Perhaps after the dust settled and every hand was shaken on the way out of the gymnasium were pleasantries exchanged, but there is no question that the second edition of this dual meet was underscored by a brand of contentiousness that suggests the dawn of what could be a very fruitful rivalry within the American Greco-Roman community.
The 2024 Dubuque RTC Showcase began on Saturday at 4:00pm CT from the Stolz Arena on the campus of the University of Dubuque and streamed live on FLOWrestling.
Should the Dubuque RTC continue to progress under the leadership of Dennis Hall, so too should the organization continue to invite Northern Michigan University to town each autumn for this event. Last year’s inaugural effort saw the Dubuque RTC emerge victorious following runaway performances from some of their heaviest hitters in front of a vocal crowd of supporters. This time around, both rosters bore a different look, NMU appeared fitfully motivated, and most of the matches included an air of healthy competitive hostility — something that is often sorely lacking around these shores in domestic events.
’24 Trials finalist Kenny Crosby (55 kg) got the ball rolling for NMU by defeating Tyler Klein (Dubuque RTC). Crosby was gifted the bout’s first passivity/par terre chance and took advantage with a two-point lift followed by a pair of gutwrenches. The score was 7-0 for Crosby when Klein started to assert himself in due order. He was creating impactful pressure on the feet as the opening period drew to a close. But the deficit was too vast, especially against someone like Crosby, and the NMU’er iced the proceedings with a step-out for an 8-0 technical fall.
After Landon Drury (NMU/NTS) received a forfeit at 63 kilograms, Khusein Rakhmonov (Int’l All-Stars) got past Lukas Kanownik (NMU/NTS) 9-0. Rakhmonov, who hails from Russia, lasered an arm throw for four and followed with successive guts to emerge victorious.
There were two pivotal bouts on the card with Charlie McKune (72 kg, NMU/NTS) taking on Tajikistani Loiqi Amirkhonzoda being the first. McKune, who is only in the beginning stages of Greco-Roman development, impressed last month at the World Team Trials and carried that momentum into Saturday. Amirkhonzoda was more purposeful in the early going as he prodded the hands in search of two-on-ones. He was able to gather the hold and knot McKune at the arms but nothing was doing. Passivity soon benefited McKune, who attempted a lift that fell apart. Upon the conclusion of the lift try, Amirkhonzoda scrambled to a front headlock attempt but did not have proper position. McKune easily covered to gain two exposure points and thus assumed a 3-0 lead.
Not long into the second period, McKune bullied a step-out point that increased his margin to 4-0. A reset, and then the duo found themselves entangled with Amirkhonzoda again looking for hip tosses. He could not quite gain the leverage required for execution but was rewarded with a chance from top, from which he scored with a gutwrench. McKune still held a 4-3 lead and was able to see it through to the end and Northern Michigan had taken three of the first four bouts.
At 77 kg, Aleksandr Slobodeniuk (Int’l All-Stars) decisioned Riley Briggs (NMU/NTS) 4-3 to trim the home team’s deficit. NMU was out in front 13-8 on the scoreboard when Patrick Curran (82 kg) walked onto the mat to face the Dubuque RTC’s Zane Pannell. Pannell had the right idea once the whistle blew, as he came out physical and looking for hard contact. Pannell clubbed at Curran, Curran chipped back, the match was briefly halted so that the official could get both athletes under control, and they resumed battling in short order. Curran quickly found an opening for a body attack that he converted for two and tacked on four more with a resounding lift. The score was 6-0 and Pannell was in apparent peril. Undaunted, he answered back after the restart by crashing his own two-point body attack and coupling it with a gutwrench. Just like that, Curran’s lead had been trimmed to 6-4.
More physicality was on the table at the start of the second period. The official made sure to keep the matter between the two somewhat stable. Both athletes became mired in the ties before seeking workable positions. They were doing good work, and their styles complemented one another’s very well. Pannell would fight to gain control with an underhook and wrap the body, and Curran would respond in kind. They were seriously and sincerely hunting for big scores from standing, but neither could advance into a meaningful position. With time a factor, Pannell nudged a step-out point to make the score 6-5. A last-gasp throw attempt on his part provided an opportunity for Curran to cement the outcome as the NMU student landed on top for two points in what was for him an 8-5 decision victory.
Newcomer Jayden Tadeo-Gosal (97 kg, NMU/NTS) built a sizable lead against an up-in-weight Alec Robeson (Dubuque RTC) thanks to arm spins. Tadeo-Gosal unfurled his first arm try mere moments after the opening whistle. Robeson defended the upright attack but had to cede ground in the process, which allowed Tadeo-Gosal to scamper behind for two points. A second arm spin from the Northern Michigan wrestler resulted in another takedown, only this time Tadeo-Gosal secured a gutwrench to balloon his advantage to 6-0. A scary scene arose when Robeson went for his own arm attack. He had the position, but when he corkscrewed downward to execute, he landed head-first on the mat. It was a sequence reminiscent of when Per-Anders Kure of Norway broke his neck in ’23 against two-time World gold Azkhol Makhmudov (KGZ). Kure had a deep hold on Makhmudov’s arm and landed, hard, towards the top of his head. He had lost consciousness, as well. In this case, Robeson did not, although he did necessitate a couple of minutes in order to recover. Admirably, he chose to fight on, but Tadeo-Gosal soon scored two more points to end the match prematurely at 8-0.
The Dubuque RTC badly needed a jolt and received one from Eli Pannell (97 kg). Standing across was Daniel Eubanks (NMU/NTS) for a rematch from last year’s dual. Pannell had won that match by way of technical superiority. This year, Pannell had to loose himself from a tight but fleeting over/under position before going up top to pinch together Eubanks’ head-and-arm. He wrung the hold tightly and then transitioned to a more conventional throwing posture to toss Eubanks to his back for four. Pannell adjusted position and the signal for the fall arrived shortly thereafter.
A passivity in the first period, and another in the second, escorted top heavyweight prospect Jimmy Hustoles (NMU/NTS) to victory over Georgii Bobylev (Int’l All-Stars). The score for the dual after Hustoles/Bobylev stood at 23-14 for Northern Michigan. But since this event was less about team scores and much more about providing a competitive venue for both programs, two more matches were contested. NMU freshman and ’23 U20 World Team member Landon Drury faced off against Rakhmonov and was defeated 9-0. In the final match of the Showcase, Curran notched win #2 by downing Slobodeniuk 5-4.
2024 Dubuque RTC Showcase
October 5 — Dubuque, IA
NMU/NTS — 26 Dubuque RTC/Int’l All-Stars — 19
55 kg: Kenny Crosby (NMU/NTS) def. Tyler Klein (Dubuque RTC) 8-0, TF Listen to “5PM57: Kamal Bey and David Stepanyan” on Spreaker. Listen to “5PM56: Rich Carlson and Spencer Woods” on Spreaker. SUBSCRIBE TO THE FIVE POINT MOVE PODCAST
63 kg: Landon Drury (NMU/NTS) won via forfeit
67 kg: Khusein Rakhmonov (Int’l All-Stars) def. Lukas Kanownik (NMU/NTS) 9-0, TF
72 kg: Charlie McKune (NMU/NTS) def. Loiqi Amirkhonzoda (Int’l All-Stars) 4-3
77 kg: Aleksandr Sobodeniuk (Int’l All-Stars) def. Riley Briggs (NMU/NTS) 4-3
82 kg: Patrick Curran (NMU/NTS) def. Zane Pannell (Dubuque RTC) 8-5
97 kg: Jayden Tadeo-Gosal (NMU/NTS) def. Alec Robeson (Dubuque RTC) 8-0, TF
97 kg: Eli Pannell (Dubuque RTC) def. Daniel Eubanks (NMU/NTS) via fall
130 kg: Jimmy Hustoles (NMU/NTS) def. Georgii Bobylev (Int’l All-Stars) 2-0
67 kg: Khusein Rakhmonov (Int’l All-Stars) def. Landon Drury (NMU/NTS) 9-0, TF
82 kg: Patrick Curran (NMU/NTS) def. Aleksandr Sobodeniuk (Int’l All-Stars) 5-4
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