By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling
PARIS, France – Alli Ragan (Colorado Springs, Colorado/New York AC) won a silver medal at 60 kg/132 lbs. for the second straight year and the United States placed in a tie for second in the team race on the final day of women’s freestyle at the World Championships in Thursday.

Ragan was beaten in the finals by 2016 Olympic gold medalist Risako Kawai of Japan in the gold-medal finals, 13-0. Kawai won her Olympic title at 63 kg/138.75 lbs., but has dropped down in weight this season. Kawai led 4-0 at the break with two takedowns, and was able to get three more second-period takedowns, including a four-pointer to end the match.

Ragan was competing in her fifth World Championships, and won her other silver medal in December 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.

Ragan got on a strong run to win three bouts to reach the finals in the morning session. She opened with a 10-0 technical fall against Gabriella Sleisz of Hungary, then beat Luisa Niemesch of Germany 4-0 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, trailing 3-2, she hit a headlock and pinned 2014 World bronze medalist Anastasija Grigorjeva of Latvia in 4:43.

Ragan is competing in her fifth World Championships, winning her silver medal in December 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.

At 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Victoria Anthony (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) was defeated in the bronze-medal match by 2017 Asian silver medalist Son-hyang Kim of North Korea, by an 11-1 technical fall. Kim, also a 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion, led 3-0 at the break after a takedown and a point on a stepout. In the second period, Kim was able to twice score a takedown followed by a turn for four points each, to reach a 10 point lead.

Anthony has now placed fifth at the Senior World Championships twice, also taking fifth at the 2013 World Championships competing up at 51 kg/112.25 lbs.

In the morning session, Anthony opened with a 28-second 10-0 technical fall over Korea’s Miran Cheon, then pinned Vinesh of India in 5:09. In the quarterfinals, Anthony dropped an 11-0 technical fall to three-time Cadet World champion Yui Susaki. When Susaki reached the finals, Anthony had a repechage match, pinning Julie Sabatie of France in 4:23.

“We started out strong today but the wheels came off a little bit. They competed hard. We are not quite there yet. We have some things to work on and it showed. We still have a lot of things to work on,” said National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner.

Japan won the team title with 60 points, with the United States and Belarus tied in second with 38 points. The USA and Belarus had the same exact placements, which resulted in the second place award being shared by the nations.

The last time the United States placed second as a team was in 2003, when the USA tied Japan at the World Championships in Madison Square Garden in New York City, but Japan won the tiebreaker with the most individual champions.

“It is always important to get a team trophy. It is important to maintain where we have been and to move forward. We have a good group of athletes. We need a little more grit. We have to find that. We have to train that. We have work to do, but we are not starting from scratch. This is a good group of athletes right here. We just have to get better at what we do,” said Steiner.

All four of the U.S. wrestlers competing on Thursday placed in the top 10 and scored valuable team points for the United States.

2016 Olympian Haley Augello (Lockport, Ill./New York AC) placed eighth at 53 kg/116.5 lbs. with a 2-1 record. Augello opened with an 11-0 technical fall over Thi Hang Vu of Vietmam, then beat Lannaun Luo of China, 3-0. In the quarterfinals, she lost to Roksana Zasina of Poland, 6-2. Zasina

2016 Olympic Trials champion Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC) at 69 kg/152 lbs. finished in eighth place, going 1-1. In her first match, Mensah beat 2015 Junior World bronze medalist Alla Belinska of Ukraine in a 12-2 technical fall. She lost a tight 5-2 decision to 016 Junior World silver medalist Yue Han of China in the quarterfinals. Hue was beaten in the closing seconds in the semifinals, which eliminated Mensah from the repechage rounds.

The United States won three medals in women’s wrestling in Paris, as Helen Maroulis (New York, N.Y./Sunkist Kids) won a gold at 58 kg/128 lbs. and Becka Leathers (Choctaw, Okla./Titan Mercury WC) got a bronze at 55 kg/121 lbs. on Wednesday.

Trackwrestling and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club are partnering to provide the live stream from Paris. Fans can watch live and archived video by purchasing a single World Championship pay-per-view for a special promotional price of $9.99 by going to www.trackwrestling.com/UWW.

World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France
Results for August 24

48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold - Yui Susaki (Japan)
Silver - Emilia Vuc (Romania)
Bronze –Son-Hyang Kim (North Korea)
Bronze – Evin Demirhan (Turkey)
5th - Victoria Anthony (United States)
5th - Violeta Chyryk (Belarus)
7th - Jasmine Mian (Canada)
8th – Anna Lukasiak (Poland)
9th - Julie Sabatie (France)
10th - Vinesh (India)
Gold - Yui Susaki (Japan) tech. fall Emilia Vuc (Romania), 14-4
Bronze –Son-Hyang Kim (North Korea) tech. fall Victoria Anthony (United States), 11-1
Bronze – Evin Demirhan (Turkey) dec. Violeta Chyryk (Belarus), 3-1

53 kg/116.5 lbs.
Gold - Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus)
Silver - Mayu Mukaida (Japan)
Bronze – Maria Prevolaraki (Greece)
Bronze – Roksana Zasina (Poland)
5th - Estera Dobre (Romania),
5th - Tong-Mi Pak (North Korea)
7th - Stalvira Orshush (Russia)
8th - Haley Augello (USA)
9th - Iryna Husyak (Ukraine)
10th - Sheetal Tomar (India)
Gold - Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus) dec. Mayu Mukaida (Japan), 8-6
Bronze – Maria Prevolaraki (Greece) pin Estera Dobre (Romania), 2:53
Bronze – Roksana Zasina (Poland) dec. Tong-Mi Pak (North Korea), 4-2

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold - Risako Kawai (Japan)
Silver - Alli Ragan (USA)
Bronze –Anastasija Grigorjeva (Latvia)
Bronze –Johanna Mattsson (Sweden)
5th - Luisa Niemesch (Germany)
5th - Shoovdor Baatarjav (Mongolia)
7th - Linda Morais (Canada)
8th - Kriszta Tunde Incze (Romania)
9th - Mimi Nikolova Hristova (Bulgaria)
10th - Thi My Hanh Nguyen (Vietnam)
Gold - Risako Kawai (Japan) tech. fall Alli Ragan (USA), 13-0
Bronze –Anastasija Grigorjeva (Latvia) dec. Luisa Niemesch (Germany), 3-2
Bronze –Johanna Mattsson (Sweden) dec. Shoovdor Baatarjav (Mongolia), 8-3

69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold - Sara Dosho (Japan)
Silver - Aline Focken (Germany)
Bronze – Koumba Larroque (France)
Bronze – Yue Han (China)
5th - Martina Kuenz (Austria)
5th - Elmira Syzdykova (Kazakhstan), 10-2
7th - Nasanburmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia)
8th - Maryia Mamashuk (Belarus)
9th - Tamyra Mensah (USA)
10th - Anastasia Bratchikova (Russia)
Gold - Sara Dosho (Japan) dec. Aline Focken (Germany), 3-0
Bronze – Koumba Larroque (France) dec. Martina Kuenz (Austria), 3-0
Bronze – Yue Han (China) dec. Elmira Syzdykova (Kazakhstan), 10-2

U.S. women’s freestyle performances on Thursday

48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Victoria Anthony, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids), 5th
WIN Miran Cheon (Korea), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Vinesh (India), pin 5:09
LOSS Yui Susaki (Japan), tech. fall 11-0
WIN Julie Sabatie (France), pin 4:23
LOSS Sonhyang Kim (North Korea), tech. fall 11-1

53 kg/116.5 lbs. - Haley Augello, Lockport, Ill. (New York AC), 8th
WIN Thi Hang Vu (Vietnam), 10-0 tech. fall
WIN Lannuan Luo (China) 3-0
LOSS Roksana Zasina (Poland), 6-2

60 kg/132 lbs. - Alli Ragan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), silver medal
WIN Gabriella Sleisz (Hungary), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Luisa Niemesch (Germany), 4-0
WIN Anastasija Grigorjeva (Latvia), pin 4:43
LOSS Risako Kawai (Japan), tech. fall, 13-0

69 kg/152 lbs. - Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC), 9th
WIN Alla Belinska (Ukraine), tech. fall 12-2
LOSS Yue Han (China), 5-2

Team Standings
1 JAPAN 60
2 UNITED STATES 38
2 BELARUS 38
4 MONGOLIA 25
5 TURKEY 24
6 CANADA 24
7 CHINA 20
8 ROMANIA 18
9 SWEDEN 18
10 NIGERIA 17
11 RUSSIA 17
12 FRANCE 16
13 GERMANY 15
14 UKRAINE 14
15 DPR KOREA 14
16 COLOMBIA 12
17 POLAND 11
18 TUNISIA 9
19 KYRGYZSTAN 9
20 LATVIA 8
21 BULGARIA 8
22 KAZAKHSTAN 7
23 INDIA 7
24 AUSTRIA 6
24 ESTONIA 6
26 DOMINICA 4
27 BRAZIL 1
27 LITHUANIA 1
27 VIETNAM 1