MACON, France – The U.S. impressed on the first day of Greco-Roman competition at the 2016 Junior World Championships with Taylor LaMont and G’Angelo Hancock snagging bronze medals for the Red, White and Blue. 

Coming off three-straight Cadet World Championships where he fell short of a medal, LaMont broke through in dramatic fashion by staging a second period comeback against 2015 Cadet World champion Oleksandr Hrushyn of Ukraine. LaMont rallied from a late 3-0 deficit, scoring the match clinching takedown with just under one minute to go. He went on to win by a 5-3 final tally to claim the bronze at 60 kg.

“It’s the fourth time here and I went home empty handed three times I wasn’t going to let it, especially when I was this close again, so I just went out there and took what was mine. I knew that guy was getting tired. I could feel it. I just got the takedown when it counted,” said LaMont.

LaMont finished in fifth place at the Cadet World Championships last year and has claimed four titles at the USAW Cadet and Junior Nationals. He will attend Utah Valley University this fall in his first year of collegiate competition.

Coming off an emotionally taxing semifinal loss, Hancock came back strong in the 96 kg bronze medal bout to defeat Yuta Nara of Japan, 3-0. Hancock led 1-0 after the first period courtesy of a passivity point and iced the match with a second period takedown. 

“It’s a great feeling,” Hancock said moments after grasping the bronze. “I said last year I’m going to put in the hard work, and I did. I feel like I deserve this. I was training with the senior team year round, trying to get as best as I could.”

With this bronze, Hancock caps off a banner year that included third place finished at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and the U.S. Open on top of a silver medal outing at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. 

“This is not my full potential. I had a close match in the semis. It hurts when you know you’re the best and let it go through your fingers, but I have one more year. It’s going to happen,” Hancock added.

The U.S. squad went a combined 9-5 on the day, more than doubling the team’s win total from the 2015 Junior Worlds. 

“We’ve got some really focused, dedicated young men on this team, and they’re exciting. They’re going out there to win, and they showed a ton of heart,” said U.S. coach Matt Lindland.

Winning gold medals on the day were Vladislav Melnikov of Russia at 50 kg, Kaly Sulaimanov of Kyrgyzstan at 60 kg, Tamerlan Shadukayev of Kazakhstan at 74 kg and Giorgi Melia of Georgia at 96 kg.

Wrestling will commence tomorrow in France at 4 a.m. (ET) with the qualification rounds and repechage followed by the medal matches at 12 p.m. (ET).

Flowrestling is providing a live stream of the Junior World Championships at flowrestling.org. Viewers must purchase a FloPro membership to watch the competition live. 

For complete brackets and match-by-match results visit unitedworldwrestling.org.

2016 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Aug. 30 – Sept. 4 in Macon, France

Final Results
50 kg/110 lbs.
Gold – Vladislav Melnikov (Russia)
Silver – Ilkhom Bakhromov (Uzbekistan)
Bronze – Nugzari Tsurtsumia (Georgia)
Bronze – Sergey Simonyan (Armenia)
5th – Mehdi Nejad (Iran)
5th – Adilet Taalaibekov (Kyrgyzstan)
7th – Randon Miranda (United States)
8th – Giovanni Freni (Italy)
9th – Hakan Cankaya (Turkey)
10th – Bauyrzhan Sadvokassov (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Vladislav Melnikov (Russia) tech. fall Ilkhom Bakhromov (Uzbekistan), 11-2
Bronze – Nugzari Tsurtsumia (Georgia) dec. Mehdi Nejad (Iran), 7-2
Bronze – Sergey Simonyan (Armenia) dec. Adilet Taalaibekov (Kyrgyzstan), 2-1

60 kg/132 lbs.
Gold – Kaly Sulaimanov (Kyrgyzstan)
Silver – Etienne Kinsinger (Germany)
Bronze – Taylor LaMont (United States)
Bronze – Seydylla Tazayev (Turkmenistan)
5th – Oleksandr Hrushyn (Ukraine)
5th – Mikayil Rahmanov (Azerbaijan)
7th – Mehmet Ceker (Turkey)
8th – Aidos Sultangali (Kazakhstan)
9th – Levani Kavjaradze (Georgia)
10th – Gevorg Khumaryan (Armenia)

Gold – Kaly Sulaimanov (Kyrgyzstan) dec. Etienne Kinsinger (Germany), 2-1
Bronze – Taylor LaMont (United States) dec. Oleksandr Hrushyn (Ukraine), 5-3
Bronze – Seydylla Tazayev (Turkmenistan) fall Mikayil Rahmanov (Azerbaijan), 0:43

74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Tamerlan Shadukayev (Kazakhstan)
Silver – George Mariea (Romania)
Bronze – Zoltan Levai (Hungary)
Bronze – Akhmed Kaytsukov (Russia)
5th – Abubakr Alimov (Uzbekistan)
5th – Serkan Akkoyun (Turkey)
7th – Paulius Galkinas (Lithuania)
8th – Kamal Bey (United States)
9th – David Berg (Sweden)
10th – Zubair Dibirov (Azerbaijan)

Gold – Tamerlan Shadukayev (Kazakhstan) dec. George Mariea (Romania), 6-1
Bronze – Zoltan Levai (Hungary) dec. Abubakr Alimov (Uzbekistan), 7-1
Bronze – Akhmed Kaytsukov (Russia) dec. Serkan Akkoyun (Turkey), 7-2

96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Gold – Giorgi Melia (Georgia)
Silver – Bopembe Sychev (Belarus)
Bronze – G’Angelo Hancock (United States)
Bronze – Ruslan Bekuzarov (Russia)
5th – Yuta Nara (Japan)
5th – Kevin Baumann (Estonia)
7th – Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Arvi Savolainen (Finland)
9th – Michail Iosifidis (Greece)
10th – Robert Ersek (Hungary)

Gold – Giorgi Melia (Georgia) dec. Bopembe Sychev (Belarus), 4-3
Bronze – G’Angelo Hancock (United States) dec. Yuta Nara (Japan), 3-0
Bronze – Ruslan Bekuzarov (Russia) dec. Kevin Baumann (Estonia), 2-1

U.S. Greco-Roman results
50 kg/110 lbs. – Randon Miranda, Palmdale, Calif. (NMU-OTS), 7th
WIN Hideto Yamaguchi (Japan), 8-0
LOSS Ilkhom Bakhromov (Uzbekistan), 9-0
LOSS Mehdi Nejad (Iran), 8-0

60 kg/132 lbs. – Taylor LaMont, Mapleton, Utah (Champions WC), Bronze
WIN Madalin Bulgar (Romania), 8-4
WIN Ariles Adjaoud (France), 5-3
LOSS Etienne Kinsinger (Germany), 2-1
WIN Oleksandr Hrushyn (Ukraine), 5-3

74 kg/163 lbs. – Kamal Bey, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Front Range WC), 8th
WIN Ze Chen (China), 8-0
WIN Reuven Zimkind (Israel), 9-0
LOSS Zoltan Levai (Hungary), 10-2

96 kg/211.5 lbs. – G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Front Range WC), Bronze
WIN Ravi (India), 6-1
WIN Nizami Shamilov (Azerbaijan), Fall 2:09
LOSS Giorgi Melia (Georgia), 12-8
WIN Yuta Nara (Japan), 3-0