Stillwater NewsPress
BUDAPEST, Hungary —
Oklahoma State redshirt freshman Chris Perry wrestled to the bronze medal Sunday in 84-kilogram division of the FILA Junior Freestyle World Championships.
Perry, the four-time state high school champion for Stillwater, was the only medalist for the United States, which finished sixth in team standings with 26 points. He wrestles at 184 pounds for OSU.
“I thought I wrestled all right,” Perry said in a release. “There is definitely a lot of work I have to improve on. It is a different level here.”
Perry shut out Ville Heino of Finland 2-0, 2-0, then beat Ilya Xamikoyev of Azerbaijan 1-0, 0-2, 3-0 and Grigorios Kriaridis of Greece 2-0, 1-0.
Turkey's Ibrahim Bolukbasi derailed Perry's gold medal hopes in the semifinal round, defeating the former Pioneer 2-0, 1-0. But Perry sealed his bronze by defeating Hungary's Attila Szmik 1-0, 0-1, 1-0.
“I started out pretty hot early, wrestling better,” Perry said. “In the semis, there was a lot to learn with positions. It will be a good learning experience, again. It's not what I wanted, but I finished it well.”
Russia won the team championship with 70 points, followed by Azerbaijan (50), Georgia (49), Turkey (42) and Iran (33).
