U20 World Championships See Dreshaun Ross with Silver and Landon Robideau with Bronze
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State had two wrestlers representing the United States this weekend in Bratislava, Slovakia and the U20 World Championships in freestyle. Both Cowboys did well and incoming freshman and dominant heavyweight from Fort Dodge, Iowa; Dreshaun Ross wrestled for gold on Sunday. Cowboys sophomore-to-be Landon Robideau suffered a narrow (very narrow) loss in his semifinal, but rebounded for a win and a bronze medal.
First, the gold medal match at 125 kg. Ross’ opponent was Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad of Iran and he scored first after a pair of passive calls on Ross. Mohammad Nezhad added two more points before the end of the first period to lead 3-0.
Mohammad Nezhad scored with a two-point move to open the second period and establish a commanding 5-0 lead. He was cautioned at 2:07 in the period and Ross scored with a one-point move and then a two (takedown) to narrow the lead, but his final points came with four seconds remaining. Mohammad Nezhad closed out to win the gold medal and Ross earns the silver.
125 kg. Dreshaun Ross at the U20 World Championships
Qualification Round - 10-0 win over Baejoon Jang, KOR
Round of 16 - 10-0 win over Riza Izakhar, KAZ
Quarterfinal Round - 10-0 win over Aleksandre Abramishvili, GEO
Semifinal Opponent - 4-1 win over Yusif Dursunov, AZE
Finals Match - vs. Abolfazi Mohammad Nezhad, IRAN
In the bronze medal match at 70 kg, Oklahoma State’s NCAA champion Landon Robideau notched his four victory in five matches in Slovakia with a 3-1 victory over Zalkarbek Tabaldiev of Kyrgyzstan. After a pair of passive calls gave Tabaldiev a 1-0 lead in period one, Robideau did all the scoring in the second period for the win. He opened the period with a move to tie the score and than added two more points over the next minute to take the bronze medal.
70 kg. Landon Robideau at the U20 World Championships
Qualification Round - 12-1 win over Zurab Abalaki, GEO
Round Of 16 - Pinned (13-5) Ankh Erdene Altangerel, MGL
Quarterfinal Round - 7-4 win over Mairbek Merov, RUS
Semifinal Round - 3-2 loss to Sina Khalili, IRAN
Bronze Medal Match - 3-1 win over Zalkarbek Tabaldiev, KGZ
Robideau is expected to be the Cowboys 157 pound wrestler for the upcoming season and look to repeat as NCAA champion. Ross is expected to be the Cowboys heavyweight and will be a threat as a freshman. he will have competition as with all the eligibility changes in the NCAA, All-American Konner Doucet is back as well at heavy.
