The second and last competition on the schedule for the three-man USA Greco-Roman roster on their current overseas tour yielded two medalists as Will Scherer (72 kg) earned bronze and Aidan Squier (87 kg) finished with silver.
Scherer received a bye in the round-of-16 of his bracket but disposed of Philippe Ghandji (FRA) in the quarters to put himself one match away from a finals appearance. In the semifinal against Khamzat Adamov (FRA), Scherer was battling well on the feet prior to being put down in par terre, which allowed Adamov the chance to score two turns for a 5-0 lead. Adamov would later secure a four-point arm throw to end matters early. But Scherer did what he so often does — scrape it off and rebound. With bronze hanging in the balance, Scherer made quick work of Kaan Subasi (FRA) thanks to a series of guts to earn his second bronze on this trip after also taking 3rd at the Internationa MYHI Tournament in Finland two weeks ago.
Squier had originally intended to wrestle in the 82 kg category on Saturday but that plan changed upon arriving at the weigh-in. The Rosny Cup did present an 82 kg bracket, but an apparent miscommunication in that regard resulted in Squier going up to 87 for the tournament. And he performed quite well in the heavier weight class. The Combat representative won his two pool matches via fall (over Lukas Polzleitner, AUT and Tato Gambashidze, MON, respectively) and was thus drawn into the elimination bracket. Squier subsequently notched his third stoppage of the day, a VSU at the expense of Ion Birnat (MON), but was defeated in the final by Austrian Paul Maier to end up with silver.
Though the box score result was likely found dissatisfactory by Amryn Nutter (63 kg, Combat), he was nevertheless in the hunt and ultimately found himself in four matches. Nutter downed Nahim Hejjem (NOR) by way of technical superiority to start, fell to familiar opponent William Ekeroth (SWE), bounced back in Round 1 of repechage with a win against Mehmet Keskin (FRA), and got caught and pinned by Renat Kryzkho (SWE) amid a high-scoring shootout in which the score was 11-8.
Steldt’s Perspective
Combat WC founder and two-time USA U17 World Team coach Lucas Steldt is with his three charges in France and thankfully provided an after action report and assessment with regards to the Rosny Cup performances of the athletes.
“So far it has been a great tour. From the Finland competition and training to Romania for training, this tournament in France, and next we leave for Hungary for more training.”
“Will looked solid. He is a really well-rounded Greco-Roman athlete. One mistake (against Adamov) and a questionable call was his only loss in France. I’m so excited for this athlete’s future. Squier was flawless. He dropped his gold medal match to take silver, but we pushed him up to 87 and he just didn’t have the mass up there. But, overall, he wrestled great Greco.”
“Amryn’s day included bouts against some very skilled athletes. Him going 2-2 in that bracket but not getting a medal was tough. With losses, there is always a lot of things to be said, but these athletes are U20. I need them committed to a Senior career into their early 30’s for us to have a real World-level impact and to change our county’s program. So when it comes to losses, we will watch and evaluate, and get back to work. This road is long and lonely, especially in the USA. And we are going to lose more matches. Nobody is going undefeated in today’s Greco-Roman climate. In the meantime, it is always about growth, appreciation, and gratitude for the process we are in. Nutter is going to be amazing in time and I personally guarantee that.”
“I’m off with my boys to the Eiffel Tower and a fun night in Paris before we head out in the early morning for Hungary.”
2025 Rosny Cup
March 8 — Paris, FRA
TEAM USA RESULTS
63 kg: Amryn Nutter (Combat WC) — 7th
WON Nahim Hejjem (NOR) 10-1, TF
LOSS William Ekeroth (SWE) 8-0, TF
WON Mehmet Keskin (FRA) 8-0, TF
LOSS Renat Kryzhko (SWE) via fall
72 kg: Will Scherer (Combat WC) — BRONZE
WON Philippe Gnandji (FRA) 11-2, TF
LOSS Khamzat Adamov (FRA) 9-0, TF
WON Kaan Subasi (FRA) 8-0, TF
87 kg: Aidan Squier (Combat WC) — SILVER
WON Lukas Polzleitner (AUT) via fall
WON Tato Gambashidze (MON) via fall
WON Ion Birnat (MON) 8-0, TF
LOSS Paul Maier (AUT) 8-0, TF
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