wrestling will take place on the first days of the 2019 UWW World Championships, which will be held Sept. 14-22 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The following is a closer look at three Americans, who hope to compete over two days.

Each weight will take place on two days; matches through semifinals on day 1, beginning at 1 a.m. EDT, and placement matches on day 2, repechage bouts beginning at 1 a.m. EDT and placement matches at 10 a.m. EDT.  All matches can be found at Trackwrestling.com.

67 K / 147.5 pounds

Ellis Coleman

Ellis Coleman (right), who qualified for his fourth World Team, earned the nickname “Flying Squirrel” at past Junior World Championships. (Justin Hoch photo)

Bio:Age 28 (born Aug. 16, 1991); native of Oak Park, Ill.; resident of Colorado Springs, Colo.; U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program; member of USOEC; earned “Flying Squirrel” nickname.

International Experience:competed in three Worlds; overall record of 2-4; did not place in 2013 (0-1), did not place in 2017 (1-1), did not place in 2018 (1-2); competed in 2012 Olympics and did not place (0-1); earned two Junior World bronze medals (2010 and 2011)

2019 Final X: defeated Jamel Johnson (U.S. Marines) in best-of-three matches , 9-1, 6-0, at Rutgers.

Projected Top 4 Seeds by UWW: 1. Artem Surkov (Russia), ’18 World gold; 2. Hansu Ryu (Korea), ’17 World gold; 3. Gevong Sahakyan (Poland), ’18 World bronze; 4. Meiirzhan Shermakhanbet (Kazakhstan), ’18 World bronze.

87 K / 191.5 pounds

Joe Rau

Joe Rau defeated Ben Provisor at Final X Rutgers. (Justin Hoch photo)

Bio:Age 28 (born March 17, 1991); native and resident of Chicago, Ill.; Titan Mercury WC/Chicago RTC; NCAA Div. III champ and 3-time AA at Elmhurst College.

International Experience:  competed in 2014 Senior Worlds; did not place; competed in the ‘14 University Worlds (10th)

2019 Final X: defeated 2017 World and 2016 Olympic Team member Ben Provisor (Nittany Lion WC) in best-of-three matches, 2-1, 5-1, at Rutgers.

Projected Top 4 Seeds by UWW:1. Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine), ’18 World silver, ’16 Olympic silver; 2. Metehan Basar (Turkey), ’18 World gold; 3. Viktor Lorincz (Hungary), ’14 World bronze; 4. Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan), ’17 and ’18 U23 World bronze.

97 K / 213.5 pounds

G’Angelo Hancock

G’Angelo Hancock beat Luke Sheridan at Final X Lincoln in the 97-kilogram Greco final. (Tim Tushla photo)

Bio:Age 22 (born July 27, 1997); native of Ft. Carson, Colo.; resident of Colorado Springs, Colo.;  Sunkist Kids WC; attended Daymar College

International Experience:competed in 2018 Senior Worlds; did not place (0-1 record); also competed in 2016 Junior Worlds (bronze) and 2017 Junior Worlds (seventh) and the U23 Worlds in 2017 (10th).

2019 Final X: defeated Lucas Sheridan (U.S. Army WCAP), 8-0, 5-2, at Rutgers.

Projected Top 4 Seeds at UWW:1. Musa Evloev (Russia), ’18 World gold; 2. Kiril Milov (Bulgaria), ’18 World silver; 3. G’Angelo Hancock (United States); 4. Mihail Kajala (Serbia), ’18 World bronze.