AKRON, Ohio — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s B.J. Futrell and Adam Coon captured University National titles at 61kg/134 pounds and 125kg/275 pounds, respectively, on Sunday afternoon (May 25) at the University of Akron Field House. With his victory, Futrell also locked his spot on the U.S. World University Championships.
Champions in Akron positioned themselves to qualify for the University World Championships, scheduled for July 8-12, in Pecs, Hungary. The highest eligible placer within the top six at the U.S. Senior World Team Trials can challenge the University Champion at the same weight. Futrell, along with 70kg winner James Green, earned spots in the University Worlds since they were competing in non-Olympic weight classes.
Futrell posted a perfect 7-0 record over the two-day tournament, earning technical falls in all but two of his matches. He swept the best-of-three championship series against Northern Iowa’s Joe Colon, 5-4, 11-0, to claim his second University National title. He previously won a University Greco title at 55kg in 2009.
Futrell rallied to narrowly defeat Colon in the first championship match. After giving up an early four-point throw, Futrell scored out of a bodylock in the final 15 seconds of the first period to close the gap to one point at the break. He stole the lead with high crotch early in the second frame and stayed out of Colon’s upper-body ties to hang on for the win. The second championship bout was all Futrell, who scored a pushout, three takedowns and four exposure points — off a trap-arm gut — to end the bout late in the first period.
Futrell outscored his opposition, 71-8.
Coon also went 7-0, earning four technical falls and a pin in the preliminary rounds before sweeping the best-of-three championship series against Oklahoma State All-American Austin Marsden, 9-3, 11-6. Marsden previously defeated Coon in the best-of-three championship at last year’s FILA Junior World Team Trials.
Coon jumped out to big leads in both championship matches. He scored on an early pushout and four-point single leg in the first period of the opening match and distanced himself with two pushouts and a counter takedown in the second frame. He was a point shy of a technical fall after the first period of the second bout, scoring a pushout and three takedowns, including a four-point crotch lift, and added another counter attack in the second. Marsden narrowed the final margin with a takedown and gut in the final 10 seconds.
He cruised past a pair of Big Ten opponents in the quarter- and semifinals, avenging a season loss with an 11-0 technical fall against Ohio State’s Nick Tavanello — on five pushouts, a takedown and two guts in the first period — in the former bout before throwing Wisconsin’s Connor Medbery to his back for a 28-second pin in the latter. In all, Coon outscored his opposition, 70-11. The tournament title was Coon’s third since the conclusion of the collegiate season.
Rossi Bruno also placed at the event, posting a 6-2 record en route to seventh place at 61kg/134 pounds. Among his victories, Bruno avenged a season loss to Northwestern’s Dom Malone, earning an 8-0 decision in the second round, and defeated two other NCAA qualifiers — Virginia Tech’s Dennis Gustafson (10-4) and Oregon State’s Joey Palmer (4-4). Bruno overcame a four-point deficit to defeat Palmer in the seventh-place contest, scoring on a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the second period.
Brian Murphy and Domenic Abounader both finished one match shy of placing with records of 4-2 and 5-2, respectively.
Coon, Murphy, Abounader and George Fisher are all qualified for the FILA Junior World Team Trials, while Brandon Precin, Kellen Russell and Taylor Massa are qualified for the senior-level World Team Trials, both scheduled for this weekend (May 30-June 1) in Madison, Wis. With his double victory at FILA Juniors in April, Coon has automatically qualified for the finals in both styles.
Futrell and Jimmy Kennedy will have to wait until July for the World Team Trials at 61kg and 70kg.
