Koontz to wrestle for bronze in Greco-Roman at Zagreb Open Ranking Event

ZAGREB, Croatia – On the final day of competition at the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Event, six Greco-Roman athletes wrestled in the morning session, with one advancing to the bronze medal match.

Brady Koontz will wrestle in the bronze medal match at 55 kg. To open his tournament, Koontz pinned three-time age-group World team member Peter Totok of Hungary in the final seconds of the match. In his next two round-robin matches, Koontz fell to Artium Deleanu of Moldova, 6-1, and Elmir Aliyev of Azerbaijan, 5-0.

Later today, Koontz will face Deleanu in the bronze medal match. Deleanu is a 2024 European champion at the Senior level and placed fifth at the 2023 U23 World Championships.

At 60 kg, Max Black fell in his opening match to Alisher Ganiev of Uzbekistan, 9-0. After Ganiev advanced to the finals, Black was pulled into repechage where he faced Individual Neutral Athlete Sadyk Lalaev. Lalaev, a 2024 Senior World bronze medalist, earned a point on a step out to lead 1-0. After Black was called for passivity, Lalaev turned Black three times to end the match early.

Dalton Roberts, also competing at 60 kg, dropped his first match to Individual Neutral Athlete Emin Sefershaev, 11-0. Benji Peak opened his tournament at 72 kg against 2020 Olympic champion and two-time World medalist Mohammadreza Geraei of Iran. Geraei secured the 11-0 victory, but fell in the quarterfinals and ended Peak’s tournament.

Jesse Porter fell in his first match at 82 kg to Individual Neutral Athlete Ilya Bitseyeu, 3-1. Porter was hit for passivity in the first period, awarding Bitseyeu the 1-0 lead. Bitseyeu was then put down in the second period, and ended up on top with a reversal to take a 3-1 lead. In the quarterfinals, Bitseyeu fell to Gurban Gurbanov of Azerbaijan, bringing Porter’s tournament to an end.

In the 130 kg quarterfinals, Denzel Freeman dropped a hard-fought match to Sarkhan Mammadov of Azerbaijan, a three-time age-group World medalist. Freeman was called for passivity and Mammadov turned him once, taking a 3-0 lead. After Mammadov was hit with a passivity call, Freeman was unable to generate enough offense an fell 3-1.

The action continues at noon EST with the Greco-Roman medal matches. For live updates, follow USA Wrestling on X and Threads. The tournament is streaming on FloWrestling, and the full schedule is below.

At Zagreb, Croatia, February 5-9, 2025

U.S. Greco-Roman results

55 kg – Brady Koontz (Dubuque, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC), in bronze medal match

WIN Peter Totok (Hungary), fall 6:00

LOSS Artium Deleanu (Moldova), 6-1

LOSS Elmir Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 5-0

Vs. Artium Deleanu (Moldova)

60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

LOSS Emin Sefershaev (AIN), 11-0

60 kg – Max Black (Castle Rock, Colo./NYAC/NMU National Training Center)

LOSS Alisher Ganiev (Uzbekistan), 9-0

LOSS Sadyk Lalaev (AIN), 8-0

72 kg – Benjamin Peak (Elkhorn, Wis./Combat WC School of Wrestling)

LOSS Mohammadreza Geraei (Iran), 11-0

82 kg – Jesse Porter (Ballston Lake, N.Y./NYAC)

LOSS Ilya Bitseyeu (Individual Neutral Athlete), 3-1

130 kg – Denzel Freeman (Richlands, N.C.)

LOSS Sarkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan), 3-1

Event Schedule

*all times listed local to Zagreb, Croatia, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time

Sunday, February 9

10:00 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

12:30 p.m. – Semifinal Rounds (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

1:30 p.m. – Repechage (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

6:00 p.m. – Finals (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)