Photo: Tony Rotundo
The final four men's freestyle weights opened in Astana on Saturday, and Team USA went 10-1 in the morning session. Spencer Lee, Levi Haines and Trent Hidlay are into the World semifinals, and Marcus Blaze battled back to wrestle for bronze.
Spencer Lee, 57kg: Three Techs
Lee has outscored his opponents 34-2. He teched Guatemala's Edwin Segura Guerra 11-0 in 1:32, Iran's Milad Valizadeh 12-2, and Russia's Abubakar Mutaliev 11-0 in the quarterfinals. He meets Azerbaijan's Islam Bazarganov in the semis.
Levi Haines, 79kg: A Statement Quarterfinal
Haines pinned Morocco's Mohammed Bouazouni in 1:30 and teched Poland's Szymon Wojtkowski 10-0, then beat Russia's Ismail Khaniev, a two-time U20 World champion, 8-1 in the quarterfinals. He faces Mongolia's Suldkhuu Olonbayar in the semis, all while Penn State waits on a ruling about whether he gets a fifth year of eligibility.
Trent Hidlay, 92kg: Back in the Semis
The reigning World champion pinned Nauru's Jesaia Uera in 44 seconds and beat Azerbaijan's Ali Tcokaev 5-1 in the quarterfinals. He wrestles Iran's Amirhossein Firouzpour in the semis, two wins from back-to-back titles.
Marcus Blaze, 61kg: Wrestling for Bronze
Blaze was pulled into repechage after Iran's Ahmad Mohammadnezhadjavan reached the final, and he made the most of it with a 9-1 win over India's Nikhil. He faces Kazakhstan's Assyl Aitakyn for bronze.
James Green, 74kg
Green opened with a 5-0 win over Kyrgyzstan's Orozobek Toktomambetov, then was teched 10-0 by Russia's Inalbek Sheriev in the round of 16. He needs Sheriev to reach the final to get back in through repechage.
Roman Bravo-Young Into the Semis for Mexico
Penn State's two-time NCAA champion is wrestling for Mexico at 57kg, and he's into the semifinals. Bravo-Young beat Kazakhstan's Meirambek Kartbay 5-2, teched Mauritius' John Leopold 10-0, then beat Mongolia's Munkh Batkhuyag 4-3 with a late takedown, avenging a loss to him last year. He meets North Korea's Chong Han in the semis. He's on the opposite side of the bracket from Spencer Lee, so the two can only meet in the final.
Saturday's Schedule (ET)
Semifinals
- About 7:30 AM: Levi Haines vs. Suldkhuu Olonbayar (MGL), 79kg
- About 7:39 AM: Spencer Lee vs. Islam Bazarganov (AZE), 57kg
- About 7:39 AM: Roman Bravo-Young (MEX) vs. Chong Han (PRK), 57kg
- About 7:46 AM: Trent Hidlay vs. Amirhossein Firouzpour (IRI), 92kg
Medal Matches
- About 9:00 AM: Marcus Blaze vs. Assyl Aitakyn (KAZ), 61kg bronze
- About 9:07 AM: Wyatt Hendrickson, 125kg bronze
- About 9:17 AM: Zain Retherford, 70kg bronze
- About 9:59 AM: Kyle Dake vs. Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE), 86kg gold
Team USA has eight medals in Astana, four of them gold. Follow every American live on our Team USA Senior Worlds tracker.