Barrett Stanghill (85 kg, Minnesota Storm) didn’t go over to Europe a couple of weeks ago because he thought it would be easy. If anything, it was the opposite. Hoping to punch up his schedule with more training and matches against international competition, Stanghill is interested in rounding out his game further in preparation for what he hopes will be another breakout season. One surefire way to make sure he’d be getting his money’s worth was by entering one of the more challenging events on the summer calendar.
Beginning the day in the quarterfinal round of the Ljubomir Ivanovic-Gedza International tournament in Kragujevac, Serbia, Stanghill drew 2016 U23 European Championships gold medalist and University World Champion Erik Szilvassy (HUN) and the American found himself behind the eight ball nearly immediately. As the pair briefly exchanged positions in the tie-ups. Szilvassy caught an overreaching Stanghill’s arm and turned it into a two-point correct throw for an early lead. Following the reset, Stanghill found his footing, though he struggled to pry to his way in for underhooks against the looser, more languid Szilvassy. A passivity point against the American rang in with under a minute left in the first, giving Szilvassy a 3-0 advantage.
The second period saw Stanghill up the action. He started gaining more ground with effective short arm drags and occasional level changes. The problem was Szilvassy sustained a busy workrate himself and did not provide a lot of openings for the Storm wrestler to exploit. A few late high dive attempts by Stanghill looked to come close, but the Hungarian warded them off to emerge as the victor.
Because Szilvassy advanced to the final where he will take on Dorin Pirvan (ROU), Stanghill has a shot in the bronze medal round and will be facing former Serbian Junior World Team member and this year’s Grand Prix Zagreb Open runner-up Nikolaj Dobrev.
We will update as results become available.
31st annual LJUBOMIR IVANOVIC-GEDZA INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT — KRAGUJEVAC, SERBIA
85 kg
Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm)
LOSS Erik Svilvassy (HUN) 3-0
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