Sammy Brooks led a solid performance by the HWC by winning the 86 kg title at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane in Nice, France. Brooks won by a tech fall and 9-3 decision before defeating Tarzan Maisuradze of Georgia by a 14-3 tech fall in the finals.
After winning matches by a pin and decision, Cory Clark dropped his match in the finals to claim the Silver at 61 kg. Brandon Sorensen started off by winning by a tech fall and then dropped a 2-1 decision in the semifinals. Sorensen then defeated Evgheni Volkov of Romania 9-0 to win the Bronze.
Michaela Beck won her first two matches but had to then default due to injury and could not compete in the semifinals and Bronze medal match.
HWC Head Coach Mark Perry cornered the HWC wrestlers at the Deglane tournament.
Members of the HWC will next compete at the Cerro Pelado in Havana, Cuba on Feb 15-23. The HWC roster for that event has not been set at this time. I will keep you up to date with a roster as soon as it is available.
Thomas Gilman announced in an interview with UWW after the Yarygin that he would be competing in Bulgaria in February. That would be the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov on February 28-March 3. This tournament is in the Ranking Series that aids in setting up seeds for the 2019 World Freestyle Championships. I will keep you up to date on that competition.
Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane
Nice, France
February 1-2
61 kg/134 lbs. – Cory Clark, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), SILVER MEDAL
WIN Chakir Ansari (Morocco), pin
WIN Andrei Bekreneu (Belarus), 11-9
LOSS Beka Lomtadze (Georgia), tech. fall 10-0
70 kg/154 lbs. – Brandon Sorensen, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), BRONZE MEDAL
WIN Notono Gulyas (Hungary), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Zurabi Iakobishivili (Georgia), 2-1
WIN Evgheni Volkov (Romania), 9-0
86 kg/189 lbs. – Sammy Brooks, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC), GOLD MEDAL
WIN Johannes Deml (Germany), tech. fall 14-4
WIN Patrik Szurovski (Hungary), 9-3
WIN Tarzan Maisurade (Georgia), tech. fall 14-3
62 kg – Michaela Beck, New York, N.Y. (New York AC/Hawkeye WC), 4th place
WIN Kriszsta Incze (Romania), 1-1
WIN Ameline Douarre (France), 2-0
Withdrew with injury and did not compete in semifinals or Bronze match.
Upcoming events for the HWC
Granma y Cerro Pelado
Havana, Cuba
February 15-23
Roster: To be determined.
Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov
Sofia, Bulgaria
Feb 28 – March 3
Thomas Gilman
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
