UWW Junior National champs Daton Fix, Mitchell McKee, Mark Hall & Zahid Valencia face Iranian freestyle opponents in first international age-group bouts in Times Square

NEW YORK, Mei 11, 2016 – The four Junior match-ups between the United States and Iran in freestyle wrestling have been finalized for the 2016 Beat the Streets international competition, which returns to New York City’s Times Square on Donderdag, Mei 19.

This will feature talented stars from the USA and Iran in the UWW Junior age-group level, which is between 17-20 jaar oud. It will be historic, as the first international age-group matches featured in a Beat the Streets event in Times Square.

All four of the U.S. wrestlers competing in Times Square were champions at their weight classes at the recent UWW Junior Nationals held in Las Vegas, Nev., April 29-30. This includes one college wrestling star and three of the nation’s best high school talents.

Daton Fix of Sand Springs, Okla. will face Kheyrollah Ghahramani of Iran at 55 kg/121 lbs. Fix was a bronze medalist at the 2015 UWW Cadet World Championships, and has been a UWW Junior Nationals champion for the last two years. Fix won a silver medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, and was a 2013 Cadet Nationals champion in both styles. Ghahramani was a 2013 Cadet World bronze medalist and a 2012 Asian Cadet silver medalist.

Mitchell McKee of Hanover, Van. will battle Peiman Biabani of Iran at 60 kg / 132 lbs. McKee won the 2016 UWW Junior Nationals in freestyle and was second at the 2015 UWW Junior Nationals. Bij de 2015 Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., McKee won a gold medal in Greco-Roman and a silver medal in freestyle. Hij was een 2014 Junior Nationals freestyle champion. McKee has signed with the University of Minnesota. Biabani was a 2015 Asian Junior champion and won a gold medal at the Senior-level Dan Kolov Tournament in Bulgaria this year.

Mark Hall of Apple Valley, Van. has drawn Ahmad Bazrighaleh of Iran at 74 kg/163 lbs. Hall was a 2014 UWW Cadet World champion and was ninth in the 2015 UWW Junior World Championships. As a high school senior, he had an impressive 2-2 record at the 2016 U.S. Olympische teamproeven. Hij was een 2013 USA Wrestling Cadet Triple Crown winner, earning national titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle the same year. Hall was the 2015 USA Today High School Wrestler of the Year, and won the 2016 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Hal, a six-time Minnesota state high school champion, has signed with Penn State University. Bazrighaleh was a 2014 Asian Cadet bronze medalist and was ninth at the 2014 Cadet World Championships.

Zahid Valencia of Bellflower, Calif. will go up against Mojtaba Goleij of Iran at 84 kg/185 lbs. Valencia is a freshman at Arizona State University, where he took a redshirt year this season. Valencia was 10th at the 2015 UWW Junior World Championships, and won the UWW Junior Nationals for the second straight year. Valencia won the 2012 en 2013 Cadet Nationals in freestyle and the 2013 Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman. Hij was de 2015 ASICS High School Wrestler of the Year and won the 2015 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Goleij was a 2015 Junior World champion, and won a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Junior Championships.

These four Junior matches will be added to the Main Event, which features five U.S. Olympic Team members facing top international opponents.

2012 Olympisch kampioen, three-time World champion and 2016 Olympian Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg and 2016 Olympian and two-time NCAA champion J’Den Cox at 86 kg will face opponents from Iran. 2016 Olympian and three-time World champion Adeline Gray and 2016 Olympian en 2015 World champion Helen Maroulis will battle Canadian stars in women’s freestyle. Two-time World bronze medalist and 2016 Olympian Andy Bisek will battle an Olympic and World champion from Korea at 75 kg in Greco-Roman.

The entire competition will be broadcast live on Flowrestling.

Billed as “United in the Square,” this will be the second time that Iran has been featured as part of the Beat the Streets Gala competition. In 2013, het evenement heette "The Rumble on the Rails,”Werd gehost in het historische Grand Central Terminal en er waren dubbele ontmoetingen tussen Team USA, Rusland en Iran.

The world-class competition has been hosted in Times Square four previous times. In 2011, de Verenigde Staten versloegen wereldkampioen Rusland, 5-2, het eerste sportevenement ooit gehouden op het historische Times Square. In 2012, een andere VS. vs. De dubbele bijeenkomst van Rusland werd gehouden op Times Square, samen met de V.S.. Olympic Team Wrestle-off voor de 60 kg / 132 lbs. positie op de V.S.. Olympisch team in freestyle heren. In 2014, Team USA versloeg een World All-Star Team op Times Square, 8-3. In 2015, "Salsa in the Square" was een ontmoeting tussen Team USA en Team Cuba in de drie Olympische stijlen, gehouden kort na de historische verandering in de politieke betrekkingen van de VS en Cuba.
This will be the seventh straight year in which a major international-style wrestling competition will be hosted as part of the Beat the Streets Gala activities. In 2010, een all-star challenge met top U.S. worstelaars werden gehouden op de USS Intrepid, een vliegdekschip aangemeerd aan de westkant van Manhattan.

Top Beat the Streets jeugdworstelaars nemen de mat om hun vaardigheden te demonstreren in tentoonstellingswedstrijden vanaf 3:45 p.m. to start the evening. A new feature to be held is the PSAL Girls Freestyle Dual Meet Championships finals, featuring the two top New York City girl’s freestyle wrestling high school teams from the spring girl’s freestyle season. Dan is het Team USA vs. Iran and other guests at 6 p.m., followed by the Beat the Streets Gala Celebration.

The Beat the Streets competition requires a ticket for reserved seating in Times Square, but is an outdoor event. Pedestrians and non-ticket holders are encouraged to watch. Admission tickets may be bought in advance atwww.btsny.org of 212.245.6570. A ticket is required for the Gala Celebration at the PlayStation Theater. Meer details zijn beschikbaar op http://www.btsny.org/gala. The Gala Celebration will follow the wrestling competition.

Dit unieke en opwindende jaarlijkse evenement helpt Beat the Streets (BTS) aanzienlijke fondsen werven om haar missie te bevorderen. Of het nu gaat om een ​​kluis, constructieve uitlaatklep voor onze stedelijke jeugd, bestrijding van obesitas bij kinderen, inspirerende vrouwen, of hele naties verenigen, worstelen leert volharding, toewijding, and the value of working hard to achieve one’s goals, creates opportunities for personal and universal growth. BTS dient momenteel over 3,000 student-atleten elk jaar.

“United In The Square,” Beat the Streets Matchups
In New York City, Mei 19, 2016
Men’s freestyle 74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs (VS) vs. Pehman Yarahmadi (Iran)
Men’s freestyle 86 kg/189 lbs. – J’Den Cox (VS) vs. Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran)
Greco-Roman 75 kg/165 lbs. – Andy Bisek (VS) vs. Kim Hyeon-Woo (Korea)
Women’s 53 kg/116.5 lbs. – Helen Maroulis (VS) vs. Samantha Stewart (Canada)
Women’s 75 kg/165 lbs.– Adeline Gray (VS) vs. Justina Di Stasio (Canada)
Junior men’s freestyle 55 kg/121 lbs. – Daton Fix (VS) vs. Kheyrollah Ghahramani (Iran)
Junior men’s freestyle 60 kg / 132 lbs. – Mitchell McKee (VS) vs. Peiman Biabani (Iran)
Junior men’s freestyle 74 kg/163 lbs. – Mark Hall (VS) vs. Ahmad Bazrighaleh (Iran)
Junior men’s freestyle 84 kg/185 lbs. – Zahid Valencia (VS) vs. Mojtaba Goleij (Iran)
Notitie: Event will be broadcast by Flowrestling
Wrestling Schedule
3:45 p.m. – Beat the Streets Youth Exhibition Matches between 42nd and 43rd Streets
4:45 p.m. – New York City Girl’s Freestyle Dual Meet Championships Finals between 42nd and 43rd Streets
6:30 p.m. - Worstelen van wereldklasse: Team VS vs.. Team Iran, Team Canada and Team Korea between 42nd and 43rd Streets
Followed by Gala Celebration