ZAGREB, Croatia – An energetic session from the U.S. women’s freestyle Cadet World Team pushed four of its five competitors into Thursday night’s semifinals at the 2018 Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
Earning spots in the semifinals was Sterling Dias at 40 kg, two-time World Team member Olivia Shore at 46 kg, Leilah Castro at 53 kg and 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Macey Kilty at 69 kg.
At 40 kg, Dias advanced to the semifinals after a decisive 6-2 win over Buman Enkhbold of Mongolia, who took eighth at last year’s Cadet World Championships. All eight of the bouts points came in the first period with Dias taking the lead on a takedown and gut wrench for the eventual win.
In the semifinals, the Nevada native will face 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist Luchana Bekbaulova of Russia.
Shore pulled out two late wins to land a spot in the semifinals at 46 kg in her second trip to the World stage.
In her first bout, Shore battled Seyma Kizmaz of Turkey. The American trailed 2-1 in the last 20 seconds, when she hit an inside trip to pin the Turk in 3:43.
The Ohioan moved on to the semis with another come-from-behind win, this time taking out Nadezhda Matveeva of Russia. Down 4-2 in the second period, Shore scored on a go-behind takedown to clinch a 4-4 win on criteria.
Tonight, Shore will take on 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Otgonjarga Dolgorjav of Mongolia.
In her opening match at 53 kg, Castro was dominant collecting eight quick points before pinning her opponent AizhanSabyrbek Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in 1:15. To move onto the quarters, the Ohio native breezed past two-time Nordic champion Othelie Hoeie of Norway with a second-period, 10-0 tech fall.
Castro pulled out a close win against 2018 Schoolboy/girl European champion Tatiana Kabanova of Russia in the quarterfinals. Trailing 2-0 with less than a minute left, Castro picked up a takedown to take the lead on criteria. She put an exclamation on the win with a crotch lift in the closing seconds for a 4-2 win and a spot in the semifinals.
In tonight’s semis, Castro will face Meenakshi Meenakshi of India, who was fourth at the 2018 Cadet Asian Championships.
To begin her second Cadet World tournament at 69 kg, Kilty took on 2016 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Sonika Hooda of India. A slow start, Kilty led 2-1 at the break but brought her offense hard in the second period, with two takedowns and eventually putting the Indian to her back for a fall in 3:00.
Kilty stayed dominant in her quarterfinal match, rolling to a 12-1 technical fall against 2018 Cadet European bronze medalist Anastasia Alpyeva of Ukraine. Kilty put up four takedowns en route to the match.
In the 69 kg semis, Kilty will go head-to-head with 2018 Cadet Asian champion and 2017 Cadet Asian bronze winner Mengwei Zhang of China.
At 61 kg, Morgan Norris wrapped up her 2018 Cadet World Championships after falling to Alina Antipova of Latvia in the first round. Antipova lost to Riko Takayama of Japan in the next round, ending Norris’ tournament.
The semifinals begin Thursday at 5: 30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET), followed by medal matches for the first five women’s weights at 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) live on Trackwrestling.com.
2018 CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Zagreb, Croatia, July 2-8
Women’s freestyle results
40 kg/88 lbs. – Sterling Dias, Las Vegas, Nev. (Slam WC)
WIN Buman Enkhbold (Mongolia), 6-1
vs. Luchana Bekbaulova (Russia)
46 kg/101 lbs. – Olivia Shore, St. Paris, Ohio (Shore Sports Club)
WIN Seyma Kizmaz (Turkey), fall 3:43
WIN Nadezhda Matveeva (Russia), 4-4
vs. Otgonjarga Dolgorjav (Mongolia)
53 kg/117 lbs. – Leilah Castro, New Lexington, Ohio (Shore Sports Club)
WIN Aizhan Sabyrbek Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan), fall 1:15
WIN Othelie Hoeie (Norway), 10-0
WIN Tatiana Kabanova (Russia), 4-2
vs. Meenakshi Meenakshi (India)
61 kg/134 lbs. – Morgan Norris, Sparks, Nev. (AGA Wolfpack WC)
LOSS Alina Antipova (Latvia), fall 0:47
69 kg/152 lbs. – Macey Kilty, Stratford, Wisc. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Sonika Hooda (India), fall 3:00
WIN Anastasia Alpyeva (Ukraine), 12-1
vs. Mengwei Zhang (China)
Courtesy of Teamusa.org
The United States secured one medal on the first day of women’s freestyle competition at the Cadet World Championships when Emily Shilson reached the finals for the second straight year.