Logan Stieber of the USA has his hand raised in victory in the 66 kg bronze-medal bout over Aliaksandr Kontoyeu of Belarus. Photo by Brandon Slay.

MINSK, Belarus – Two Americans won men’s freestyle bronze medals on the first day of the respected Alexander Medved International on Thursday, 2015 World champion Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC) at 97 kg/213 lbs. and Junior World silver medalist Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) at 65 kg/143 lbs.

Snyder, competing in a loaded half-bracket, won the bronze when 2014 World champion and 2015 World silver medalist Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia forfeited the bronze-medal bout to Snyder. It would have been a rematch of the 2015 World Championships finals, won by Snyder, 5-5 by criteria.

Snyder opened with a pair of convincing wins over veteran competitors, stopping Magomed Ibragimov of Uzbekistan, 7-0 and Yuri Belonovski of Russia, 5-1.

Snyder fell in the third round to Olympic champion and five-time World champion Khadjimurad Gatsalov in the quarterfinals, 2-5. Snyder had lost to Gatsalov in a 2014 Beat the Streets Dual meet in New York City, 3-6, when Snyder was still in high school. When Gatsalov defeated Gadisov, Snyder was pulled back into repechage. Snyder won his repechage match by a 7-0 margin over Erik Thiele of Germany.

Stieber defeated Aliaksandr Kontoyeu of Belarus, 8-4 in the bronze-medal round. The match was tied at 4-4 at the break, and Stieber scored a spin behind takedown, then a duck under takedown in the second period to claim the victory.

Stieber had a pair of 10-0 technical falls to start the tournament, beating American B.J. Futrell and Mengy Mortuy-ool of Russia, 10-0. In the quarterfinals, he was defeated in an intense shootout with 2015 World champion Frank Chamizo of Italy, 8-10. He was pulled back into repechage when Chamizo reached the gold-medal finals. Stieber won his repechage with dominance in a 10-0 technical fall over Gamlet Romanov of Russia.

“The first day of Medved 2016 was non stop action with 13 athletes competing today. If Team USA wanted to be challenged by the best wrestlers on the planet, we came to the right place. Logan Steiber lost a close 10-8 match to Chamizo from Italy, and Kyle Snyder lost a 5-3 match to Gatsalov from Russia. Both wrestlers battled back hard for Bronze, and I was proud of their resilient & relentless attitudes. As Kyle says, they were grateful, competed hard, and inspired others, which is all I can ask as a coach,” said U.S. Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay.

One other U.S. wrestler qualified for the repechage rounds, Erkin Tadzhimetov (Orem, Utah/New York AC) at 57 kg/125.5 lbs. Tadzhimetov opened with a victory over Turkey’s Barish Kaya, then was beaten in the next round by Nodar Arabidze of Russia. Tadzhimetov became eligible for the repechage when Arabidze reached the finals. He was beaten in the repechage by Norijon Safarov of Uzbekistan.

“On a side note, BJ Futrell has wrestled four matches on this double tour to Ukraine and Belarus, and all off his matches have been against other Americans, which is not ideal nor the plan. UWW needs to create a separation rule for athletes from the same country. Traveling across the globe to just wrestle other Americans is not good for the sport. It would be simple to separate same country athletes, and I really hope UWW takes note and action,” said Slay.

The U.S. will enter athletes in both men’s and women’s freestyle on Friday. A separate story on pairings will be posted.

“Tomorrow Pico, Dake, Perry, Eric Thompson and Jessica Medina will finish strong. Ultimately, we must work on chain wresting to the leg to get past baseline defense, finishing once we get to the leg without getting chestlocked/exposed - plus we need to have wiser decision making on the edge,” said Slay.

The Belarus Wrestling Federation has been running a single live stream from the event. The finals round is ongoing and can be watched at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B943qpHywCc

Special thanks to Coach Brandon Slay, U.S. athletes Kyle Dake, Adam Hall and others, as well as international wrestling fans who have been reporting on the event through Twitter, Periscope and other social media.

ALEXANDER MEDVED INTERNATIONAL
At Minsk, Belarus

57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Gold – Reza Atri (Iran)
Silver – Nodar Arabidze (Russia)
Bronze – Zelimkhan Abakarov (Russia)
Bronze – Asadullah Lachinov (Belarus)

65 kg/143 lbs.
Gold – Soslan Ramonov (Russia)
Silver – Frank Chamizo (Italy)
Bronze – Logan Stieber (USA)
Bronze – Azamat Nurik (Belarus)

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Hetik Tsabolov (Russia)
Silver – HassanYazdanishariati (Iran)
Bronze – Soner Demirtas (Turkey)
Bronze – Rashid Kurbanov (Uzbekistan)

97 kg/213 lbs.
Gold – Khadjimurad Gatsalov (Russia)
Silver – Ivan Yankovski (Belarus)
Bronze – Kyle Snyder (USA)
Bronze – Elizbar Odikdaze (Georgia)

U.S. men’s freestyle results on Thursday

57 kg/125.5 lbs – Frank Perrelli, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Vadzim Terehov (Belarus)
LOSS Zelimkhan Abakarov (Russia), 2-12

57 kg/125.5 lbs - Erkin Tadzhimetov, Orem, Utah (New York AC)
WIN Barish Kaya (Turkey)
LOSS Nodar Arabidze (Russia)
LOSS Norijon Safarov (Uzbekistan)

57 kg/125.5 lbs – Sam Hazewinkel, Norman, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Ruslan Gasimov (Azerbaijan), 11-9
LOSS Zelimkhan Abakarov (Russia), 1-12

65 kg/143 lbs. – Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC), bronze medal
WIN B.J. Futrell (USA), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Mengy Mortuy-ool (Russia), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Frank Chamizo (Italy), 8-10
WIN Gamlet Romanov (Russia), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Aliaksandr Kontoyeu (Belarus), 8-4

65 kg/143 lbs. – Kellen Russell, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/CKWC)
LOSS Magomed Muslimov (Azerbaijan), 2-12

65 kg/143 lbs. – B.J. Futrell, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Titan Mercury WC/Cliff Keen WC)
LOSS Logan Stieber (USA), 0-10

65 kg/143 lbs – Frank Molinaro, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC)
LOSS Meirzhan Ashrov (Kazakhstan), 2-12

74 kg/163 lbs. – Adam Hall, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Artiom Umarov (Russia), pin
LOSS Soner Demirtash (Turkey), 0-6

74 kg/163 lbs. – Chris Perry, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Ali Reza Ghasemi (Iran), 4-4
LOSS Arsaran Budazhanov (Russia), 3-6

97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC), bronze medal
WIN Magomed Ibragimov (Uzbekistan), 7-0
WIN Yuri Belonovski (Russia), 5-1
LOSS Khadjimurad Gatsalov (Russia), 2-5
WIN Erik Thiele (Germany), 7-0
WIN Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia), forfeit

97 kg/213 lbs. – Dustin Kilgore, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Monkhzhargal Belguday (Mongolia), 10-0
LOSS Alibek Shadou (Belarus), 8-15

97 kg/213 lbs. – Kyven Gadson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
LOSS Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia), 2-7

97 kg/213 lbs. - Enock Francois, Ithaca, N.Y. (New York AC)
LOSS Alibek Shadau (Belarus), 4-7