The 2016 Junior World Championships will take place in Macon, France starting on Tuesday August 30th. Three Pennsylvania native wrestlers will be competing and PA Power Wrestling’s Jeff Upson and Eric Knopsnyder are making the trip to provide Keystone State wrestling fans with the best coverage they can.

The Tournament will be streamed live on Flo Wrestling and also on UWW. All information including schedules, participants, results, etc. can be found on the UWW Event Page here.

One of the unrelenting stars for Team USA, led by skipper Brandon Slay, will be Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee. ‘The Kid’ is a returning UWW Junior World Champion at 50 kg where he returns to defend his title. It would be Lee’s third overall World Championship as he won the 2015 Gold in Cadets.

There will be two Pennsylvania competitors at 120 kg., one in each style, with Michael Rogers (Wyoming Seminary/N.C. State) competing in Greco-Roman and Jordan Wood (Boyertown Area/Lehigh) in Freestyle. All weight categories are completed start to finish in one day with weigh-ins a day prior.  First up will be Rogers who weighs in on Tuesday August 30th and competes on Wednesday August 31st. Spencer Lee will weigh in on Friday September 2nd and compete on Saturday September 3rd. Jordan Wood weighs in on Saturday September 3rd and competes on Sunday September 4th.

Below is a look at each of the three Pennsylvania wrestlers along with the competition field and a preview of what is to come! Follow all the action from #Macon2016 by tuning in to PA Power Wrestling on our social media [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Twitter – Instagram – Facebook].

 

Spencer Lee

 

Weight:  50 kg / 110.2 lbs.

Style:  Freestyle

Competition Day:  Saturday September 3rd

Age:  17

High School:  Franklin Regional

Club:  Titan Mercury WC

College:  Iowa (Verbal)

Returning 2015 Junior World Champion Spencer Lee last year won his second World Championship with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and made it look easy. ‘The Kid’ was able to dominate the field at 50 kg, despite wrestling up an age division. After his undefeated freshman season at Franklin Regional Spencer won the 2014 Cadet World Championship. In 2015 Lee was left out of the Cadet World Championships when he fell to Daton Fix (Oklahoma) in the Cadet World Team Trials. Instead of dwelling on the defeat he decided to wrestle up in the Junior Division at the age of 16. Considered a breeding ground of future Olympic greatness Spencer is looking to be only the third American wrestler to win two Junior World Championships. Much has changed since 2015 when he went to Salvador, Brazil and tore up the field winning all five matches by tech-fall and never really getting challenged. Now Spencer is a 3x undefeated PIAA State Champion who has verbally committed to compete for the Iowa Hawkeyes following his senior season at Franklin Regional.

The opponent who Spencer defeated in the finals last season will be returning with 2015 Junior World Silver Medalist Alireza Goodarzi of Iran. The Iranian finished in third place at the 2016 Asian Games. Spencer downed Goodarzi in the 2015 Junior World Championships by dominating him in only 0:48 seconds picking up a (10-0) technical-fall with a series of hard leg laces. There will be several other notable participants in Spencer’s bracket with Japan’s 2013 Cadet World Champion Ryo Matsui, 2015 Junior World Bronze Medalist Roman Gutsulyak of Ukraine, and Russia’s stud Viktor Khan who was a 2016 Roman Dmittriev Memorial Champion.

Spencer, who competed at 120 lbs. his junior season, will have a tough cut down to 110 lbs. for the World Championships but is a heavy favorite to defend his Junior World Championship title. View the 50 kg field below.

 

Country – Full Name ​- Credentials

Algeria – Salaheddine KATEB – 2015 Arab Championships Champion
Armenia – Arman ANTONYAN
Azerbaijan – Aliabbas RZAZADE – 2016 European Championships Bronze Medalist
Belarus – Uladzislau KOIKA
Bulgaria – Genadi Iliyanov MARINOV – 2016 Petko Sirakov & Ivan Iliev Fourth Place
Canada – Christian Aaron NORI
Colombia – Oscar Eduardo TIGREROS URBANO
France – Valentin DAMOUR
Georgia – Giorgi GONIASHVILI – 2016 Petko Sirakov & Ivan Iliev Silver Medalist
India – Rahul RAHUL – 2016 Asian Games Silver Medalist
Iran – Alireza Gholamreza GOODARZI ​ – 2015 Junior World Silver Medalist
Japan – Ryo MATSUI ​- 2013 Cadet World Champion
Kazakhstan – Rakhat KALZHAN – 2016 Roman Dmitriev Memorial Silver Medalist
Kyrgyzstan – Tariel KARIMOV
Kosovo – Drilon SYLA – 2016 Petko Sirakov & Ivan Iliev Fifth Place
Mongolia – Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH – ​2014 Cadet World Bronze Medalist
Peru – Samuel Edhinson ALVA PEDRAGAS – 2016 Pan-American Champion
Romania – Razvan Marian KOVACS – 2016 European Championship Silver Medalist
South Africa – Jason Juwayne BEUKES – 2016 African Games Bronze Medalist
Russia – Viktor KHAN – 2016 Roman Dmitriev Memorial Champion
Turkey – Engin CETIN – 2016 Turkey Championship Silver Medalist 
Ukraine – Roman GUTSULYAK ​- 2015 Junior World Bronze Medalist
United States – Spencer Richard LEE ​- 2015 Junior World Champion

 

Jordan Wood

 

Weight:  120 kg / 264.5 lbs.

Style:  Freestyle

Competition Day:  Sunday September 4th

Age:  18

High School:  Boyertown Area

Club:  Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club

College:  Lehigh

It has been two years since Jordan Wood cemented his name on the Cadet World Freestyle books when he won a 2014 World Silver Medal in Sinia, Slovakia. Now a Lehigh freshman, Jordan finished his decorated career at Boyertown Area on the sidelines due to a rib injury. A 3x PIAA State Finalist and 2015 State Champion Jordan will be remembered as one of the greatest heavyweight wrestlers from PA. Despite ending his senior season early and missing a chance for his second straight PIAA State title Jordan Wood returned to the mat in Irving, Texas at the Junior Freestyle World Team Trials. Jordan got through the challenge Tournament and swept the best-of-three finals at 120 kg to earn his first Junior World Team and second career World Team.

With experience on the World stage under his belt, in addition to being healthy, Jordan Wood will be a wrestler Team USA expects to be in the mix for a medal. Much is different from 2014 when he competed at 100 kg in Cadets. Now on the Junior level, and at the highest weight category, Wood will literally have his hands full with talented opponents. This will be a good test for Jordan as he looks to compete at heavyweight for Lehigh in the very near future. Some stiff competition stands in Jordan’s way in Macon, France with multiple wrestlers already owning UWW World hardware. 2015 Cadet World Silver Medalist Khasanboy Rakhimov (Uzbekistan) is making the jump up to Juniors along with 2015 Cadet World Fifth Place finisher Zuriko Urtashvili of Georgia. Poland’s Kamil Kosciolek was a fifth place finisher at the 2015 Junior World Championships falling one win shy of a World Medal.

By far the most anticipated wrestler will be Russia’s Kazbek Khubulov who already has experience on the Senior level. In January 2016 Khubulov competed in the Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia where he finished in fifth place alongside American Bobby Telford. Iran’s Amir Reza Amiri was a 2016 Asian Championship Gold Medalist and will also be in the hunt for a Junior World Medal. Below is a look at the field.

 

Country – Full Name – ​Credentials

Azerbaijan – Alimagomed ALIKHMAEV – 2016 European Championship Bronze Medalist
Belarus – Vitali PIASNIAK
Bulgaria – Ventsislav Nikolov KATSAROV
Canada – Frédérick CHOQUETTE ​ – 2016 Pan-American Championships Gold Medalist
China – Er SONGBU ​
Egypt – Khaled Omr Zaki Mohamed ABDALLA – 2016 African Championships Gold Medalist
Georgia – Zuriko URTASHVILI ​ – 2015 Cadet World Fifth Place
Germany – Marcel BOEHME
Hungary –  Mihaly NAGY ​ – Petko Sirakov – Ivan Iliev Bronze Medalist
Iran – Amir Reza Mohammad Jafar AMIRI ​- 2016 Asian Championships Gold Medalist
Japan – Masahiro MIYAHARA ​
Kazakhstan –  Zhassulan YERMENBET ​- 2016 Asian Championships Fifth Place
Poland – Kamil Tomasz KOSCIOLEK ​- 2015 Junior World Fifth Place
Russia – Kazbek KHUBULOV ​ – 2016 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix Fifth Place
Tajikistan – Suhrob AHMADOV ​
Turkey – Huseyin Mehmet CIVELEK ​- 2016 European Championships Silver Medalist
Ukraine – Viktor MANDRYKA ​
United States – Jordan Michael WOOD – ​2014 Cadet World Silver Medalist
Uzbekistan – Khasanboy RAKHIMOV ​- 2015 Cadet World Silver Medalist 
Venezuela – Braywyls Jose SANZ CHOURIO ​

 

Michael Rogers

 

Weight:  120 kg/ 264.5 lbs.

Style:  Greco-Roman

Competition Day:  Wednesday August 31st

Age:  19

High School:  Wyoming Seminary/Penns Valley

Club:  Bison Legend WC

College:  N.C. State

National Prep Champion Michael Rogers is already moved into his new dorm room at N.C. State where he has some giant shoes to fill at heavyweight with the graduation of 2x NCAA National Champion Nick Gwiazdowski. Rogers himself was a 2x National Prep Champion for Wyoming Seminary where he was considered one of the top heavyweights in the Nation. Rogers, who spent his first two years of high school at Penns Valley in District 6, will be competing in his first UWW World Championship.

Rogers will be competing in Greco-Roman at 120 kg on the same day as his former Sem teammate and future Wolfpack teammate Nick Reenan (Texas/N.C. State). Michael’s Greco-Roman experience dates a long way back but the 2016 Junior Worlds will be the biggest stage of his career thus far. In 2014 Michael really began to emerge on the National Greco-Roman scene. In July 2014 at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. Michael earned All-American honors at 220 lbs. in Greco-Roman where he placed third. During the 2015 ASICS FILA Cadet Nationals in Akron, Ohio Mike competed at 100 kg and finished in third place. Interestingly enough in the ‘true second’ bout Rogers fell to fellow 2016 Junior World Team Member Jordan Wood (Boyertown).

No doubt Michael Rogers will be a darkhorse in the 2016 Junior World Championships in Macon, France with an absolutely loaded field ahead of him. All but one of four 2015 Junior World Medalists will be returning including World Champion Zviadi Pataridze of Georgia. Additionally both 2015 Junior World Bronze Medalists from 120 kg will look to repeat with Armenia’s Edgar Khachatryan and Osman Yildirim of Turkey. Iran’s Amin Mirzazadeh in moving up from Cadets where last year he was a World Silver Medalist. Mike’s success may be contingent on his draw and if he can get some wins under his belt early. He will be the first of the three Pennsylvania wrestlers to compete (Wednesday August 31st). View the 120 kg Greco-Roman field below.

 

Country – Full Name – Credentials

Armenia – Edgar KHACHATRYAN – 2015 Junior World Bronze Medalist
Azerbaijan – Adam JALILOV
Belarus – Pavel RUDAKOU
Bulgaria – Ivo Vasilev KYOSEV
Canada – Nolan TERRANCE
China – Tao ZHANG
Estonia – Artur VITITIN
France – Luc René ZANETTON
Georgia – Zviadi PATARIDZE – 2015 Junior World Gold Medalist
Greece – Konstantinos KYPRAIOS
Hungary – Ferenc ALMASI
India – Sachin SACHIN – 2016 Asian Championships Fifth Place
Iran – Amin Mohammadzaman MIRZAZADEH – 2015 Cadet World Silver Medalist
Japan – Shota ITO
Kazakhstan – Daniyar MARVEN – 2016 Asian Championships Bronze Medalist
Poland – Rafal PLOWIEC
Romania – Lenard Istvan BEREI
Russia – Nikolai IZMAILOV
Turkey – Osman Kenan YILDIRIM – 2015 Junior World Bronze Medalist
Ukraine – Vasyl VELYCHKO
United States – Michael Anthony ROGERS
Uzbekistan – Daler RAKHMATOV

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