Meyer Shapiro’s full-throttle approach took him all the way to the top of the podium Tuesday at the Cadet World Championships, but three other Americans fell one step short on the second day of competition in Budapest. 

Shapiro completed his march through the 65-kilogram bracket by wearing down Giorgi Gogritchiani and pinning the Georgian just before time expired in the gold medal match. Shapiro trailed 4-1 with less than 90 seconds remaining before taking the lead on a pair of takedowns and putting the exclamation point on his title run. 

For the United States, it’s the 19th men’s freestyle gold since United World Wrestling reinstituted the Cadet World Championships in 2011. Shapiro joins the likes of Yianni Diakomihalis, Gable Steveson, Spencer Lee and fellow Maryland native Aaron Brooks. 

"Dude, this is one of the greatest feelings of my life, man," Shapiro said. "That was a crazy match. I was down and slowly came back and ended up icing the match at the end." 

Unfortunately for the Americans, though, the rest of Tuesday’s medal round was colored silver. 

India won a pair of head-to-head battles in the finals. Aman Aman edged Luke Lilledahl 5-2 at 48 kilograms and Sagar Jaglan downed James Rowley 4-0 at 80 kilos. Iran’s Amirreza Fardin Masoumi Valadi posted a 10-0 win against Jimmy Mullen at 110 kg. 

The United States will have one more shot at gold on Wednesday. Bo Bassett rolled through his side of the 45-kilogram bracket with two falls and a 13-2 tech in the semifinals against Umidjon Iskandarov of Uzbekistan. 

Gavin Nelson (92 kg) and Nate Jesuroga (51 kg) will wrestle Wednesday for bronze. 

Below is Kyle Klingman's account of the early rounds Tuesday in Budapest. 

Bo Knows Conditioning

If you know anything about Bo Bassett, you know not to panic if he gets behind. He did just that in first match at the Cadet World Championships. He gave up the first takedown of his match against Malkhazi Khelaia of Georgia but went ahead 4-4 on criteria before the break. Bassett gave up a four-point arm throw at the start of the second to trail 8-4. Then the 14-year-old came storming back, scoring the next 10 points before securing a fall with 43 seconds remaining.

He took it up a notch in the quarterfinals. Bassett was in a back-and-forth match with Yusif Isparov of Azerbaijan before scoring a fall with seven seconds remaining. 

Fall Guy

Levi Haines went down 4-0 on a takedown and turn in his first round match against Asadbek Karimov of Uzbekistan but hit a four-point bomb to lead 4-4 on criteria at the end of the first period. Haines went to work from there, scoring six straight points in the second period before snagging a fall with 1:07 left in the match. 

Comeback Kid

Nate Jesuroga used his relentless pace to win his opening match of the tournament. Jesuroga struck first with a first period takedown but fell behind 2-2 on criteria after giving up a takedown in the second. He came storming back halfway through the second to finally snag a takedown and a 4-2 win. 

Full Nelson

Gavin Nelson made short work of his opening opponent. Nelson hit Khaleifah Mohamed Rashed Hassan Alhefeiti of the United Arab Emirates with a low single then secured a fall a few seconds later. His quarterfinal match was a war of attrition. Nelson scored on an activity clock violation and a step out for a 2-0 win. 

Tuesday Results

Medal Round 

48 kg: Aman Aman (IND) def. Luke Lilledahl, 5-2 

65 kg: Meyer Shapiro pinned Giorgi Gogritchiani, 3:59

80 kg: Sagar Jaglan (IND) def. James Rowley, 4-0 

110 kg: Amirreza Fardin Masoumi Valadi def. Jimmy Mullen, 10-0

Day 2 Performers

45 kg: Bo Bassett

Round of 16: Bassett pinned Malkhazi Khelaia (GEO), 3:16

Quarterfinals: Bassett pinned Yusif Isparov (AZE), 3:53

Semifinals: Bassett def. Umidjon Iskandarov (UZB) 13-2 

51 kg: Nathanael Jesuroga
Round of 16: Jesuroga def. Resul Dogan (TUR), 4-2

Quarterfinals: Nodirbek Jumanazarov (UZB) TF Jesuroga, 10-0

Jesuroga will wrestle in Wednesday’s repechage round. 

60 kg: Beau Mantanona

Round of 32: Abdulrahman Ibrahimov (AZE) def. Mantanona, 6-2

Mantanona was eliminated from the tournament. 

71 kg: Levi Haines

Round of 32: Haines pinned Asadbek Karimov (UZB), 2:52

Round of 16: Cengizhan Ramazan Dogan (TUR) def. Haines, 4-3

Haines was eliminated from the tournament. 

92 kg: Gavin Nelson

Round of 16: Nelson pinned Khaleifah Mohamed Rashed Hassan Alhefeiti (UAE), :23

Quarterfinals: Nelson def. Georgian Florin Tripon (ROU), 2-0

Semifinals: Zhorik Dzhioev (RUS) def. Nelson, 8-0