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Updated: EAP athletes Moran, Saunders, Elam plus U15 World champ Valencia win golds at Flatz Open in Austria

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by USA Wrestling

Flatz Open champions from the USA: Aden Valencia, Jacob Moran, Rocky Elam, Josh Saunders. Photo courtesy of Kevin Jackson.


WOLFURT, Austria – Four U.S. wrestlers entered the men’s freestyle competition at the Flatz Open this weekend. Four U.S. wrestlers won gold medals.


Three talented athletes from the Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center won titles at the UWW Junior division of the tournament: Jacob Moran (Portage, Ind./EAP) at 57 kg, Josh Saunders (St. Louis, Mo./Titan Mercury WC/EAP) at 65 kg and Rocky Elam (Kansas City, Mo./EAP) at 86 kg.


All three have committed to NCAA Div. I colleges, Moran (Indiana), Saunders (Cornell), Elam (Missouri).


Moran went 3-1 in a four-athlete round robin, winning all three matches by technical fall, giving him the edge in the final standings.


Saunders went 5-0, with three technical falls and a pin. He defeated Ayoub Musaev of Belgium in the finals with a 10-0 technical fall. Saunders won his pool with a 3-0 record, including a pin of Musaev. In the semifinals, he beat David Brenn of Germany in a 10-0 technical fall.


Elam went 3-0, including a pair of technical falls. He stopped Joel Hencz of Hungary in a 10-0 technical fall in the gold-medal match.


2019 U15 World champion Aden Valencia (Morgan Hill, Calif.) won his gold medal at 50 kg in the UWW Cadet division.


Valencia won U15 World titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Likewise, he won USA Wrestling’s U15 National Championships in both styles.


Valencia went 2-0 in a three-athlete round robin, scoring a pair of technical falls in beating Jannis Rebholz of Germany, 13-2 and Bradley Metcalfe of Great Britain, 10-0.


National Freestyle Developmental Coach and 1992 Olympic champion Kevin Jackson served as coach, as did Joel Valencia.

FLATZ OPEN

At Wolfurt, Austria,



UWW Junior men’s freestyle medalists



57 kg,

Gold - Jacob Moran USA

Silver - Khamzat Arsanerzoev France

Bronze - Adam Biboulatov France


61 kg

Gold - Djabrail Tsikiev France

Silver - Marcell Budai Kovacz Hungary

Bronze - Tourpal Mukhtarov France

Bronze - Mike Sell Germany


65 kg,

Gold - Josh Saunders USA

Silver - Ayoub Musaev Belgium

Bronze - David Brenn Germany


70 kg,

Gold - Raul Zarbaliev Israel

Silver - Joshua Knosp Germany

Bronze - Maximilian Buch Germany

Bronze - Arpad Kovacs Hungary


74 kg

Gold - Sofiane Padiou Belmir France

Silver - Lucas Kahnt Germany

Bronze - Peter Nagy Hungary


79 kg

Gold - Daniel Veszeli Hungary

Silver - Maximilian Kaspirovich Israel

Bronze - Laurin Hartmann Austria


86 kg

Gold - Rocky Elam USA

Silver - Joel Hencz Hungary

Bronze – Shay Shotashvili Israel

Bronze - Vojta Piskor Czechia


92 kg

Gold - Richard Vegh Hungary

Silver - Eemeli Ruusila Finland

Bronze - Cihan Besli Germany


97 kg

Gold - Milan Korcsog Hungary

Silver - Ben Pollin Great Britain

Bronze - Julian Neumaier Austria


125 kg,

Gold - Timon Haslwanter Austria

Silver - Zoltan Deak Hungary

U.S. Junior men’s freestyle results


57 kg – Jacob Moran, Portage, Ind. (EAP), gold medal

LOSS Adam Biboulatov (France), 8-3

WIN Malachy O’Rourke (Great Britain), tech. fall 10-0, 4:44

WIN Thomas Epp (Switzerland), tech. fall 10-0 1:52

WiN Khamzat Arsarmerzouev (France), tech. fall 11-0 5:17


65 kg – Josh Saunders, St. Louis, Mo. (Titan Mercury WC/EAP), gold medal

WIN Ayoub Musaev (Belgium), pin 5:23

WIN Dominik Laritz (Switzerland), 11-8

WIN Sada Maithem Abd Ali (Switzerland), tech. fall 10-0, 0:34

WIN David Brenn (Germany), tech. fall 10-0, 1:39

WIN Ayoub Musaev (Belgium), tech. fall 10-0 1:29


86 kg – Rocky Elam, Kansas City, Mo. (EAP), gold medal

WIN Jonas Van Caeneghem (Belgium), tech. fall 10-0, 0:54

WIN Vojta Piskor (Czechia), 12-4

WIN Joel Hencz (Hungary), tech. fall 10-0, 3:46

UWW Junior Team Standings

1 Team Hungary 80

2 Team France 51

3 Team Austria 46

4 Team Israel 35

5 Team Finland 32

6 Team USA 30

7 Team Great Britain 26

8 Ringer Verband Sachsen e.V. 25

9 tie Swiss Wrestling 22

9 tie Hessischer Ringerverband e.V. 22

UWW Cadet medalists


45 kg

Gold - Aden Valencia USA

Silver - Jannis Rebholz Germany

Bronze - Bradley Metcalfe Great Britain


48 kg

Gold - Mate Gyurasits Hungary

Silver – Jan Madejzyk Germany


51 kg,

Gold - Mukhammad Inshapiev Austria

Silver - Zoltan Mizsei Hungary

Bronze - Melvin Feyer Switzerland

Bronze - Ahmed Tutaev Sweden


55 kg

Gold - Jules Gardette France

Silver - Jakob Saurwein Austria

Bronze - Alex Gombos Hungary

Bronze - Ronan Feyer Switzerland


60 kg,

Gold - Benedek Kiss Hungary

Silver - Rafael Kinsfater Germany

Bronze - Alexander Seiwald Austria


65 kg

Gold - Vilmos Rein Hungary

Silver - Felipe Ferrusola Spain

Bronze - Lukas Lins Austria

Bronze - Karl Winroth Sweden


71 kg

Gold - Balint Balasz Hungary

Silver - Moritz Singer Germany

Bronze - Kimi Kappeli Switzerland

Bronze - Noah Schwaller Switzerland


80 kg

Gold - Rakhim Magamadov France

Silver - Marton Rizmajer Hungary

Bronze - Opiela Nori Germany


92 kgr

Gold - Krisztian Angyal Hungary

Silver Milan Gallen Hungary

Bronze - Maximilian Borodulin Israel


110 kg

Gold - Aleksandr Voronezh Grishin Russia

U.S. Cadet men’s freestyle performance


50 kg – Aden Valencia, Morgan Hill, Calif., gold medal

WIN Jannis Rebholz (Germany), tech. fall 13-2, 3:12

WIN Bradley Metcalfe (Great Britain), tech. fall 10-0, 1:15

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