USA Wrestling's 10 Wrestling Stories of 2018
By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling
Most families establish holiday traditions, the little things that make this time of the year so special. For me, one of the things I do annually during this season is put together my Top 10 wrestling stories list. You know it is a tradition when you can’t remember when you started doing something annually. That is the case for me, as I clearly don’t recall the first year I posted this column.
The 2018 year was incredible within wrestling, and the top 10 was as difficult to choose as any other year I remember. The USA is having record success in international wrestling, the college scene is as exciting as ever and is continuing to grow, wrestling for women and girls is exploding, and the stories of our athletes seem to be getting even more compelling. This is a time of the year to be grateful for the good things in life, and I truly believe the American wrestling community has a wealth of things to feel thankful for.
With no additional delay, here is my top 10 of 2018:
1. Adeline Gray wins fourth World gold, matching most of any American in any style – Already a cinch to secure her spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, three-time World champion Adeline Gray entered the 2018 international season with a ton of question marks. After missing on a medal at the 2016 Olympics, Gray skipped the 2017 season for surgery and a chance to heal. When she returned, Gray had re-ignited her love of wrestling and was ready to excel again. Quickly wrestling back at a high level, Gray dropped a few bouts during the season but had a strong year. Like a legendary champion, she put it all together at the Worlds in Budapest in remarkable fashion, powering through a loaded weight class to win her fourth career World title. All four of her opponents were World and/or Olympic medalists, and two had wins over Gray this season. She scored a tech fall in her opener against World medalist Epp Mae of Estonia, then pinned Olympic medalist Elmyra Sydzykova of Kazakhstan. Her semifinal win over 2016 Olympic champion Erica Wiebe was by a close 3-1 margin, with Gray getting the only takedown. In the finals, locking up her patented ankle lace, Gray blasted 2017 World champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey with 13-0 technical fall and ran joyously with the American flag. She tied all-time greats John Smith, Tricia Saunders and Jordan Burroughs with the most World titles by a U.S. wrestler with four. Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 while Saunders became the first female to be inducted as a Distinguished Member in 2006. Although Gray is taking her career one year at a time right now, wouldn’t it be great to see her continue to excel all the way through the 2020 Tokyo Games?
2. J’den Cox changes weight, claims World gold title and a third straight medal – The last two international seasons, J’den Cox, who was the Missouri and Central Region winner of the Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2013, was oh-so-close to reaching his goal of being the best wrestler in the world. His big problem had been getting past the semifinals at the most important events. Coming off an amazing college career at Missouri, where he won three NCAA titles, Cox made the 2016 Olympic team at 86 kg. He reached the Olympic semifinals in Rio de Janiero, where he was edged 2-1 by Selim Yasar of Turkey, before winning bronze. At the 2017 Worlds, he got to the 86 kg semis once more, falling to Slovakia’s Boris Makoev, 6-3, then again taking the bronze. In 2018, Cox made some key changes which ended up making a big difference. With UWW going to 10 weight classes at the World level, Cox decided to move up to the new 92 kg division. He also moved to Colorado Springs to become a USOTC resident athlete, training daily with Assistant National Coach Kevin Jackson, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, and the USA coaching staff. Cox made the USA World Team at the new weight class, and put together a complete tournament at the Worlds in Budapest. He opened with a 6-2 win over Olympic medalist Dato Marsagishvili of Georgia, who had beaten him at the World Cup in April. Next was a 6-0 win over Nicolai Ceban of Moldova. In the semifinals, against World bronze medalist Alireza Karimimachiani of Iran, he knocked down the barrier with a 5-2 victory. In the finals against Ivan Yankouski of Belarus, Cox overcame the slow-it-down game plan of his opponent to win 4-1 and claim his first World title. An amazing athlete and an impressive individual, Cox now has three World or Olympic medals in three tries, and can take pride in being the absolute best on earth this year.
3. Kyle Dake and David Taylor cash in with impressive World titles at their first Senior World appearance – You don’t have to tell U.S. wrestling fans that Kyle Dake and David Taylor, who was the Ohio and National winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2009, are truly special wrestlers. In college, Dake won four NCAA titles in four different weights for Cornell, and Taylor was a four-time NCAA finalist and two-time champion for Penn State. However, the road to the top in Olympic freestyle was a big challenge for them both. For a few years, they were both behind Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg. In 2016, both went up to 86 kg, and finished behind J’den Cox at the Olympic Trials. In 2017, Dake dropped down and fell to Burroughs again, while Taylor stayed up and fell to Cox again. In 2018, with UWW going to 10 weight classes, these four USA stars ended up in different weights and all four made the USA World team: Burroughs at 74 kg, Dake at 79 kg, Taylor at 86 kg and Cox at 92 kg. Dake and Taylor boasted some very dominant victories at major international events, but Budapest was their first Senior World meet. Both cashed in their opportunities in a big way. Dake was unstoppable, winning his four matches without allowing a point, by a 37-0 margin. Dake’s first three bouts were technical fall wins, including a semifinal victory over Russian Akhmed Gadzihmagomedov. In the finals, Dake’s defense was the big difference in a 2-0 win over two-time World medalist Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan. Taylor drew World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran and fell behind 6-2 at the break, but rallied for an 11-6 win. After a technical fall over Hajy Rajabau of Belarus and an 8-0 shutout of Cuba’s Yurieski Torreblanca, Taylor drew European champion Dauren Kurugliev of Russia in the semis. Falling behind 5-1, Taylor powered back for a 7-5 win over the Russian. In the finals, he blasted Fatih Erdin of Turkey in a 12-2 tech fall. Dake and Taylor worked long and hard for their chance to become World champions, and both made American wrestling fans very proud when they shined on the big stage.
Click to Read Full Story
USA Wrestling
Most families establish holiday traditions, the little things that make this time of the year so special. For me, one of the things I do annually during this season is put together my Top 10 wrestling stories list. You know it is a tradition when you can’t remember when you started doing something annually. That is the case for me, as I clearly don’t recall the first year I posted this column.
The 2018 year was incredible within wrestling, and the top 10 was as difficult to choose as any other year I remember. The USA is having record success in international wrestling, the college scene is as exciting as ever and is continuing to grow, wrestling for women and girls is exploding, and the stories of our athletes seem to be getting even more compelling. This is a time of the year to be grateful for the good things in life, and I truly believe the American wrestling community has a wealth of things to feel thankful for.
With no additional delay, here is my top 10 of 2018:
1. Adeline Gray wins fourth World gold, matching most of any American in any style – Already a cinch to secure her spot in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, three-time World champion Adeline Gray entered the 2018 international season with a ton of question marks. After missing on a medal at the 2016 Olympics, Gray skipped the 2017 season for surgery and a chance to heal. When she returned, Gray had re-ignited her love of wrestling and was ready to excel again. Quickly wrestling back at a high level, Gray dropped a few bouts during the season but had a strong year. Like a legendary champion, she put it all together at the Worlds in Budapest in remarkable fashion, powering through a loaded weight class to win her fourth career World title. All four of her opponents were World and/or Olympic medalists, and two had wins over Gray this season. She scored a tech fall in her opener against World medalist Epp Mae of Estonia, then pinned Olympic medalist Elmyra Sydzykova of Kazakhstan. Her semifinal win over 2016 Olympic champion Erica Wiebe was by a close 3-1 margin, with Gray getting the only takedown. In the finals, locking up her patented ankle lace, Gray blasted 2017 World champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey with 13-0 technical fall and ran joyously with the American flag. She tied all-time greats John Smith, Tricia Saunders and Jordan Burroughs with the most World titles by a U.S. wrestler with four. Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 while Saunders became the first female to be inducted as a Distinguished Member in 2006. Although Gray is taking her career one year at a time right now, wouldn’t it be great to see her continue to excel all the way through the 2020 Tokyo Games?
2. J’den Cox changes weight, claims World gold title and a third straight medal – The last two international seasons, J’den Cox, who was the Missouri and Central Region winner of the Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2013, was oh-so-close to reaching his goal of being the best wrestler in the world. His big problem had been getting past the semifinals at the most important events. Coming off an amazing college career at Missouri, where he won three NCAA titles, Cox made the 2016 Olympic team at 86 kg. He reached the Olympic semifinals in Rio de Janiero, where he was edged 2-1 by Selim Yasar of Turkey, before winning bronze. At the 2017 Worlds, he got to the 86 kg semis once more, falling to Slovakia’s Boris Makoev, 6-3, then again taking the bronze. In 2018, Cox made some key changes which ended up making a big difference. With UWW going to 10 weight classes at the World level, Cox decided to move up to the new 92 kg division. He also moved to Colorado Springs to become a USOTC resident athlete, training daily with Assistant National Coach Kevin Jackson, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, and the USA coaching staff. Cox made the USA World Team at the new weight class, and put together a complete tournament at the Worlds in Budapest. He opened with a 6-2 win over Olympic medalist Dato Marsagishvili of Georgia, who had beaten him at the World Cup in April. Next was a 6-0 win over Nicolai Ceban of Moldova. In the semifinals, against World bronze medalist Alireza Karimimachiani of Iran, he knocked down the barrier with a 5-2 victory. In the finals against Ivan Yankouski of Belarus, Cox overcame the slow-it-down game plan of his opponent to win 4-1 and claim his first World title. An amazing athlete and an impressive individual, Cox now has three World or Olympic medals in three tries, and can take pride in being the absolute best on earth this year.
3. Kyle Dake and David Taylor cash in with impressive World titles at their first Senior World appearance – You don’t have to tell U.S. wrestling fans that Kyle Dake and David Taylor, who was the Ohio and National winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2009, are truly special wrestlers. In college, Dake won four NCAA titles in four different weights for Cornell, and Taylor was a four-time NCAA finalist and two-time champion for Penn State. However, the road to the top in Olympic freestyle was a big challenge for them both. For a few years, they were both behind Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg. In 2016, both went up to 86 kg, and finished behind J’den Cox at the Olympic Trials. In 2017, Dake dropped down and fell to Burroughs again, while Taylor stayed up and fell to Cox again. In 2018, with UWW going to 10 weight classes, these four USA stars ended up in different weights and all four made the USA World team: Burroughs at 74 kg, Dake at 79 kg, Taylor at 86 kg and Cox at 92 kg. Dake and Taylor boasted some very dominant victories at major international events, but Budapest was their first Senior World meet. Both cashed in their opportunities in a big way. Dake was unstoppable, winning his four matches without allowing a point, by a 37-0 margin. Dake’s first three bouts were technical fall wins, including a semifinal victory over Russian Akhmed Gadzihmagomedov. In the finals, Dake’s defense was the big difference in a 2-0 win over two-time World medalist Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan. Taylor drew World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran and fell behind 6-2 at the break, but rallied for an 11-6 win. After a technical fall over Hajy Rajabau of Belarus and an 8-0 shutout of Cuba’s Yurieski Torreblanca, Taylor drew European champion Dauren Kurugliev of Russia in the semis. Falling behind 5-1, Taylor powered back for a 7-5 win over the Russian. In the finals, he blasted Fatih Erdin of Turkey in a 12-2 tech fall. Dake and Taylor worked long and hard for their chance to become World champions, and both made American wrestling fans very proud when they shined on the big stage.
Click to Read Full Story
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