Amine and Valencia reach Sargsyan Cup finals in Armenia
Cam Amine at 74kg and Zahid Valencia at 86kg are in the Stepan Sargsyan Cup finals, Joey McKenna is in repechage and Killian Delaney is out. Plus WNO adds Melvin Miller vs Cam Howard.
Big news
Amine (74kg) and Valencia (86kg) reach Sargsyan Cup finals in Armenia
Zahid Valencia, in Basch's words, ragdolled everyone 10-0 at 86kg and gets Askhab Khadzhiyev (KAZ) for gold; Kozak posted the semi clip and it did not last long. Cam Amine went 3-0 at 74kg and faces Imam Ganishov (RUS) in the final. Joey McKenna lost 8-0 at 65kg to Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS), the '21 World champ and '23 World silver, but was pulled back into repechage. Killian Delaney lost 11-0 to Amir Chamzyn (RUS) at 57kg and is eliminated.
Zahid ragdolled everyone 10-0, and he'll have Askhab Khajiyev of Kazakhstan in the Finals tomorrow.
Cameron Amine and Zahid Valencia both advanced to the finals on day one of the Stepan Sargsyan Cup. Joey McKenna remains in medal contention and will wrestle in tomorrow's repechage rounds.
Why it matters: Senior men's freestyle. Our take: two Americans in finals against Russian and Kazakh opponents is a real read on where Amine at 74 and Valencia at 86 sit, and McKenna still has a medal path at 65.
- Day two finals: Amine vs Ganishov at 74kg and Valencia vs Khadzhiyev at 86kg, streaming on the Armen Garamyan YouTube channel.
- McKenna's repechage run at 65kg on day two.
Results and matchups
WNO adds Melvin Miller vs Cam Howard, 2027 and 2028 No. 1s
Fargo champs and U17 World teamers Melvin Miller and Cam Howard will meet for the first time at Who's Number One. Per Basch, Miller is the overall No. 1 Big Boarder for 2027 and Howard is No. 1 for 2028. It lands one day after No. 1 Jesse Grajeda vs No. 2 Braylon Reynolds at 144 was announced.
Fargo champs and U17 World teamers Melvin Miller and Cam Howard will meet for the first time at Who’s Number One! Who you got?!
including the overall #1 Big Boarder in the Class of 2027, Melvin Miller, vs. #1 in the Class of 2028, Cam Howard.
Why it matters: High school folkstyle, but it is the top guy in each of the next two recruiting classes on the same mat. Our take: every D1 staff chasing either one will be watching.
- Sept 26 on Flo: Miller vs Howard, plus Grajeda vs Reynolds at 144.
Drama
Pyles calls @GlobalWresOrder's Mendoza over SVN ranking 'disqualifying'
Christian Pyles' first reply to a @GlobalWresOrder ranking with Mendoza over SVN: that is a disqualifying statement. When the answer came back that SVN "is what he is," Pyles laid it out: SVN has never placed worse than 3rd, Mendoza lost 8-1 to someone @GlobalWresOrder has Seth ahead of, and Mendoza lost twice to Swiderski, who lost to SVN. Pyles' verdict: pure vibes with minimal awareness of results.
Mendoza over SVN is a disqualifying statement lol.
Seth is a dog, but you have zero logic in this ranking, pure vibes with minimal awareness of results.
Why it matters: Our take: a rankings argument in miniature, results and head-to-heads on one side, upside on the other.
- Our take: the first Mendoza vs SVN match this season settles it.
Quick hits
Sinclair on The Bader Show: down 4-0, then World gold
Flo posted a Bader Show clip of Mizzou's Aeoden Sinclair walking through his World finals, where he started down 4-0 and stormed back to win gold. Watch it to hear how he figured it out mid-match.
Earl Smith's best to never win NCAAs list starts with Trenge
FRL kicked around the best wrestlers to never win an NCAA title. Earl Smith noted the show's list skewed recent and added his own: Trenge at No. 1 overall, then Hazewinkel, Nick Simmons, Chris Fleeger, Palmer, Poeta, Bryan Snyder, Mack Lewnes, Robert Hamlin and Mike McMullan.
Elite 8 Duals this weekend, Basch has pools, matchups and streams
High school season is near: the Elite 8 Duals are this weekend, and Justin Basch has pools, matchups, rosters and stream info up along with a MatScouts preview. He calls the pools writeup a good 10 minute read.