United World Wrestling World Cup features men’s and women’s competition simultaneously for first time

CORALVILLE - USA Women’s National Team Coach Terry Steiner considers this weekend a step forward.

He compared it to when men’s and women’s freestyle World Championships were initially held at the same site about two decades earlier.

“The best thing they ever did for the sport of wrestling was combine our World Championships back in 2003,” Steiner said. “That was the first time they did that. Now, we’re almost 20 years later and to combine the World Cup is a step in the right direction.”

The 2022 United World Wrestling World Cup marked the first time men’s and women’s freestyle were competed simultaneously, sharing the same stage. The two-day event concluded Sunday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Team USA finished fourth in women’s freestyle, dropping the bronze-medal dual to Mongolia, 7-3. Ukraine defeated China, 6-4, to win the gold.

Japan and an All-World team also qualified for the women’s dual-style tournament.

“I also think a step in the right direction was to have that all-star team, because a lot of great individuals out there will never be a part of this because they don’t have a full team behind them,” Steiner said. “To include that group in this mix is very important as well. I think everyone saw that.”

The experience was a positive to Team USA’s 76-kilogram wrestler Dymond Guilford, who capped the placing dual with a 10-0 technical fall. Guilford praised the event organizers for all the bells and whistles, like the displays and cameras, including clear footage and available reviews.

“Within an hour of my last match, I had a replay of my match,” Guilford said. “It was great. It was good. I’m really proud of USA Wrestling for how they did with the tournament.”

USA topped the all-world all-star team Saturday after dropping its opening dual to China. Mongolia came out and won the first three matches, but Alex Hedrick (57 kg) and Solin Piearcy (68 kg) won two of the next five matches.

Guilford was Team USA’s most dominant performer Sunday, scoring two takedowns and three turns to terminate the bout against Burmaa Ochirbat.

“I came out did my job,” Guilford said. “I’m kind of sad for our team and how we placed so far but it’s a learning opportunity for all of us. I am excited for that.”

Steiner highlighted performances from Day 1 where Kayla Miracle posted a 9-3 decision over Aisuluu Tynybekova, avenging a loss to the world champion from Kyrgyzstan. Yelena Makoyed defeated Turkey’s Olympic and world medalist Yasemin Adar Yigit, who was competing for the All-World team.

Former South Winn prep and current University of Iowa wrestler Felicity Taylor competed in two bouts for Team USA. She dropped a decision to Greece’s Maria Prevolaraki, of the All-World team, on Saturday. Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Ganbaatar topped the U23 World Team member Sunday.

The weekend was good experience to feel the styles of other countries and battle more seasoned wrestlers. She learned she can compete with them and their offense can be successful.

“I think she just needs to let herself open up a little bit,” Steiner said. “Felicity has a great feel for the sport. We have to find our offense somewhere along the way. We can’t be defensive all the way until the end. We have to be able to put points on the board. I think that’s an area where she can work.

“Obviously, she has some great coaches here with (Iowa) Coach (Clarissa) Chun, Tonya Verbeek and Gary (Mayabb), so I know they will do the right things with her.”

The effort from the U.S. team was there Sunday, even if the wins were not.

“We lost some very close matches,” Steiner said. “We’ve got to win the close ones. It’s part of winning consistently at this level. You’ve got to win the close ones. We didn’t do that today.”

“There effort was great. Their energy was great. Their fight was there. That’s all you can ask as a coach.”