IOWA CITY, Iowa — Add another championship line to Bill Zadick’s resume.
Zadick and the United States freestyle wrestling team won the 14th World Cup title in the program’s history, and first since 2003 on Sunday. The USA defeated Azerbaijan 6-4 in the gold medal finals.
“It means a lot. It was a significant performance and something you key in on because of the prestige that it brings. You know it’s always going to be a super strong competition. It’s a really fun competition because it’s a different format than we’re used to. It means a lot and even more because of an environment like this. This is a place where wrestling is important to people,” Zadick said in a USA Wrestling release.
2012 Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Jordan Burroughs helped the United States seal the World Cup title, earning a pin at the 3:15 mark of his 74kg (163-pound) match. The victory broke a 2-2 tie between the U.S. and Azerbaijan and the United States never trailed again in the dual.
Five other USA wrestlers earned individual wins in the dual, helping the United States snap its 15-year drought. Kendric Maple won a 6-2 decision at 61kg (134 pounds), while Logan Steiber added a 6-3 win one weight up at 65kg (143 pounds). After Burroughs won his bout, Kyle Drake and David Taylor added consecutive wins at 79kg and 86kg (174 and 189 pounds, respectively).
Kyle Snyder capped the individual match victories for Team USA, picking up a 14-3 technical fall in the 97-kilogram (213-pound) match.
The World Cup title was the latest in a long line of accomplishments for Zadick, who helped the United States win the same title as a wrestler nearly two decades ago. Zadick, a four-time Montana state champion at Great Falls High, compiled a record of 117-5 during his Mighty Bison career. He became the seventh athlete in Montana history to win four titles, each at a different weight class.
As a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Zadick captured a fifth-place NCAA finish his junior season, but bested it with a national title in 1996, becoming only the second Montana wrestler to win an NCAA championship. He finished his collegiate career with a record of 87-12 and became a key contributor for the United States national teams. Zadick won the 2006 World Freestyle Championship, joining forces with his younger brother, Michael, who placed second. They became the first American brothers to compete in the World finals since 1993.
Last November, Zadick was named the U.S. Olympic coach of the year after leading the Americans to the 2017 Freestyle World Championship.
FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
At Iowa City, Iowa, April 8
1st place – United States 6, Azerbaijan 4
57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Giorgi Edisherashvili (Azerbaijan) dec. Thomas Gilman (USA), 8-7
61 kg/134 lbs. – Kendric Maple (USA) dec. Afghan Khashalov (Azerbaijan), 6-2
65 kg/143 lbs. – Logan Stieber (USA) dec. Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 6-3
70 kg/154 lbs. –Joshgun Azimov (Azerbaijan) dec. James Green (USA), 4-4
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs (USA) pin Gasjimurad Omarov (Azerbaijan), 3:15
79 kg/174 lbs. – Kyle Dake (USA) dec. Jabrayil Hasanov (Azerbaijan), 5-3
86 kg/189 lbs. – David Taylor (USA) tech. fall Aleksander Gostiev (Azerbaijan), 12-2
92 kg/202.5 lbs. – Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan) dec. J’den Cox (USA), 4-4
97 kg/213 lbs. – Kyle Snyder (USA) tech fall Roman Bakirov (Azerbaijan), 14-3
125 kg/275 lbs. –Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan) dec. Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) 4-3
Classification Points – USA 26, Azerbaijan 17
Final records – USA (4-0), Azerbaijan (3-1)
