Marable Claims Title
May 11, 2015
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University assistant wrestling coach Nick Marable claimed his second consecutive title at 70 kilograms (154 pounds) at the 2015 Las Vegas/ASICS U.S. Open on Saturday evening at South Point Arena.
Marable took an early 4-0 lead over former World Team member Dustin Schlatter and never looked back. A 2014 World Team member himself, Marable took the 4-2 victory to win the title and help Sunkist Kids take the Division II team title.
“This past weekend I got the opportunity not only to compete in the U.S. Open but also win the tournament again,” said Marable. “As I look to make the U.S. National Team again for the 2015 World Championships, it was a great chance to see things I need to work on going into the World Team Trials coming up in June.”
Seeded No. 1 at 70 kg, Marable tech. falled Gary Dinmore of Upper Black Eddy, 10-0, before downing Jackrabbit Wrestling’s Cody Pack in an 11-0 tech. fall. He won a 3-1 decision over Vladyslav Dombrovsky (Army WCAP) in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals on Friday.
Taking on Mozay Fay (Army WCAP) in the semis, Marable took a 2-0 lead in the first before Fay came back to score four and take the lead, 4-2. Marable added two more in the closing seconds of the first period to tie the score 4-4. He then added two more in the second in earning the 6-4 win and a spot in Saturday’s finals.
As the U.S. Open champion, Marable earns an automatic spot in the finals of the U.S. World Team Trials, which are slated for June 12-14 in Madison, Wisconsin. After winning the 2014 U.S. Open, Marable won an 8-2 bout against Titan Mercury’s James Green in the finals of the Senior Men’s World Team Trials to qualify for the 2014 United World Wrestling Championships. He went 2-1 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, winning a 2-1 decision over Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov in the qualification round before defeating Grigor Grigoryan of Armenia by a score of 4-2. He then suffered a 5-2 setback to Ali Shabanau of Belarus in the quarterfinals.
“Sammie Henson and I will have some things to work on to make sure I make the team again,” said Marable. “I am very thankful for the coach I get to work with every day as well as the WVU wrestling team that helps me prepare to make the 2015 World Team. I am very lucky to be in the position I am in training at WVU with great people around.”
WVU signee Devin Brown was also in action in Las Vegas this weekend, competing at the FILA Junior Nationals. He took second in the 50-kilogram freestyle competition.
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