It’s not exactly the moment we’ve all been waiting for, but it’s close. The draws for Day 1 of the 2017 Greco-Roman World Championships have been released.
71 kg — Patrick Smith
Smith’s first opponent should be familiar to US fans who watched the Seniors in action over the spring — Matous Morbitzer (CZE). Morbitzer wrestled RaVaughn Perkins (NYAC) and Alex Sancho (NYAC-OTS) at the 2017 Thor Masters Invitational back in March, losing 4-0 and 5-1, respectively. Morbitzer is a plow-ahead type of wrestler, or at least that’s what he showed in March. Funny enough, Smith and Morbitzer were in the same bracket at that tournament, as well, though set up in different pools.
75 kg — Mason Manville
Manfred Edsberg (SWE) represents Manville’s first opponent of the day and this is a good match-up for him. Edsberg is not a lazy wrestler and comes forward a great deal, which could play well into Manville’s all-purpose style of attacking. Most recently, the Swede bottomed out at the Pytlasinski Cup but has performed better in Scandinavian events, including a bronze at this year’s Nordic Championships. The Swedes are a tough bunch, but this a solid competitor for Manville to open up his first Senior Worlds.
85 kg — Ben Provisor
Provisor will be matching up against Ukraine’s Aleksander Shyshman. Shyshman won the Junior World Championships in 2008 and has been on two Senior World teams for Ukraine. A good brunt of his success has come at the World Military Championships, which he has won twice (2010, 2013) and finished second and third (2014 and 2016, respectively). As an athlete, Shyshman picks and pecks, but has demonstrated an ability to turn guys should he have the opportunity. That will be difficult for him to come by against Provisor.
98 kg — G’Angelo Hancock (world no. 16)
Hancock is likely going to have his hands full with Faith Baskoy (TUR), who won the inaugural 2015 U23 European Championships to go along with a Junior World bronze medal from 2013. Along with all that, Baskoy also won the University Worlds (at home) in 2016. He’s got plenty of other credentials that matter, including a bronze at this year’s U23 Euros, but what really counts is that Baskoy is skilled, experienced, and strong. Hancock’s side of the bracket is not going to be easy, so hopefully he can grab some momentum and run with it.
Team USA Day 1 Draws — 2017 Greco-Roman World Championships
71 kg: Patrick Smith (USA) vs. Mateous Morbitzer (CZE)
75 kg: Mason Manville (USA) vs. Manfred Edsberg (SWE)
85 kg: Ben Provisor (USA) vs. Aleksander Shyshman (UKR)
98 kg: G’Angelo Hancock (USA) vs. Faith Baskoy (TUR)
2017 Greco-Roman World Championships
AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France
Monday, August 21st — 71 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg, 98 kg
Tuesday, August 22nd — 59 kg, 66 kg, 80 kg, 130 kg
REMINDER: We will be live on Twitter at 3:00am EST for the start of the tournament with updates coming from Joe Rau and Nate Engel. Post-session recaps will follow as well as a potential special surprise to look forward to.
Live streaming available in the United States on Trackwrestling.com
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