HAVANA, Cuba — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Brandon Precin and Kellen Russell claimed bronze medals at 57kg/125 pounds and 65kg/143 pounds, respectively, on the first day of freestyle competition at the 45th annual Cerro Pelado on Friday (Feb. 14) at the Sports City Coliseum. It was the second career freestyle medal for both — first outside USA and Canada.
It was Precin’s first international trip since joining the CKWC last December. He posted a 3-1 record en route to one of two American bronze medals at 57kg. Precin lost to eventual champion Alfredo Cisneros of Cuba, 1-1, in the semifinal round but bounced back with a dominant 12-2 technical fall over France’s Zoheir Elouamque in the bronze-medal match.
Russell posted a 4-1 record at 65kg with two wins over Peruvians and two wins against fellow Americans. He cruised to a 12-5 decision over Frank Molinaro in the quarterfinals; Molinaro was coming off a Dave Schultz Memorial win and ranked No. 6 in the world according to FILA. Russell fell to eventual champion Franklin Maren of Cuba, 11-1, in the semifinal round, but rebounded with a commanding 11-1 technical fall over Drew Headlee in the bronze-medal match.
“We had a good first day of wrestling at the Cerro Pelado with a champion and three bronze medals. We always have areas to continue improving. However, it’s nice to see progress in technical areas we’ve trained and the competitive results to back it up. We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow to close it out and head into our Cuba training camp. This tournament and training opportunity is a big difference maker for both our Senior level athletes and now our Juniors as well,” said National Freestyle Developmental Coach Bill Zadick.
CKWC RESULTS
Brandon Precin, 57 kg/125.5 pounds
First Round – tech. fall Pablo Benitez (Peru), 10-0
Quarterfinals – dec. Santiago Hernandez (Cuba), 8-3
Semifinals – dec. by Alfredo Cisneros (Cuba), 1-1
Bronze Match – tech. fall Zoheir Elouamque (France), 12-2
Finished in third place with a 3-1 record
Kellen Russell, 65 kg/143 pounds
First Round – tech. fall Llontop (Peru), 10-0
Second Round – dec. Herrera (Peru), 9-5
Quarterfinals – dec. Frank Molinaro (USA), 12-5
Semifinals – tech. fall by Franklin Maren (Cuba), 11-1
Bronze Match – tech. fall Drew Headlee (USA), 11-1
Finished in third place with a 4-1 record
