Jones, Woods to compete for Team USA in Greco-Roman at World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Sammy Jones (left) and Spencer Woods (right)
USA Wrestling has announced two changes to its lineup for the 2022 Senior World Wrestling Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia, which begins on Saturday, September 10.
Sammy Jones (Rockford, Mich./New York AC) will compete at 63 kg, while Spencer Woods (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) will wrestle at 82 kg.
Jones replaces Jesse Thielke (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), while Woods replaces Ben Provisor (Des Moines, Iowa/New York AC).
Both Jones and Woods placed second in Final X in June and are ranked No. 2 on the Greco-Roman National Team.
Jones will be competing in his second Senior World Championships, after placing 17th at the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Norway. Jones was a bronze medalist at the 2014 University World Championships. He won the 2022 Pan American Championships gold medal and added a bronze medal at the 2016 Pan American Championships.
Jones is originally from Folsom, Louisiana, and attended Northern Michigan University, where he was a member of the Northern Michigan University – National Training Site team.
Jones’ weight class will be held in Belgrade on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12.
Woods is competing at this first Senior World Championships. He placed 19th at the 2021 U23 World Championships.
Woods is originally from Shungnak, Alaska. He attended the University of Maryland, then attended Northern Michigan University, where he was a member of the Northern Michigan University – National Training Site team. He joined the U.S. Army and is currently a member of its World Class Athlete Program.
Woods’ weight class will be held in Belgrade on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12.
U.S. Greco-Roman World Team lineup
55 kg – Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)
60 kg – Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)
63 kg – Sammy Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)
67 kg – Alejandro Sancho (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)
72 kg – Benji Peak (Marquette, Mich./Sunkist Kids)
77 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)
82 kg – Spencer Woods (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)
87 kg – Alan Vera (Jersey City, N.J./NYC RTC/New York AC)
97 kg – Braxton Amos (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Wisconsin RTC/Sunkist Kids)
130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids)