MINSK, Belarus — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s B.J. Futrell posted a 4-1 record en route to the 61kg/134-pound bronze medal at the annual Alexander Medved International on Sunday (March 2) at the Palace of Sports. It was Futrell’s first overseas tournament appearance. He has placed all four tournament appearances of his senior-level freestyle career.
“Going into the tournament Coach [Brandon] Slay told us ‘your desire determines your destiny,'” said Futrell. “It felt great to be able go out there and perform at a high level, wrestle with passion and emotion and bring a medal back to USA. We had a good training camp at the Stayki Training Center and wrestled an earlier exhibition dual meet against Belarus. In the dual meet there were a lot of calls that didn’t go our way, but I see it now as a blessing in disguise. It prepared us somewhat for how things would be called during the tournament. Obviously the goal is to win every match, but when some things don’t go your way you have to make the best of the opportunity you’ve been given. For me in this tournament, that was bronze.
“I got to see lot of tough competition and get in some real battles. Coming out on top of those matches, especially in the bronze medal match when I had to score in the final three seconds to take the victory, definitely gives me a good boost going into the U.S. Open and World Team Trials. There are a lot of takeaways and areas that I know where I need to improve, and I’m looking forward to making those adjustments. Progress is the name of the name.”
Futrell defeated Russia’s Egor Ponomarev, 2-1, in the bronze-medal match, overcoming a late deficit to score a duck under in the waning seconds of the contest. Ponomarev previously placed 10th at the 2012 World University Championships.
He cruised through his first two matches, including a first-round technical fall, before losing a 7-1 decision to Okassor of Kazakhstan in the semifinals. He bounced back with a late pin against Russia’s Abakurov to advance to the medal match.
Futrell was one of three Americans to medal on the final day of the Medved International. CKWC teammate Jimmy Kennedy claimed silver at the 2013 Medved tournament.
Futrell will return to Ann Arbor to prepare for the U.S. open, scheduled for April 18-19, in Las Vegas, Nev.
CKWC RESULTS
B.J. Futrell, 61kg/134 pounds
First Round – tech. fall Medvedov (Russia), 13-1
Quarterfinals – dec. Ashirov (Kazakhstan), 10-2
Semifinals – dec. by Okassor (Kazakhstan), 7-1
Repechage – pinned Abakurov (Russia), 4:42
Bronze-Medal Match – dec. Egor Ponomarev (Russia), 2-1
Finished in third place with a 4-1 record
