Ben Provisor, shown at the 2016 Dave Schultz Memorial, leads the USA into Monday's action at the World Championships in Paris, France. Photo by John Sachs.

VIDEO: Matt Lindland at first weigh in at World Championships

PARIS, France – The first four U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers have weighed in and received their draws for the first day of competition at the World Wrestling Championships, which begin Monday morning at the AccorsHotel Arena, right next to the Seine River in downtown Paris.

None of the U.S. athletes competing on Monday have been in a previous Senior World Championships. However, two-time Olympian Ben Provisor (Stevens Points, Wis. (New York AC), on his first Senior World Team, has two Olympic Games under his belt.

Provisor opens against 2014 World Military champion Oleksandr Shyshman of Ukraine, who was third in the 2014 European Championships at 85 kg/187 lbs.

“The biggest thing Ben is bringing to the mats this year is that he is scoring. He is putting points on the board. He is very capable of scoring. Ben is working his positions and getting to the body. And when he gets to the body, he is taking his opponent off the mat and executing his techniques,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.

Pat Smith, a 2014 University World silver medalist, will open at 71 kg/156 lbs. against Matous Morbitzer of Czech Republic, who has won very few Senior medals, most recently a bronze at the 2014 Zagreb Open in Croatia.

“Pat is a very capable athlete. He is competing in his first World Championships, but comes with vast experience. He spent a semester in Sweden this year. It changed the way he approached the sport. He has a bigger perspective of the world level. He has been overseas quite a bit. He is going to grind his opponents down and wear on them. He will get them tired, and has to score his points. He will win all of the scrambles,” said Lindland.

At 98 kg/215 lbs., 2016 Junior World bronze medalist G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids/New York AC/OTC) enters his first Senior World Championships as a 20 year old. Hancock will battle 2016 World University champion Fatih Baskoy of Turkey in his opening match.

"We have seen him all year have really good success against some of the best Seniors in the world. He has gone up against two Olympic medalists since Rio. He beat one of them and was very close to the other. He had a disappointing Junior Worlds, where he had a bad call. He will come here a little more humble and with a little more fire, feeling like he needs to prove something,” said Lindland.

Should Hancock win his first match, he could draw 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia.

Mason Manville (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), also at age 20, opens with a pigtail match against 2017 Nordic Championships bronze medalist Manfred Edsberg of Sweden. Manville was a past Cadet World freestyle champion and a Youth Olympic Games silver medalist in Greco-Roman.

“Mason is an incredible competitor. He has a world title at the age-group level. Mason finds a way to win. He has a strong mind. He is able to break down his opponents, put a game plan together and mentally, he is able to execute that game plan,” said Lindland.

Lindland feels good about the team going in, but knows it’s the toughest tournament in the world and his athletes will need to perform at their highest level to come home with some hardware.

“I am an optimist and it spreads to the athletes. Everyone feels confident about their chances. It is the toughest event in the world. We are prepared. I am confident in their abilities. If they wrestle up to their abilities, we can do well,” said Lindland.

2017 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Paris, France, August 20, 2017

U.S. Greco-Roman first round draws

71 kg/156 lbs. - Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
Vs. Matous Morbitzer (Czech Republic), 3rd in 2014 Zagreb Open (Croatia), 3rd in 2013 Austrian Junior Open

75 kg/165 lbs. - Mason Manville, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP)
Vs. Manfred Edsberg (Sweden), 3rd in 2017 Nordic Championships, 3rd in 2017 Petrov International (Bulgaria), 2nd in 2014

85 kg/187 lbs. - Ben Provisor, Stevens Points, Wis. (New York AC)
Vs. Oleksander Shyshman (Ukraine), 2014 World Military champion, 3rd in 2014 European Championships, 2nd in 2014 World Military Championships,

98 kg/215.5 lbs. - G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids/New York AC/OTC)
Vs. Fatih Baskoy (Turkey), 2016 World University champion, 3rd in 2013 Junior World Championships, 3rd in 2017 European U23 Championships, 2015 European U23 champion