Brian Grabner (65 kg, IGA), Colton Parduhn (67 kg, IGA), and Aidan Squier (82 kg, Combat WC) all came away with tournament titles at the VVV Cup on Saturday in Vaasa, Finland.
In total, the US had five Greco-Roman placewinners as Will Scherer (67 kg, Combat WC) earned bronze and Ashton Miess (82 kg Combat WC) finished with silver in their respective weight categories.
It was not a new experience for Squier. Since beginning his overseas Greco-Roman career nearly three years ago, the fast-rising age-group star has amassed a collection of international medals with his gold from Saturday being his fourth. And as had been the case through most of his previous European performances, Squier was downright dominant in Vaasa, winning each of his four matches by way of technical superiority.
But for Grabner and Pardhun, the VVV Cup did represent a breakthrough.
Similar to Squier, Parduhn — who has recorded a handful of impressive wins on the Senior level domestically — went untouched in his pooled bracket. He first defeated Oskari Pursiainen (FIN), then steamrolled Timo Järvinen (FIN), and completed his run by dismantling ’22 Herman Cup silver Lauri Perkka (FIN). All three victories for Parduhn were VSU’s.
Grabner first traveled overseas last winter and earned bronze at the Rosny Cup in France. He took two steps up the podium on Saturday thanks to three technical superiority triumphs. Just like Squier and IGA teammate Parduhn, Grabner also went unscored upon in the tournament.
Scherer & Miess
Scherer continues to progress and tack on valuable experience as he navigates the various trials and travails for which international competition is often recognized. Already a multiple-time medalist overseas, Scherer added to his resume on Saturday with wins over Aron Salonen (FIN), stablemate and fellow top prospect Amryn Nutter (Combat WC), and Järvinen. His lone loss came at the hands of Perkka via decision.
The narrative is the same for Miess, who holds a spot as one of the US program’s most promising young athletes in the pipeline. A Fargo champ in ’23, Miess has also acquired a feel for authentic international Greco-Roman competition over the past several years and on Saturday he performed brilliantly, going 3-1 with three technical falls. His only defeat was to teammate Squier.
Hollis & Nutter
Kodi Hollis (71 kg, IGA) was able to lock down a win in his first overseas tournament. Hollis dropped his opening-round contest to eventual bracket winner Leevi Laine (FIN) and managed to edge Iisakki Yipelkonen (FIN) in the next round. With advancement in the event up for grabs, the international Greco neophyte was felled by Matias Onnenlehto (FIN).
The talented Nutter also had for himself a challenging day, which began with a criteria loss to Perkka. In his second match, Nutter clashed with Scherer and fell by a score of 6-0.
Steldt Speaks
Combat WC founder and respected coach Lucas Steldt provided an overview of the USA performance in Vaasa along with touching on other various points related to the trip as well as the long-term training plan for this group of athletes through the rest of the season.
Steldt on the VVV Cup
“I had reached out to some international friends and the VVV competition in Vaasa, Finland fit our schedule. Overall, we wrestled well. But like all excursions we take outside of the American boarder, we are here for Greco culture. Training and the nuances of our sport that we cannot get in the USA. Every hour that we spend with our foreign counterparts, we move a little forward. For every day, week, and month we invest, we move further and further ahead respectively of the time we spend on task internationally.
“Besides my athletes, Westly Bockert of the Interior Grappling Academy in Alaska sent three of his. They looked like professional Greco athletes. Bockert’s athletes were very impressive. I received compliments from coaches about the Greco we presented on the mat. They were impressed with our guys. That was a nice feeling, to hear that we are making progress with our athletes and our process.
“We were looking for a competition and training opportunity just before Thanksgiving. Typically we go to the Malarcupen (SWE). But this year, we changed our training and competition schedule to match the World Championships as opposed to the American school based schedule. This means that we will be taking our long off-the-mat break from Thanksgiving through Christmas instead of in the summer or late-summer. We want the athletes’ training and competition schedule to peak for the World Team Trials and, more importantly, the Worlds. Then we will take a break and resume training in January.”
Steldt on the long-term part of the plan
“We will spend this next week in Kuortane, Finland training at one of their Olympic Training Centers. When we return home, we will train for one week focused on evaluation and then send the athletes home for the holiday break. Everyone returns after Christmas and we will start to prep for our next international trip, which will be to Sundsvall, Sweden.
“We are here to change our country’s process of Greco-Roman development. That means from the ground up with constant adjustments. This year, we adjusted when we shut our athletes down. To me, this is an overlooked part of the training meso in the USA. We need athletes active into their late 20’s and early 30’s. This is one way that we are trying to preserve our athletes and have them peaked at the right time of year. Our athletes bypass high school and train full-time Greco. We are always looking for athletes who want to chase their passion for Greco and take a chance on themselves.”
2024 VVV Cup
November 9 — Vaasa, FIN
TEAM USA FULL RESULTS
U17
65 kg
Brian Grabner (IGA) — GOLD
WON Melvin Salonen (FIN) 10-0, TF
WON Oliver Anttila (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Oliver Linna (FIN) 9-0, TF
WON Aron Ollila (FIN) 9-0, TF
71 kg
Kodi Hollis (IGA) — 4th
LOSS Leevi Laine (FIN) 13-2, TF
WON Iisakki Yipelkonen (FIN) 3-0
LOSS Matias Onnenlehto (FIN) 8-0, TF
U20
67 kg
Amryn Nutter (Combat WC) — 6th
LOSS Lauri Perkka (FIN) 2-2 (criteria)
LOSS Will Scherer (Combat WC) 6-0
Colton Parduhn (IGA) — GOLD
WON Oskari Pursiainen (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Timo Järvinen (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Lauri Perkka (FIN) 9-0, TF
Will Scherer (Combat WC) — BRONZE
WON Aron Salonen (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Amryn Nutter (Combat WC) 6-0
LOSS Lauri Perkka (FIN) 7-1
WON Timo Järvinen (FIN) 3-1
82 kg
Ashton Miess (Combat WC) — SILVER
WON Casper Martin (FIN) 8-0, TF
LOSS Aidan Squier (Combat WC) 8-0, TF
WON Jusso Takala (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Artturi Kotilainen (FIN) 11-1, TF
Aidan Squier (Combat WC) — GOLD
WON Ashton Nutter (Combat WC) 8-0, TF
WON Casper Martin (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Jusso Takala (FIN) 8-0, TF
WON Artturi Kotilainen (FIN) 8-0, TF
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