The Cadet World Championships came to a close a day early for the United States. 

The Americans went 2-8 Saturday, dropped all three of their medal matches and all five of their second wave of Greco-Roman participants got eliminated from the tournament in Budapest. 

Alabama’s Cory Land, the second American since 1998 to reach the Cadet World finals in Greco, took silver at 55 kilograms after falling 8-0 against Russia’s Valerii Mangutov, while Otto Black and Jim Mullen lost bronze medal bouts on Saturday. 

Land was bidding to become the second American to win Greco gold since United World Wrestling reinstituted the Cadet World Championships in 2011. But he got thrown for four points early and couldn’t recover against the Russian. 

Earlier in the session, Black dropped a 4-2 decision against Azerbaijan’s Faraim Mustafayev in the 48-kilogram bronze medal bout. 

Mullen was aiming to medal in both styles after seizing a silver in freestyle. He reached the medal round by scoring a continuation fall while trailing 8-0 against Armenia’s Lyova Sargsyan. But the script was flipped in the bronze medal bout as Mullen raced out to a 5-0 lead with a passivity point and a pair of turns before Artur Sarkisjan of the Czech Republic tossed the New Jersey native and scored the fall in the closing seconds of the opening period. 

The other five Americans who took the mat Saturday got bounced prior to the quarterfinals and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament, which wraps up with Sunday’s Greco medal round. 

Below is Kyle Klingman’s account of the top developments from the day in Budapest. 

Continuation Rules

Jim Mullen was on the verge of getting bounced from the tournament when he got taken down and gutted three times to trail Armenia’s Lyova Sargsyan 8-0 — the Greco margin for a match-ending technical superiority. But Mullen stepped over the gut on the third turn and, thanks to the continuation rule, the potentially fatal final turn yielded a fall for the American and moved Mullen into the medal round.  

Bo’s Bid To Win Both 

Give Bo Bassett credit: He made the freestyle and Greco Cadet World team at 45 kg and cruised to the freestyle World title earlier in the week. His fall over Alikhan Ashinov of Russia in the finals capped a perfect 4-0 tournament. On the Greco side, Ashiov’s countryman Ruslan Lukiaev scored on two underarm spins and two guts for an 8-0 technical superiority in the first round. Bassett was not pulled into repechage. 

Backup Black Almost Bags Bronze

Otto Black placed second at the Cadet World Team Trials to Aden Valencia but got his shot when Valencia opted not to compete. Black reached the 48-kg semifinals but lost 5-5 on criteria before losing 4-2 in the bronze medal match. 

That’s A Wrap

All five U.S. Greco wrestlers lost on the sixth day of competition and none were pulled into repechage so the Americans will not compete on the final day of competition. 

Saturday's Results

45 kg: Bo Bassett

Round of 16: Ruslan Lukiaev (RUS) def. Bassett, 8-0

48 kg: Otto Black

Bronze medal match: Faraim Mustafayev (AZE) def. Black, 4-2

51 kg: Kaedyn Williams

Round of 32: Williams def. Abolfazl Ahmad ShahrakiI Niy (IRI), 6-3

Round of 16: Kuvonchbek Yakhshiboev (UZB) def. Williams, 8-0

55 kg: Cory Land

Gold medal match: Valerii Mangutov (RUS) def. Land, 8-0 

60 kg: Brock Bobzien

Round of 32: Bagdat Sabaz (KAZ) def. Bobzien, 10-1

71 kg: Braden Stauffenberg

Round of 16: Ruslan Nurullayev (AZE) def Stauffenberg, 9-0

92 kg: Nate Wemstrom

Round of 16: Rasmus Liisma (EST) def. Wemstrom, 3-1

110 kg: Jim Mullen

Repechage: Mullen def. Lyova Sargsyan (ARM), FALL 1:06

Bronze medal match: Artur Sarkisjan (CZE) def. Mullen, FALL 1:50