Macchiavello, Snyder, Golston to go for bronze at Muhamet Malo Ranking Event in Albania

TIRANA, Albania – Three U.S. wrestlers have qualified for bronze-medal matches at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Event after the first session on Thursday.

U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers who have qualified for bronze-medal bouts are Kyle Snyder (97 kg) and Michael Macchiavello (92 kg).

The only U.S. women’s freestyle wrestler competing on Thursday will also be competing in a bronze-medal match, Erin Golston at 50 kg.

Snyder was edged in the semifinals by criteria, 5-5, against Arash Yoshida of Japan. Snyder was in control of most of the match. He led 4-1 at the break and added a step out for a 5-1 lead in the second period. In an exchange late in the bout, Yoshida scored a takedown and turned Snyder, with the score 7-5 for Yoshida. The USA won the challenge, with the bout rescored 5-5, with Yoshida having criteria. Snyder was unable to score in the closing seconds, giving the criteria win to Yoshida.

In his opening match, Snyder won a hard-fought 3-2 match against 2021 World bronze medalist and 2019 U23 World champion Mojtaba Goleij of Iran, 3-2. Goleij lead 2-0 early in the second period, after getting a first-period shot clock point and a step out in the second period. Snyder hit a powerful double leg takedown to tie it at 2-2 and hold criteria. In the final seconds, a Goleij shot was countered by Snyder and went out of bounds for no score. Iran challenged, and it was denied, the final point of an intense battle.

In the quarterfinals, Snyder scored the only takedown on the way to a 3-0 shutout win over Aliaksandr Hushtyn of UWW.

Snyder will face Dato Piruzashvili of Georgia in the bronze-medal match later today.

Snyder flew directly from Astana, Kazakhstan to Tirana, where he won two matches in the Professional Wrestling League PWL 8 card on Tuesday.

Macchiavello was defeated in his semifinals match by 2019 U20 World champion Alan Bagaev of UWW, 8-0. Bagaev hit an arm throw for four points and added two turns for an 8-0 lead early, then went into defensive mode the rest of the match.

Macchiavello opened up with a dominant 10-0 technical fall over Nurdaulet Bekenov of Kazakhstan. After leading 4-0 at the break on two takedowns, Macchiavello added two takedowns and a gut wrench in the second period for the win. Macchiavello was equally impressive in the quarterfinals, an 11-0 technical fall over Narenmandhuhai Narenmandhuhai of China. Leading 5-0 at the break, Macchiavello poured on the offense in the second to close out the win.

Macchiavello will battle Ahmed Bataev of Bulgaria in his bronze-medal bout.

Golston was defeated in the semifinals by 2018 World bronze medalist Oksana Livach of Ukraine, 7-0. Livach scored two takedowns in the first period and a step out lead 5-0, then added a second-period takedown.

Golston has drawn Meidoulaji Meidoulaji of China in her bronze-medal match.

Evan Wick will place fifth at 79 kg, after reaching the semifinals but having to scratch with an injury default. Wick scored an 8-0 shutout over Ryunosuke Kamiya of Japan in the opening round, getting three takedowns and two step outs. He was also in command in his second round match, a 7-0 shut out over Nan Cao of China.

In the semifinal round, Wick did not compete, with Gadzhimurad Alikmaev of UWW winning the match by injury default. Wick will also not compete in the bronze-medal round, which puts him in fifth place.

At 125 kg in men’s freestyle, Demetrius Thomas qualified for the repechage rounds, where he was defeated by Kamil Kosciolek of Poland, 10-0. Thomas opened with a 16-4 loss to Zelimkhan Khizriev of UWW, who reached the finals, pulling Thomas back.

Two other U.S. wrestlers lost bouts and were not eligible for repechage, David McFadden at 79 kg and Jordan Wood at 125 kg.

McFadden was dominant in his 11-0 technical fall over Petar Petkov of Bulgaria in his first match, but fell in his second match to Khidir Kurban Saipudinov of Bahrain, 11-5. Wood was edged by Shamil Magomed Sharipov of Bahrain, 4-2.

The finals will be held at 6:00 p.m. local time, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone (finals at 12:00 noon ET).

The event is being broadcast live on FloWrestling. https://flosports.link/4iCPX0o

Brackets are posted on UWW Arena https://arena.uww.org/sport-event/show/1efe2b4f-9e4e-6292-b4ed-318d9cdc9726

MUHAMET MALO RANKING SERIES EVENT

At Tirana, Albania, February 26-March 2

Men’s freestyle finals pairings

79 kg - Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev (UWW) vs. Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (Georgia)

92 kg – Khamran Ghasempour (Iran) vs. Alan Bagaev (UWW)

97 kg - Arash Yoshida (Japan) vs. Erfan Ali Alizadeh Malafeh (Iran)

125 kg – Amir Zare (Iran) vs. Zelimkhan Khizriev (UWW)

U.S. Men’s Freestyle results

79 kg: David McFadden, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan RTC), eliminated

WIN Petar Petkov (Bulgaria), tech fall, 11-0

LOSS Khidir Kurban Saipudinov (Bahrain), 11-5

79 kg: Evan Wick, San Gabriel, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC/SoCal RTC), 5^th place

WIN Ryunosuke Kamiya (Japan), 8-0

WIN Nan Cao (China), 7-0

LOSS Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev (UWW), inj. dft.

Will not compete in bronze-medal match against Ahmad Magomedov (North Macedonia)

92 kg: Michael Macchiavello, Northampton, Pa. (Titan Mercury WC/Lehigh Valley WC), bronze-medal bout

WIN Nurdaulet Bekenov (Kazakhstan), tech fall 10-0

WIN Narenmandhuhai Narenmandhuhai (China), tech fall 11-0

LOSS Alan Bagaev (UWW), 8-0

Bronze medal bout – Ahmed Bataev (Bulgaria)

97 kg: Kyle Snyder, State College, Pa. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC), bronze-medal bout

WIN Mojtaba Goleij (Iran), 3-2

WIN Aliaksandr Hushtyn (UWW), 3-0

LOSS Arash Yoshida (Japan), 5-5

Bronze-medal bout –Dato Piruzashvili (Georgia)

125 kg: Jordan Wood, Gilbertsville, Pa. (NYAC/Lehigh Valley WC), eliminated

LOSS Shamil Magomed Sharipov (Bahrain), 4-2

125 kg: Demetrius Thomas, Providence, R.I. (NYAC), eliminated

LOSS Zelimkhan Khizriev (UWW), tech fall 16-4

LOSS Kamil Kosciolek of Poland, tech fall, 10-0

Women’s freestyle finals pairings

50 kg – Umi Ito (Japan) vs. Oksana Livach (Ukraine)

55 kg – Haruna Okuno (Japan) vs. Olga Khoroshavtseva (UWW)

U.S. Women’s Freestyle results

50 kg: Erin Golston, Denton, Texas (NYAC), bronze-medal match

WIN Svetlana Ankicheva (Kazakhstan), 4-1

LOSS Oksana Livach (Ukraine), 5-0

Bronze bout – Meidoulaji Meidoulaji (China)