[2/23/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (final update)
In a message dated 2/23/2010 10:16am EST, Jason Kutz writes:
Well the trip is over and this shall serve as the last update from The USA Trip to Turkey/Ukraine. Keith Gavin and myself made it back to the Valley last night after arriving in Newark, NJ around 8pm. We woke up at 2am (9pm 2/21 here) and managed the 23 hour ordeal with only a bit of incident. We had to face a Lufthansa pilot strike which cancelled over 800 flights yesterday, yet somehow we weaseled our way onto a flight into Chicago from Frankfurt. Our bags however did not make the trip and that is still up in the air. But after traveling for weeks on end your bags and personal possession become ever less important and we are just glad to speak english again. Even though Lufthansa went on strike they still rank as one of my favorite airlines as they handled the situation with relative politeness and spoke excellent english. It would have been much more difficult to arrange to get outta country using modified sign language! Anyway we are back and still off schedule....but we are back. In other LVAC news Corey Jantzen will attend the World Cup competition in Mahachkala, Russia the first part of March and then hit the Alexander Medved Tournament in Belarus March 12-14. He will endure much travel but will gain a great amount of experience. There are also several dual meets with other countries in around the same time as the World Cup. LVAC wrestler Mike Poeta will also complete the same tour. Mike was supposed to wrestle Travis Paulson (Sunkist) in a one match wrestle off to determine the actual World Cup spot, but all signs are now pointing that the match will not happen, and Mike will retain the World Cup position. Congratulations to Mike Poeta. In conclusion the trip was great and many contacts were made that will enable the club to continue to grow on the national and international levels. I am planning on the next LVAC training camp a week after the NCAA's for our senior level guys. I expect a great turnout based on feedback from America's international competitors I have recently been in contact with. Later on.
-Jason
[2/20/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (7th update)
In a message dated 2/20/2010 3:35pm EST, Jason Kutz writes:
Keith [Gavin] went 3-2 on the day to place fifth at the Kiev International. Out of 28 wrestlers, Gavin began the day by defeating Egor Synytsyn 4-1,4-0 and then followed that with a 1-0, 2-0 decision over fellow American Bryce Hasseman. Hasseman made the descent from 96 kg since last week's competition in Instanbul. In the quarter finals he dropped a decision to eventual silver medalist Viktor Mukha of host Ukraine 0-1, 6-2, 0-1. Keith lost both periods in the clinch where he "naturally" did not win the ball grab. In the final seconds of the 3rd period Gavin whizzered the guy out of bounds to gain a point. The call was challenged by UKR and they won with no points being awarded. This is a total "homer" call as the 2 wrestlers clearly went out of bounds from a neutral position so somebody had to have scored. These are the calls that Americans will not get, especially when wrestling an opponent from the host country. Keith then dominated his first repechage match against Aslan Yunaev from Russia 2-0, 5-1. For the bronze medal he lost a tight decision to Soslan Gatsuev from Belarus 2-1, 2-0. Overall he wrestled very well and gained some definitive ground in his areas that need improvement. There is also a looming Lufthansa pilot strike that we may have to deal with on our return trip Monday morning (the first day of the supposed strike). Time will tell though and we are just looking to make it back there safely. The final day of competition concludes tomorrow with Americans Coleman Scott and Drew Headlee taking the mat at 60kg, and Andy Hrovat at 96kg. Until then take care and see you soon.
-Kutzy
[2/16/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (6th update)
In a message dated 2/16/2010 1:58pm EST, Jason Kutz writes:
Well made it here to Kiev on Monday morning and got a good workout and sauna in. Today got a couple of workouts in and made it into town to grocery store to get some water for the team. Getting there involved waiting for a taxi for 90 minutes and then telling him where we needed to go (once again in our sweet foreign-english accents).
We are staying at the Ukrainian Olympic Center, which has undergone considerable upgrades since my last visit here 7 years ago. All the lighting works, we have heat, and even hot water. Asking for anything more than that you would be selfish so needless to say I am satisfied. We have figured out that there is a weak internet connection in an adjacent building so I am sitting (half in the dark) in a stairwell to get this out. There is a lot of snow about the area and haven't seen the sun very much so pretty much what I expected. Other than that the food is pretty decent and involves a lot of fish, caviar, chicken, rice, and soup. I find it much better now that I no longer have to cut weight so I do have that going for me....which is nice.
First group weighs in in two days and the last group the day after. Return to the States on Monday. All for now in case this will not send and I spend a lot of time typing for nothing (which I guess wouldn't be all bad considering my alternative options, haha). Until then.....
-Jason
[2/14/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (5th update)
In a message dated 2/14/2010 1:58 pm EST, jmk504@Lehigh.EDU writes:
OK, the tournament is over and we are just getting packed up to head to Kiev in the morning. Team competed ok, but didn't get near the results we wanted.
Corey Jantzen lost his first match to Emin Azizov from Azerbaijan 0-3, 1-6. Azizov then made the finals and Corey was brought back into the repechage facing Yakup Gor from Turkey. He threw the guy in the first 30 seconds and nearly had the fall. Second period he got taken down quickly and then partially stepped over a gut wrench outta bounds. Considered throwing the challenge but didn't want to lose it and have Corey down 2-0 (especially since we are in Turkey and getting that call would have been difficult). Third period Corey went back to the upper body attack and came out on the short side, giving up three. Gor won his next match and ended up 5th in the tournament.
Rained every day here and didn't see the sun except for a quick 10 minutes. Hopefully Ukraine will treat us much better. This may be the last update for a bit, as I believe where we are staying the Internet is sparce. Apparently the World Wide Web hasn't quite hit the entire World yet! We will see.
-Kutz
[2/13/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (4th update)
In a message dated 2/13/2010 2:24pm EST, jmk504@lehigh.edu writes:
Sigman places fifth in final session of the day, after dropping a decision to Kazakstan in the bronze medal match. After the session we treated ourselves to an authentic turkish meal at a local restaurant. Very good and very cheap. The meal occurred after several near misses from the small cars zinging around the narrow roads. I think if Americans drove like they do over here there would be accident after accident. It's like a constant game of chicken. Anyway last day of the tournament tomorrow. Out.
-Kutz
[2/13/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (3rd update)
In a message dated 2/13/2010 7:00 AM EST, jmk504@Lehigh.EDU writes:
After the first session of day 2, we only have one wrestler left (who’s begun to wrestle) and that’s Les Sigman, who was brought into the repechage (later today at 4:30pm) when the Iranian made the finals. Corey Jantzen and Bryce Hasseman weigh in at that time as well and compete tomorrow.
The field has been competitive with numerous world level medals scattered through the weights. I have seen too many matches come down to the ball draw at the end of periods. Most of the time, the guy who is offensive usually ends up the victor. This concept should be nothing new and I think our team could do a better job at securing points rather than letting the period be decided by a 50/50 chance. One can further speculate that if we are wrestling a Turk (or friend of the Turks) we "suspiciously" don't win the toss. Not saying it's rigged....just 'statistically off center'. At any rate we move on and hope that Sigman can bring home a medal. More later,
-JK
[2/12/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip (2nd update)
In a message dated 2/12/2010 2:47 pm EST, jmk504@Lehigh.EDU writes:
Well, the first day of competition is complete and the day wasn't so hot for us. Danny Felix went 1-1 and Obe Blanc went 0-2. Blanc lost his first round match to the eventual champ Mahmoud Magomed from Azerbaijan 1-3, 1-7. After Magomed reached the finals, Obe was pulled back into the repechage and was defeated by Rasul Mashezov 0-1, 1-5.
Felix started off well by beating Dianna Salvatore 6-0,2-0, and then lost a three period "clincher" 1-0, 0-1, 0-1 to T. Damdinbazar from Mongolia. Danny lost all three ‘ball pulls’ (that really doesn't sound right, but I can't figure out what else to call it), yet still managed to win a period. Today, four other Americans stepped on the scale without too much issue. At 60kg we have Coleman Scott and Drew Headlee, 84kg Keith Gavin, and 120kg Les Sigmon. Action starts at 9am tomorrow, 2am EST. All for now. Wore out.
-Kutz
[2/11/10] Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus Trip
Lehigh Valley Athletic Club Head Coach, Jason Kutz, is not only honored to be selected by USA Wrestling as co-coach of a 3-country international Winter Tour team, he’ll have the pleasure of coaching two of his LVAC athletes on the trip. The first leg is at the:
YASAR DOGU INTERNATIONAL
at Istanbul, Turkey, February 12-14
55 kg/121 lb – Danny Felix, Morgantown, WV (Sunkist Kids)
55 kg/121 lb – Obe Blanc, Naples, FL (Gator WC)
60 kg/132 lb – Coleman Scott, Stillwater, OK (Gator WC)
60 kg/132 lb – Drew Headlee, Morgantown, WV (Sunkist Kids)
66 kg/145.5 lb - Corey Jantzen, Shoreham, NY (Lehigh Valley AC)
84 kg/185 lb – Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh, PA (Lehigh Valley AC)
96 kg/211.5 lb – Bryce Hassemen, Colorado Springs, CO (New York AC)
96 kg/211.5 lb – J.D. Bergman, Columbus, OH (New York AC)
120 kg/264.5 lb - Les Sigman, State College, PA (Nittany Lion WC)
Coaches – Bill Zadick, Colorado Springs, CO; Jason Kutz, Bethlehem, PA
Official – Michael Jordan, Newark, Del.
NEW BLOG ON SITE: In honor of the experience and competition, we’ve asked Coach Kutz (a retired Sargeant in the U.S. Army) to provide us with periodic reports in informal blog-type feedback from overseas. First up:
In a message dated 2/10/2010 9:00 a.m. EST, jmk504@Lehigh.EDU wrote:
“We just got checked into our hotel and I’ll attempt an update, in spite of the tiredness. We have with us the following: Felix, Headlee, Jantzen, Gavin, Hasseman and Sigmon. Blanc and Scott aren't officially here yet, as they had some troubles getting outta’ the States (had to fly to LA then to Germany, which had to have not been fun). Everybody is currently trying to stay awake long enough to make it to the night, so we can attempt to "get on schedule."
“What makes it harder is that 55kg and 74kg (we don’t have one of those) have to weigh in tomorrow. So the brief schedule is 55 and 74 weigh in tomorrow and compete Thurs, 60; 84 and 120 weigh in Thurs wrestle Fri. Then 66 and 96 weigh in Friday and wrestle Sat. We are 7 hours ahead of you guys. I will attempt to send updates every so often for some sort of 'blog' to put on the website. I do have decent Internet access here so the updates shouldn't be that hard for me to do. Until then, Kutzy”
In a message dated 2/11/2010 8:28 a.m. EST, Jason checked back in:
“Today we have the first set of weigh-ins for our guys. Danny Felix and Obe Blanc will both weigh in tonight at 6:30pm, 11:30pm your time. This morning and early afternoon were spent getting these guys close to weight, so we can get the last few pounds off later. There is a spa in our hotel with all the goodies, but you do have to use your powers of negotiation in regards to time. We spent the last 30 minutes in this negotiation to keep the sauna open for the guys.”
“Next, the manager came in and flipped the breaker to kick everybody out, so we had to move around in total darkness. We said we would then pay, so she turned the lights back on. Naturally it took us a while to "find" our money …. just long enough to get the guys close to weight....and then we left without paying the fee, which was ridiculous. We weren't trying to be mean, just trying to get the team what they needed. It really was a time thing, not a money issue. Nonetheless I don't think we will be going back there. Saunas are taken seriously over here. “
“I did take my first "Turkish bath" which consisted of a huge marble room and giant sinks, which you then overflow and pour water over yourself (soap included). Other than that, my "foreign English accent" is now on point. For some reason, I think that non-English speaking people can understand me better if I talk how they sound. This process also involves a bunch of modified sign language, but you can sorta get your point across. It's actually quite a funny ordeal. It doesn't really work and my wife, Christen, really likes to make fun of me for it, but I can't help it anyway. I will check in when I can. Kutzy”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leg #2 of the team’s overseas competition is at the OUTSTANDING UKRAINIAN WRESTLERS’ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL at KIEV, UKRAINE, FEB. 20-21. In addition, other LVAC athletes will participate elsewhere in the Winter Tour, as follows:
CERRO PELADO INTERNATIONAL, at Havana, Cuba, February 20
55 kg/121 lb – Sam Hazewinkel, Norman, OK (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg/132 lb - Nate Gallick, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg/132 lbs - Mike Zadick, Solon, IA (Gator WC)
60 kg/132 lb - Shawn Bunch, Columbus, OH (Gator WC)
66 kg/145.5 lb- Teyon Ware, State College, PA (Nittany Lion WC)
66 kg/145.5 lb- Josh Churella, Ann Arbor, MI (New York AC)
74 kg/163 lb - Trent Paulson, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
74 kg/163 lb –Mike Poeta, Naperville, IL (Lehigh Valley AC)
74 kg/163 lb – Ben Askren, Tempe, AZ (Sunkist Kids)
74 kg/163 lb - Travis Paulson, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
84 kg/185 lb – Jake Herbert, Wexford, PA (New York AC)
84 kg/185 lb – Eric Luedke, IA City, IA (Gator WC)
96 kg/211.5 lb –Kyle Cerminara, Edinboro, PA (New York AC)
96 kg/211.5 lb –J.D. Bergman, Columbus, OH (New York AC)
120 kg/264.5 lbs - Blake Gillis, Spencer, IA (unattached)
120 kg/264.5 lb – Steve Mocco, Coralville, IA (New York AC)
Coaches – Zeke Jones, Colorado Springs, CO; Official – Jose Delgado, McKinney, TX
ALEXANDRE MEDVED INTERNATIONAL, at Minsk, Belarus, March 12-14
55 kg/121 lb –Obe Blanc, Naples, Fla (Gator WC)
55 kg/121 lb –Paul Donahoe, IA City, IA (Hawkeye WC)
55 kg/121 lb –Danny Felix, Morgantown, WV (Sunkist Kids)
55 kg/121 lb –Nick Simmons, Corvallis, Ore. (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg/132 lb - Nate Gallick, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg/132 lb - Shawn Bunch, Columbus, OH (Gator WC)
60 kg/132 lb - Coleman Scott, Stillwater, OK (Gator WC)
60 kg/132 lb - Derek Moore, Colorado Springs, CO (U.S. Army)
66 kg/145.5 lb - Trent Paulson, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
66 kg/145.5 lb –Teyon Ware, State College, PA (Nittany Lion WC)
66 kg/145.5 lb –Josh Churella, Ann Arbor, MI (New York AC)
66 kg/145.5 lb –Corey Jantzen, Shoreham, N.Y. (Lehigh Valley AC)
66 kg/145.5 lb - Jared Frayer, Madison, WI (Gator WC)
74 kg/163 lb – Ben Askren, Tempe, AZ (Sunkist Kids)
74 kg/163 lb – Mike Poeta, Naperville, IL (Lehigh Valley AC)
74 kg/163 lb -- Lloyd Rogers, IA City, IA (Hawkeye WC)
74 kg/163 lb -- Travis Paulson, Ames, IA (Sunkist Kids)
84 kg/185 lb – Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh, PA (Lehigh Valleyg AC)
96 kg/211.5 lb- Bryce Hassemen, Colorado Springs, CO (New York AC)
96 kg/211.5 lb- Andy Hrovat, Ann Arbor, MI (New York AC)
96 kg/211.5 lbs - J.D. Bergman, Columbus, OH (New York AC)
120 kg/264.5 lb - Blake Gillis, Spencer, IA (unattached, Lehigh Valley AC)
120 kg/264.5 lb - Steve Mocco, Coralville, IA (New York AC)
120 kg/264.5 lb - Les Sigman, State College, PA (Nittany Lion WC)
120 kg/264.5 lb - Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, OH (Sunkist Kids)