Ohio State's reigning, defending Olympic, World and NCAA champion Kyle Snyder is in Tehran, Iran, wrestling alongside other members of the Titan-Mercury Wrestling Club in the World Wrestling Clubs Cup, Dec. 7 and 8.
Snyder is joined by two-time All American Nick Heflin, a 2013 Ohio State graduate and current assistant coach at Oklahoma under former Buckeye assistant coach Lou Rosselli.
An all-star list of U.S. freestyle wrestlers will compete in the tournament against the best wrestling clubs from around the world. Titan Mercury won the Cup last year in Karkhov, Ukraine, despite a shocking upset of Snyder late in the tournament.
The crew is all together and ready to roll! Next stop World Clubs Cup in Iran. Follow the action with us on twitter & Instagram @titan_mercury pic.twitter.com/yyGwZvv0te
— Titan Mercury (@titan_mercury) December 3, 2017
Iran’s host teams of Bimeh Razi - the two-time Clubs Cup champions - and Easy Pipe added several international wrestlers to their rosters in hopes of wresting the cup back from the American contingent. Also in the mix will be a team from Dagestan, Russia, though Abdulrashid Sadulaev is expected to compete for Bimeh Razi.
As with international club football (soccer, that is), teams can add athletes to their team from other countries. This year's tournament, with ten contested weight classes, sees Bimeh Razi with four Russian on their roster, including:
- 2017 World silver medalist Khetag Tsabolov at 74 kg
- 2016 Olympic silver medalist Aniuar Geduev at 79 kg
- Vladislav Baitsaev, who nearly upset Sadulaev in the 97 kg Russian Nationals at 125 kg
- Sadulaev, who is slated to compete at 92 kg, where he will face Heflin, not at 97 kg, where he would have faced Snyder
Snyder is the biggest name on Titan-Mercury's incredible roster, and wrestles at 97 kg. Fellow Buckeye and 2016 World Champion Logan Stieber was slotted to compete at 61 kg, however an injury last month sidelined the 4-time NCAA champ.
Pumped for the best club in the world, @titan_mercury the next two days! Good Luck to all my friends competing! Wish I was there #TMWC #ClubCup
— Logan Stieber (@_LogieBear_) December 7, 2017
Action is slated to begin at 10 a.m. in Tehran - that's 1:30 a.m. EST, as Iran is 8.5 hours ahead of the Eastern timezone.
The tournament follows a four-pool system, with the winner of each pool advancing on to the semifinals and then on to the finals, somewhat like the system in World Cup soccer. On the first day of the tournament, Titan Mercury wrestles in Pool A, and faces clubs from Canada, India and Bulgaria.
What time is TMWC wrestling tonight? Here is the complete schedule for the World Clubs Cup daily competition. Live-streaming of the World Clubs Cup will be supported on insta @iranwrestling & we will keep updating & providing as much live coverage as possible @titan_mercury pic.twitter.com/vgyrGpyFcu
— Titan Mercury (@titan_mercury) December 6, 2017
Live-streaming is theoretically available via the Iranian Wrestling Federation's Instagram feed. If you're a night owl and you manage to find the feed, feel free to leave updates in the comments below.
Weight | Wrestler | Notes |
---|---|---|
57 kg | Thomas Gilman | Iowa Hawkeye, 2017 World Silver Medalist |
61 kg | Alan Waters | Two-time NCAA All-American |
65 kg | Franklin Gomez | World Silver Medalist |
65 kg | B.J. Futrell | World Clubs Cup Champion |
70 kg | Nazar Kulchytskyy | World Clubs Cup Champion |
74 kg | Isaiah Martinez | Illinois, Former NCAA Champion |
79 kg | Kyle Dake | Four-time NCAA Champion |
86 kg | David Taylor | Penn State, Two-time NCAA Champion |
92 kg | J'Den Cox | Two-time Olympic and World medalist |
92 kg | Nick Heflin | Ohio State, Two-time All-American |
97 kg | Kyle Snyder | The Greatest of All Time |
125 kg | Nick Gwiazdowski | World Bronze Medalist |