In less than a year, Brian Grabner (63 kg, IGA) now owns three international Greco-Roman medals.
The 2025 Kolding Cup took place on Saturday at the Sydbank Arena in Kolding, Denmark and featured four American entrants, all of whom train at the Interior Grappling Academy in Alaska.
Grabner — along with teammates Zeke Bolton (67 kg) and Kodi Hollis (72 kg) — competed in a mixed division comprised of U20 and Senior athletes. And the event did not start well for the young prospect as he was VSU’d by Ilias Laaouina (NED) in the opening round. However, Grabner would go untouched throughout his remaining three matches, racking up a pin sandwiched between two technical falls to exit the tournament with bronze.
Grabner’s first international event came last February at the Rosny Cup in France. He impressed in that appearance by grabbing five wins in six matches against a collection of skilled foes. Then he was back overseas this past November. It was at the VVV Cup in Vaasa, Finland where Grabner earned his first overseas gold.
IGA had one wrestler do battle within the U18 division — Quenten Halverson (60 kg). The neophyte competed well in his international debut and advanced to the bronze round thanks to a pair of one-sided victories. In the third round (Kolding Cup observed the Nordic System), Halverson was downed by Raffaele Hight (NED) and then fell to Lukas Kolbasa (CZE), ultimately finishing in 4th place.
The tandem of Bolton and Hollis each had one prior European event under their belts heading into Saturday. Bolton was on the ’24 trip to France and Hollis placed 4th at Finland’s VVV Cup. Bolton had two matches in Kolding and finished 5th. Hollis — like Grabner — dropped his opening bout but then flattened his next two opponents to stay alive in the bracket before a loss to Oscar Josarp (SWE) dashed his hopes for a medal.
2025 Kolding Cup
January 18 — Kolding, DEN
TEAM USA RESULTS
U18
60 kg: Quenten Halverson (IGA) — 4th
WON Tomas Stehlik (CZE) 8-0, TF
WON Kiril Abelimov (GER) via fall
LOSS Raffaele Hight (NED) via fall
LOSS Lukas Kolbasa (CZE) via fall
U20-SR
63 kg: Brian Grabner (IGA) — BRONZE
LOSS Ilias Laaouina (NED) 10-0, TF
WON Isak Holk (SWE) 9-0, TF
WON Fabian Wiesemann (GER) via fall
WON Louis Thoransen (DEN) 8-0, TF
67 kg: Zeke Bolton (IGA) — 5th
LOSS Kilian Hehle (AUT) 8-0, TF
LOSS Magnus Rasmussen (DEN) 9-0, TF
72 kg: Kodi Hollis (IGA) — 7th
LOSS Karl Homberg (SWE) 10-0, TF
WON Niklas Seib (GER) via fall
WON Malik Gadamorov (SWE) via fall
LOSS Oscar Josarp (SWE) 11-2, TF
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