Wrestling: Mueller Takes Fifth At U23 World Games In Romania

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas), a junior on the Virginia wrestling team, took fifth place this weekend at the U23 World Games, representing the United States in the freestyle competition.

Competing at 57kg (125.7 pounds), Mueller went 2-2 on the weekend on the way to the fifth-place finish.

Mueller opened the event with a win over Darthe Capellan of Canada by a score of 13-3 to advance to the quarterfinals before dropping that quarterfinal match with a 9-4 decision over Toshihiro Hasewaga of Japan. He then defeated Iran’s Alireza Sarlak in a tight 16-15 match to advance to the bronze-medal round.

In that bronze-medal match, Mueller fought back from an early deficit, but lost an 11-9 decision to Wanhou Zhou of China for a fifth-place finish.

Mueller secured his spot on the team by winning his weight class at the U23 World Team Trials over the summer. Mueller posted seven victories on the day, winning five bouts to advance to the finals before winning both matches in the best-of-three final series. Mueller defeated Rayvon Foley of Michigan State in the final series to secure his spot on the World Team at 57 kg. He posted five wins by technical superiority.

Jack Mueller – 57kg – Fifth Place Finish

WIN Darthe Capellan (Canada), 13-3
LOSS Toshihiro Hasewaga (Japan), 9-4
WIN Alireza Sarlak (Iran), 16-15
LOSS Wanhao Zhou (China), 11-9