Team USA Updates From The 2022 Matteo Pellicone
Team USA Updates From The 2022 Matteo Pellicone
A recap of all the results from Team USA at the 2022 Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy.
Team USA closed out their tournament at the Matteo Pellicone with the final 4 women taking the mat. Take a look below at a full recap of how Team USA fared in Rome, Italy.
Grote Wins Gold
Skylar Grote put together four straight wins to take home gold from the Matteo Pellicone. She started off her tournament with an 11-0 win over fellow American Marily Garcia to set-up a match with her second-round opponent - 2018 U23 world silver medalist Alexandra Anghel (ROU). In their match, Grote took control early with two takedowns and an exposure in the first period to hold a 6-1 lead at the break. In the second period, Grote exhibited strong defense and although Anghel scored a takedown at the end of the match, Grote held on to win a controlling 6-3 victory.
Highlights from Grote’s win over Anghel:
After another tech fall win over Aysegul Ozbege (TUR), Grote was set to face off against Germany’s Anna Schell in her final match for gold. Notably, Schell is a two-time world medalist winning bronze at both the 2019 and 2021 world championships. In their match for gold, Grote built a 4-0 lead in the first period on two single-legs in which she had to work through Schell’s strong defense. Grote stayed on her offense in the second period and added another takedown to extend her lead to 6-0. Schell responded with a takedown of her own to close the gap to 6-2 but was unable to get any offense going the remainder of the match leaving Grote the victor and gold medal winner at 72kg.
Highlights from Grote’s win over Schell:
Bruntil With A Strong Showing For Silver
Emma Bruntil was in a deep, 5 wrestler round-robin at 65kg and came out with a silver medal. Bruntil started against the 2022 European Champion, Tetiana Rizhko (UKR). Rizhko proved too much for Bruntil and used a big finish on a single-leg to put Bruntil on her back and get the fall at about 2 minutes into the match. Despite the loss, Bruntil battled back strong by pinning Italy’s Veronica Braschi and fought back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat U23 world silver medalist Ukraine’s Kateryna Zelenykh, 11-8. Bruntil then closed out her tournament with a tight, 2-0 win over Olympian and this year’s European bronze medalist, Kriszta Incze (ROU). Overall, Bruntil performed well in Italy and notably won her fourth medal at an international tournament in 2022 - adding to her medals from the Ivan Yarygin (gold), Dan Kolov (gold), and Yasar Dogu (bronze).
Bruntil’s wild win over Kateryna Zelenykh:
Nette Battles Back For Bronze
After receiving a forfeit in her opening match, Nette had a wild bout with Poland’s Magdalena Glodek in the quarterfinals. In that match, Glodek got out to an early start and held a 5-0 lead at the break. However, Nette responded with a takedown and immediately transitioned into 2 leg laces to take a 6-5 lead with just over a minute remaining in the match. Then, with just over 10 seconds left, Glodek looked to finish a takedown but exposed her shoulders while also putting Nette in danger. The initial call on the mat left Glodek in the lead, but after a challenge, Nette was given 2 points putting her ahead for the 8-7 win.
Nette’s win over Glodek:
Nette stumbled in the semifinals against Grace Bullen giving up 2 takedowns and three gut wrenches to lose by technical superiority, 10-0. That loss dropped Nette to the bronze medal match where she faced Hungary’s Nikolett Szabo. In the bronze medal match, Nette used her two-on-one and high pace to control Szabo for the 13-2 technical superiority win.
Check out the scoring highlights of Nette’s win over Szabo:
Full Team USA Results
In total, Team USA had 15 athletes compete at the Matteo Pellicone and will bring home 5 medals - 2 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronze. Check out the full results for Team USA below along with links to every match.
Women’s Freestyle
57kg: Amanda Martinez - DNP
59kg: Abby Nette - Bronze
- Forfeit win over Kateryna Zhdachevska (ROU)
- 8-7 win over Magdalena Glodek (POL)
- 10-0 loss to Grace Bullen (NOR)
- 13-2 win over Nikolett Szabo (HUN)
65kg: Emma Bruntil - Silver
- Pinned (5-0) by Tetiana Rizhko (UKR)
- Pinned (10-0) Veronica Braschi (ITA)
- 11-8 over Kateryna Zelenykh (UKR)
- 2-0 over Kriszta Incze (ROU)
72kg: Marilyn Garcia - DNP
- 12-1 loss to Alexandra Anghel (ROU)
- 11-0 loss to Skylar Grote (USA)
- 5-0 win over Aysegul Ozbege (TUR)
- Pinned (2-2) by Anna Schell (GER)
72kg: Skylar Grote - Gold
- 11-0 win over Marilyn Garcia (USA)
- 6-3 win over Alexandra Anghel
- 10-0 win over Aysegul Ozbege (TUR)
- 6-2 win over Anna Schell (GER)
76kg: Yelena Makoyed - Gold
- 10-2 win over Martina Kuenz (AUT)
- 8-7 win over Epp Mae (EST)
- Fall (6-0) over Francy Raedelt (GER)
- Fall (10-0) over Catalina Axenta (ROU)
Men’s Greco
55kg: Max Nowry - Bronze
60kg: Ildar Hafizov - DNP
63kg: Jesse Thielke - DNP
67kg: Alejandro Sancho - DNP
87kg: Alan Vera - DNP
72kg: Pat Smith - DNP
- Forfeited to Haavard Joegensen (NOR)
77kg: Kamal Bey - DNP
82kg: Spencer Woods - DNP
130kg: Cohlton Schultz - 5th
Day 2 Updates:
Makoyed Puts Together Incredible Run For Gold
Yelena Makoyed used consecutive wins over world medalists to propel her to gold in Rome! She opened her tournament against 2018 world bronze medalist, Martina Kunez (AUT). From the start of the match, it was all Makoyed as she built a 6-0 lead on 2 takedowns in the first and 1 in the second. Kuenz responded with a step-out and caution +1 for fleeing the mat to close the gap to 6-2 but that was all the offense Kuenz could muster. Makoyed responded emphatically with another takedown to a turn to win 10-2.
Scoring highlight from Makoyed’s win over Kuenz:
Makoyed then faced 2021 world silver medalist Epp Mae (EST) in her second match. Mae got out to a 3-0 lead after an early takedown and step-out. However, Makoyed responded with a takedown and gut wrench to take a 4-3 lead into the break. Immediately after the start of the second period, Mae scored 4 straight to take back the lead with a quick takedown and exposure. Not to be denied, Makoyed struck back with a takedown with less than 40 seconds left to cut the lead to 7-6. Then, with only 2 seconds on the clock, Makoyed finished a takedown to secure the 8-7 victory.
Scoring highlights from Makoyed’s win over Mae Epp:
Makoyed dominated in her next two matches pinning both opponents to reach the finals where she faced 2021 U23 world champ Anastasiya Alpyeyva (UKR) for gold. In that match, Makoyed got to her offense early with three takedowns in the first period to hold a 6-0 lead at the break. She didn’t let up in the second and secured another takedown and transitioned to a turn to close out the 10-0 tech and her outstanding tournament.
Check out scoring highlights of Makoyed’s gold medal match:
Full Results For Team USA
While Makoyed shined, the rest of Team USA struggled on Day 2 of the Matteo Pellicone. Pat Smith, Kamal Bey, Spencer Woods, and Amanda Martinez all went 0-1 and failed to place in Italy. Check out their full results along with everyone from Team USA who wrestled on Day 1:
Women’s Freestyle
57kg: Amanda Martinez
76kg: Yelena Makoyed
- 10-2 win over Martina Kuenz (AUT)
- 8-7 win over Epp Mae (EST)
- Fall (6-0) over Francy Raedelt (GER)
- Fall (10-0) over Catalina Axenta (ROU)
- 10-0 win over Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (UKR)
Men’s Greco
55kg: Max Nowry
60kg: Ildar Hafizov
63kg: Jesse Thielke
67kg: Alejandro Sancho
87kg: Alan Vera
72kg: Pat Smith
- Forfeited to Haavard Joegensen (NOR)
77kg: Kamal Bey
82kg: Spencer Woods
130kg: Cohlton Schultz
Up Next For Team USA
Abby Nette (59kg), Emma Bruntil (65kg), Marilyn Garcia (72kg), and Skylar Grote (72kg) will be the final wrestlers from Team USA to take the mat on Day 3 of the Matteo Pellicone (Friday). Wrestling starts at 4:30 am (EST) with medal matches set to start at 12:00 pm (EST). We’ll be sure to update you on all of the action from Rome as it unfolds!
Check out the full schedule here.
You can find links to brackets here.
Day 1 Updates:
Max Nowry The Lone Medalist On Day 1
Max Nowry had the best performance of any member of the Greco-Roman team on the first day of the Matteo Pellicone. Though there were only 3 wrestlers in the 55 kg bracket, Nowry won his first of two matches against Iran’s Mohammad Hosseinvand in a tight, 5-4 bout. In that match, Nowry was called for passivity first and was forced to go underneath in parterre. Hosseinvand was able to turn Nowry once but Nowry secured a reversal and took advantage on top with two turns to go up 5-3. He held that lead until late in the second period when he went under in parterre again but was able to defend and hold onto the 5-4 victory. Check out the scoring highlights from that match below:
Nowry’s final match of the tournament was against Romania’s Florin Tita, a 2019 European Silver medalist. This match was a low-scoring battle with Tita coming out on top, 2-0. Though Tita defeated Nowry, he had a prior loss to Hosseinvand (11-7) so the final standings came down to a tie-breaker. Nowry scored the lowest amount of classification points and finished with a bronze medal while the wrestler he defeated, Hosseinvand, won gold.
Schultz Falls Just Short For 5th
Cohlton Schultz had a full bracket and drew 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Sabah Shariati in the first round. It proved to be a tough matchup for Schultz with Shariati coming out on top 10-0. Shariati, however, went on to make the finals, pulling Schultz back in the tournament for a chance at a bronze medal. In his repechage match, Schultz faced off against Hungary’s Dariusz Vitek, a 2022 European bronze medalist and 2021 U23 world bronze medalist. Schultz wrestled a phenomenal match and was able to earn an early point for passivity before tacking on a step-out and takedown to build a 4-0 lead. Vitek came back with a takedown of his own with just over a minute remaining in the match but was unable to generate any further offense - leaving Schultz the victor with the 4-2 win and a chance at a bronze medal.
Scoring highlight of Schultz’s win over Vitek:
In the bronze medal match, Schultz wrestled Beka Kandelaki - Azerbaijan’s world team rep at 130 kg for the last 2 years (2019 and 2021) and was a bronze medal winner at the 2020 Individual World Cup. Their match played out similar to Schultz’s repechage bout with Cohlton building the early lead with a takedown in the first. Kandelaki responded with a crucial takedown in the second period and was able to transition immediately into a gut wrench to take a 4-2 lead with two minutes remaining in the bout. Schultz was unable to score the remainder of the match and Kandelaki held on for the 4-2 victory.
Full Results For The Greco Team
Ildar Hafizov (60kg), Jesse Thielke (63kg), Alejandro Sancho (67kg), and Alan Vera (87kg) were all in action on the first day of the Matteo Pellicone but went winless in their matches failing to place. Check out the full match results along with links to matches for every wrestler from Team USA at the Matteo Pellicone.
55kg: Max Nowry
60kg: Ildar Hafizov
63kg: Jesse Thielke
67kg: Alejandro Sancho
87kg: Alan Vera
130kg: Cohlton Schultz
Up Next For Team USA
The first seven weights of Greco-Roman were contested on day 1 of the Matteo Pellicone, leaving the remaining three weights to take place on day 2 - 72kg, 77kg, and 82kg. Pat Smith (72kg), Kamal Bey (77kg), and Spencer Woods (82kg) will finish up Team USA's Greco squad on Thursday. Along with those 3, Team USA has six women’s freestyle wrestlers in Rome - Amanda Martinez (57kg), Abby Nette (59kg), Emma Bruntil (65kg), Marilyn Garcia (72kg), Skylar Grote (72kg), and Yelena Makoyed (76kg). Only Martinez and Makoyed will wrestle tomorrow (Thursday), with the remaining 4 women competing on Friday. Qualification rounds through the semi-finals take place each day from 4:30 am-8:30 am (EST) with medal matches starting at noon (EST).
Check out the full schedule here.
You can find links to brackets here.