On Thursday, G’Angelo Hancock (97 kg, Sunkist) and 2018 World silver Adam Coon (130 kg, Cliff Keen) both competed at the Pan American Championships, and both athletes saw their points from United World Wrestling’s “Ranking Series” impacted by their participation. But first you have to back up a bit.
Coon, whose 40 points accrued by virtue of placing second at the Worlds, originally shot all the way to #2 in UWW’s top-20 rankings entering this season. Despite not competing in either of the two “Ranking Series” events this past February, the former NCAA star held his spot until the conclusion of last weekend’s European Championships, when two-time World gold Heiki Nabi (EST) leapfrogged him after taking fifth in Bucharest.
Hancock’s story is a little different, but not by much. Following his bronze in Croatia and subsequent gold from the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Olympic Training Center athlete found himself ranked third by UWW. And just like Coon, the European Championships knocked Hancock down a peg because Fatih Baskoy‘s (TUR) fifth at the Euros delivered the same result as it did for Nabi. Such is the power of the Euros; Nabi nor Baskoy even medaled, but both wrestled in well-populated brackets with plenty of points up for grabs.
Fifth place at a Continent Championships provides six points. Now, throw in an additional eight points for Nabi, due to having 11-20 wrestlers in his bracket; and 10 extra points for Baskoy, who had more than 20 (23) athletes at his weight. That “Ranking Series” point total comes out to 14 and 16, respectively.
The good news is that because Coon won the Pan Ams and Hancock nabbed silver, the duo have reclaimed their previous spots in the standings. With his gold on Thursday, Coon earned 20 points (12 for gold, eight points for having 11 men in his bracket) for a new total of 60 points, which puts him back at #2. Hancock received 10 points for his silver plus eight more, delivering 48 “Ranking Series” points as well as a return to #3.
Bey Rockets Back Up
Similar to his upper-weight brethren, Kamal Bey (Sunkist) was ousted from his spot at #7 (holding 18 points previously) in United World Wrestling’s 77-kilogram rankings following the European Championships, dropping to ninth. With his runner-up finish to Yosvanys Pena Flores (CUB) on Friday, Bey pocketed 18 more points, just like Hancock, since they both took silver with 11-20 men in their brackets. 18 + 18 =36, and that number not only gives Bey a boost, but he actually now jumps all the way up to #5, one rung higher than multi-time World/2016 Olympic champ Roman Vlasov (RUS).
To (hopefully) make this concise and therefore easier to understand, put it this way: every US athlete who medaled at the 2019 Pan American Championships will, however temporarily, now hold a place in United World Wrestling’s top-20 rankings.
Top graphic: UWW; bottom graphic: 5PM
USA Greco World Rankings Post-Pan Am Championships
Coon, Hancock, and Bey weren’t the only US guys ranked before this week and now they have even more company.
*New to the UWW Rankings following Pan Am Championships.
*Max Nowry (55 kg, Army/WCAP): Projected UWW Ranking — 12th (18 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Nowry won the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 12 points for gold and six for the number of athletes in his bracket.
*Dalton Roberts (60 kg, NYAC/OTS): Projected UWW Ranking — 20th (14 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Roberts placed fifth at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning six points for fifth-place and eight for the number of athletes in his bracket (however, Roberts’ ranking is subject to criteria and is unconfirmed at press time — Ed.).
Travis Rice (63 kg, IRTC): Projected UWW Ranking –14th (16 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Rice took fifth at both the Grand Prix Zagreb Open and Hungarian Grand Prix, respectively.
*Ryan Mango (63 kg, Army/WCAP): Projected UWW Ranking — 16th (16 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Mango placed second at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 10 points for silver and six for the number of athletes in his bracket.
*Ellis Coleman (67 kg, Army/WCAP): Projected UWW Ranking — 13th (18 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Coleman placed second at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 10 points for silver and eight for the number of athletes in his bracket.
*RaVaughn Perkins (72 kg, NYAC): Projected UWW Ranking — 10th (18 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Perkins won the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 12 points for gold and six for the number of athletes in his bracket.
Kamal Bey (77 kg, Sunkist): Projected UWW Ranking — 5th (36 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Bey took seventh at the 2018 World Championships in October; he then placed second at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 10 points for silver and eight for the number of athletes in his bracket.
*Cheney Haight (82 kg, NYAC): Projected UWW Ranking — 13th (18 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Haight won the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 12 points for gold and six for the number of athletes in his bracket.
*Patrick Martinez (87 kg, NYAC): Projected UWW Ranking — 17th (16 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Martinez placed third at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning eight points for bronze and eight for the number of athletes in his bracket.
G’Angelo Hancock (97 kg, Sunkist): Projected UWW Ranking — 3rd (48 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Hancock took third at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open and won the Hungarian Grand Prix; he then placed second at the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 10 for silver and eight for the number of athletes in his bracket.
Adam Coon (130 kg, Cliff Keen): Projected UWW Ranking — 2nd (60 points)
WHERE THE POINTS CAME FROM: Coon was a runner-up at the 2018 World Championships in October; he then won the 2019 Pan Am Championships, earning 12 points for gold and eight points for the number of athletes in his bracket.
But wait…
If there is one thing to grasp from the “Ranking Series”, it’s that the rankings themselves are (extremely) fluid. The Oceania Championships just commenced and the Asian Championships begin this coming week, and what that means is the rankings you see above for the USA Greco athletes will almost certainly change, at least in most cases. On top of that, once the Asian Championships concludes, there are still two more anyone-can-enter “Ranking Series” tournaments, Sassari City in May (which should see a US presence) and the Oleg Karavaev Memorial in July.
But for the moment, there are 10 USA Greco-Roman Seniors ranked among the best in the world by the global sanctioning body. That is absolutely worthy of acknowledgement.
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