Burke Paddock (77 kg, NYAC/FLWC) and Pete Gounaridis (97 kg, Army/WCAP) earned top honors at the 2019 Senior Last Chance Qualifier earlier today, joining eight other wrestlers who were similarly on the outside looking in at berths to World Team Trials later this month in North Carolina.
Held on the campus of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, the tournament (though sparsely attended) represented the last remaining opportunity for Senior athletes to qualify.
In the 77-kilogram bracket, Paddock and Eric Hoffman (NOVA WC) both enjoyed byes to the final round (a phenomena that occurred in seven of the ten weight classes) with Paddock emerging victorious via tech. The Ithaca-based athlete had himself a solid showing in one of the deepest weights at the US Open last week in Las Vegas, finishing with a record of 2-2.
Former National Team member Gounaridis saw his National tournament end in Vegas at the hands of Jeremiah Imonode (West Point) but he only needed a little over a week to exact revenge. After getting past Michael Waszen (LAW) and Carson Raymond (Marines) back-to-back, Gounaridis tech’ed Imonode 11-3 in the weight-class final.
Lewis Baker (The Bakery) was a formidable competitor earlier in his career but it had been a while since he participated in a Senior tournament. The time off didn’t seem to hurt him today. A decision win over Logan Savvy (NYAC/FLWC) means that Baker (who studies neuroscience in addition to serving as a coach) will be entering the highly-competitive 63-kilogram field in Raleigh.
Notes:
- Military athletes ruled the day: of the tournament’s 27 competitors, nine came from the Marines, two from West Point, two from the Air Force RTC, and one from the Army.
- Eight of the ten final bouts ended via tech with a decision and fall as the outliers. In fact, only four of the event’s 21 total matches ended with a points decision.
2019 World Team Trials Last Chance Qualifier
May 5th — East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
FINAL RESULTS
55 kg: Roger Stewart (NYAC) def. Devin Purifoy (Gunston) 10-2, TF
60 kg: Bruce Hrynciw (Marines) def. Mike Muscatello (NJ) 8-0, TF
63 kg: Lewis Baker (The Bakery) def. Logan Savvy (NYAC/FLWC) 7-4
67 kg: Corey Shie (West Point) def. Raun Smith (Marines) 8-0, TF
72 kg: Aaron Reynolds (Marines) def. Andrew Collins (Marines) 9-0, TF
77 kg: Burke Paddock (NYAC/FLWC) def. Eric Hoffman (NOVA WC) 9-0, TF
82 kg: Joel Nivar (Marines) def. Timothy Pawlicki (Smash Style WC) 8-0, TF
87 kg: Jaime Miranda (Marines) def. Daniel Myers (Modern Day Gladiators) via fall
97 kg: Pete Gounaridis (Army/WCAP) def. Jeremiah Imonode (West Point) 11-3, TF
130 kg: Thomas Killoran (KU) def. Diante Cooper (AFRTC) 8-0, TF
THIRD PLACE BOUTS
97 kg: Chase Daniels (Marines) def. Carson Raymond (Marines) 20-9, TF
130 kg: Mauro Correnti (PRTC) def. Arthur Walthour (Marines) 10-0, TF
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