Coon earns bronze at Greco-Roman Junior World Championships

Michigan Grappler

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UM FRESHMAN SET FOR QUICK TURNAROUND TO FREESTYLE

Photo Credit: T.R. Foley

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Sophomore Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville HS) of the University of Michigan wrestling team posted a 4-1 record, including three falls, en route to a 120kg/264-pound Greco-Roman bronze medal at the FILA Junior World Championships on Wednesday (Aug. 6) at the Dom Sportova Sport Hall.

Coon pinned Japan's Arata Sonoda in his medal match, countering a throw attempt to catch Sonoda in a seat-beat scramble before throwing in a half and turning him over at the 0:45 mark. It was Coon's second world medal, adding to his 2011 FILA Cadet World Freestyle gold; he competed in the 2011 Cadet World Greco competition.

"It has been a pretty good day," said Coon. "I had some ups and downs with it. I got caught in a few positions I didn't like, and got beat up by the Russian in the semifinals. It is just the mentality that you never give up. Until that final whistle, you don't give up. That was my mentality for each match. In my final match here, I went out the best as I could. I got into a position where I thought I could get the fall, so I worked extremely hard to get that fall."

Coon also pinned in the first round and quarterfinals, using a late hip toss to complete a dominant effort against Hungary's Adam Mertse in the latter match. Coon was up five points at the time of the fall after scoring on a quick pushout and two takedowns. He rallied to defeat Korea's Seungchan Lee, 8-5, in the second round, fighting off his back for nearly a minute after an early Lee four-point throw to storm back with a pair of four-point throws of his own. Down a point midway through the second period, he scored on a bodylock trip on the edge to ice the comeback win.

His lone blemish of the tournament came in the semifinal round, where he dropped a quick 8-0 technical fall to two-time FILA Junior World champion Sergey Semenov of Russia. Semenov, who earned a 3-1 decision in the championship match, jumped on Coon immediately, hitting an early four-point and adding a pair of gut wrenches to end the bout just 29 seconds in.

Coon gave Team USA its only medal of the Greco-Roman competition. He will return for freestyle action on Sunday (Aug. 10). He is one of only two athletes in the entire FILA Junior World tournament competing in both styles.

Complete Results
First Round - pinned Stepan David (Czech Republic), 0:45
Second Round - dec. Seungchan Lee (Korea), 8-05
Quarterfinals - pinned Adam Mertse (Hungary), 5:10
Semifinals - tech. fall by Sergey Semenov (Russia), 8-0
Bronze Match - pinned Arata Sonoda (Japan), 0:45
Finished in third place with 4-1 record

Contact: Leah Howard