Robert Perez III (67 kg, NYAC) and Beka Melelashvili (82 kg, NYAC) will both compete for gold tomorrow while Jonathan Gurule (63 kg, NYAC/NTS) is set to battle for bronze at the 2024 Druskininkai Cup in Lithuania.
In the opening round (the Druskininkai Cup is being run according to the Nordic System), Perez latched a head-and-arm lock around Anton Nesterenko (UKR) from top par terre and eventually executed what could be likened to a folkstyle “assassin” technique. Perez easily turned Nesterenko to his back and the fall was soon recorded. One match later, Perez was forced to dig deep in a 4-3 decision over Nestori Mannila (FIN), with that victory escorting the native Californian into tomorrow’s gold round where he will greet Niklas Ohlen of Sweden. Ohlen is well-known on these shores due to the Swede having trained and competed alongside many Americans since originally coming up through the age-group ranks.
Melelashvili — who prior to this season had represented the nation of Georgia — went 1-1 on the day. In his first match, Melelashvili raced to a 10-0 VSU at the expense of Alexander Gustavsson (SWE). Round 2 saw Alexander Johansson, also of Sweden, edge Melelashvili via criteria 1-1. But — because Gustavsson won by way of forfeit over countryman Johansson, Melelashvili finds himself in the finals on Sunday. His opponent with gold on the line is a good one — reigning U23 World champ Alexandrin Gutu of Moldova.
Gurule
Gurule endured a contentious and tight affair opposed by Bohdan Hryushyn (UKR) but still managed to prevail, albeit not before a moment of confusion regarding the result. After receiving the bout’s first passivity/par terre opportunity, Gurule attempted a lift; however, amid the attempt, Hrushyn was cited for a leg foul, thus distributing two points to Gurule in conjunction with another chance from top PT. Gurule was unable to gain exposure but lead on the scoreboard 3-0. When the passivities flipped in the second period, Hrushyn (after a generous amount of time allotted to him) cranked a gutwrench to make the score 3-3, though Gurule still held criteria on the account of the leg foul caution. But — when the match ended with the score unchanged, the referees at first awarded the decision to Hrushyn. The result was corrected in short order, meaning that Gurule stood at 1-0 in pool competition. Gurule was defeated in the proceeding round by Mairbek Salimov (POL) and will face Vasyl Myshanych (UKR) for bronze tomorrow.
Black, Sullivan, Scott, & Altomer
US National Team member Max Black (NMU/NTS) and Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP) were supposed to operate in different brackets. Black, of course, is an established presence at 60 kilograms whereas Sullivan calls 55 kg home. But with 55 unavailable in this event, Sullivan was forced to bump up.
Both lightweights wrestled very well on Saturday. Black began by downing Maxim Sarmanov (MDA), a match that ended following a takedown to lift to gutwrench sequence. He was on his way to potentially earning a gritty contest against Mykola Havrychkin (UKR) before it slipped through his fingers. Black had a 1-1 advantage late in the second period when the officials awarded Havrychkin the third passive of the match (also known as “the third par terre”). Havrychkin capitalized on the opportunity by achieving one rotation of a gutwrench en-route to the 3-1 decision. Black defeated Sullivan in Round 3 but was then stopped by Oliver Skrzypczak (POL) in his fourth match of the day.
By virtue of having finished 2-2 and with his defeat of Sullivan, Black officially placed second, making the Druskinikai Cup his second overseas medal-winning performance of the year (Thor Masters, March, bronze).
Like Black, Sullivan disposed of Sarmanov and fell to Skrzypczak. Sullivan’s ledger was at 1-2 entering Round 4 with Havrychkin next in line. The match did not begin superbly for the Army representative, as Havrychkin carried a 3-0 lead into the second period. But Sullivan struck back. First, he whammed a headlock that scored two; then with just over a minute remaining, and with Havrychkin not doing much to press the action, Sullivan received the passivity/par terre chance. The call have him criteria, but Sullivan went to work from top PT and found a crease with his lock that availed a clean gutwrench rotation and an outright 5-3 lead that he would not relinquish.
It was not the most pleasant day of competition for ’23 US Open champ Justus Scott (72 kg, Army/WCAP). He had drawn a tough assignment in the form of ’22 U20 World bronze Oleg Khalilov (UKR) in the opener and was on the wrong end of a monster lift from par terre that played a role in an eventual VSU defeat. Scott was defeated in the next round by emerging Croatian talent Luka Malobabic to cut short his time in the tournament.
“Muscle” Mike Altomer (87 kg, Curby 3-Style) — who appeared on both the U20 and U23 World rosters last year — recovered from consecutive losses to top Polish prospect Adam Gardziola and Vladyslav Diahilev (UKR), respectively, by throwing-and-pinning Niko Hyninnen (FIN). With advancement in the bracket hanging in the balance, Islam Aliev (POL) bit down on a hard-fought 5-3 decision to eliminate Altomer from medal contention.
Day 2 Schedule & Streams
Wrestling resumes at the 2024 Druskininkai Cup at 10:30am local time (3:30am ET) and can be viewed live on YouTube at the following links:
Mat A
Mat B
Notes
— Sullivan, Black, Gurule, Perez, Scott, and Melelashvili will all represent the US at the U23 World Championships in October (Tirana, ALB).
— In 18 individual matches thus far at the Druskinikai Cup (not counting Sullivan vs. Black), the US is 8-10. Of the country’s eight victories, five were recorded as stoppages (three VSU, two pins).
2024 Druskininkai Cup
August 17-18 — Druskininkai, LTU
TEAM USA DAY 1 RESULTS
60 kg: Max Black (NMU/NTS) — SILVER
WON Maxim Sarmanov (MDA) 10-2, TF
LOSS Mykola Havrychkin (UKR) 3-1
WON Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP) 8-0, TF
LOSS Olivier Skrzypczak (POL) 9-0, TF
60 kg: Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP)
WON Maxim Sarmanov (MDA) 10-2, TF
LOSS Max Black (NMU/NTS) 8-0, TF
LOSS Olivier Skrzypczak (POL) 4-0
WON Mykola Havrychkin (UKR) 5-3
63 kg: Jonathan Gurule (NYAC/NTS)
WON Bohdan Hrushyn (UKR) 3-3 (criteria)
LOSS Mairbek Salimov (POL) 13-4, TF
67 kg: Robert Perez III (NYAC)
WON Anton Nesterenko (UKR) via fall
WON Nestori Mannila (FIN) 4-3
72 kg: Justus Scott (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Oleg Khalilov (UKR) 9-0, TF
LOSS Luka Malobabic (CRO) via fall
82 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC)
WON Alexander Gustavsson (SWE) 10-0, TF
LOSS Alexander Johansson (SWE) 1-1 (criteria)
87 kg: Mike Altomer (Curby 3-Style)
LOSS Adam Gardziola (POL) 9-0, TF
LOSS Vladyslav Diahilev (UKR) 8-0, TF
WON Niko Hyninnen (FIN) via fall
LOSS Islam Aliev (POL) 5-3
TEAM USA DAY 2 DRAWS
63 kg: Jonathan Gurule (NMU/NTS)
vs. Vasyl Myshanych (UKR) — bronze-medal match
67 kg: Robert Perez III (NYAC)
vs. Niklas Ohlen (SWE) — finals
82 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC)
vs. Alexandrin Gutu (MDA) — finals
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