Former Spartan Wrestlers Shine at FILA World Championship
9/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Sept. 21, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Former Spartan wrestlers Franklin Gomez and Nick Simmons excelled at the 2011 FILA World Championship this past week in Istanbul, Turkey.
Gomez, a three-time All-American and 2009 National Champion at 133 pounds, won the silver medal in the 60-kilogram freestyle division while representing his native Puerto Rico. A four-time All-American, Simmons tied for fifth in the 55-kilogram freestyle division wrestling for the United States.
Current Spartan volunteer assistant coach Alex Dolly, representing Ireland, won a pair of matches in the 84-kilogram freestyle division.
Early in the tournament Gomez went on a roll, winning his first five matches and shutting out his first three opponents by a combined score of 15-0. In the quarterfinals, Gomez won a tough contest against Zelimkhan Huseynov of Azerbaijan, 3-2. He also defeated bronze medalist Dauren Zhumagazyyev of Kazakhstan, 4-2, in the semifinals. Gomez was awarded the silver medal after losing to Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the championship match.
Wrestling in the 55-kilogram freestyle division, Simmons was also able to get off to a fast start, winning his first four matches of the tournament. Simmons kicked off his World Championships with a win over Marcel Ewald of Germany, 2-1. In the quarterfinals, Simmons turned in a 13-9 victory in a high-scoring affair with Shinichi Yumoto of Japan. Simmons lost a tough match to eventual silver medalist Marinov Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria, 2-0, in the semifinals, but ended the tournament with a 4-1 record and tied for fifth place.
Spartan volunteer assistant coach Alex Dolly wrestled in the 84-kilogram freestyle division and reached the quarterfinal round. Dolly defeated Martinez of Honduras in his opening match of the competition, 9-1, and followed that up with a 9-0 victory over Dejan Bogdanov of Macedonia. Dolly fell to Japan's Shinya Matsumoto in the quarterfinals, 6-4.
Both Gomez and Simmons secured positions for their respective countries in the 2012 London Olympics by placing in the top six of their weight classes.
Players Mentioned
