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STILLWATER, Okla. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Kellen Russell dropped a pair of 66kg/145.5-pound championship matches to Brent Metcalf to claim runner-up honors at the U.S. World Team Trials on Saturday evening (June 22) at Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena. With his second-place performance, Russell earned a spot on the freestyle national team for the first time in his career.
Metcalf jumped out to a sizable early advantage in the first match, but it came with some controversy. Russell initiated a flurry with a double-leg shot, and Metcalf countered, taking Russell down and gutting him for two — but not before appearing to step out of bounds. The CKWC coaches challenged, but the video replay did not include the frames in question and the challenge was denied, giving Metcalf an additional point. Metcalf scored on a single-leg takedown in the waning seconds of the first period, earning a 7-0 technical fall to end the match.
Metcalf, the two-time NCAA champion from Iowa, took advantage of a quick in the second match as well, scoring a pushout out of an early flurry before earning a five count — two-point exposure and hold — while Russell fought off a deep single-leg attack on the mat. He added a late takedown to end the first period with a 6-0 lead. Russell got on the board with a pushout early in the second, but Metcalf ended the contest soon after, finishing on a single leg to take an 8-1 technical fall.
Russell has earned an automatic berth in the finals after winning the U.S. Open in April. Metcalf won the challenge tournament earlier in the day, scoring six unanswered points to defeat Jordan Oliver, 6-3, in the final. With the win, Metcalf made his second U.S. world team.
CKWC’s Kyle Massey also competed in day-two competition, posting a 0-2 record in the 120kg/264-pound division. He fell to Matt Meuleners, 9-2, in the opening round, sacrificing the entirety of his points — four takedowns and a pushout — on the edge of the mat. He scored on a front headlock late in the first period to keep the score close before giving up a pair of takedowns in the second.
He was eliminated after falling to Nick Gwiazdowski, 9-1, in the consolation bracket. Gwiazdowski scored on a quick single leg and gutted Massey twice before the CKWC wrestler reversed the position. Gwiazdowski ended the match on a three-point double leg to seal the technical fall late in the first period.
CKWC RESULTS
Kellen Russell
Championship Series
Match 1 – dec. by Brent Metcalf (NYAC), 7-0
Match 2 – dec. by Brent Metcalif (NYAC), 8-1
Kyle Massey, 120kg/264 pounds
First Round – dec. by Matt Meuleners (Titan Mercury WC), 9-2
Consolations – tech. fall by Nick Gwiazdowski (NYAC), 9-1
