Teays Valley graduate Camden McDanel earns bronze at U20 world freestyle wrestling
Teays Valley graduate Camden McDanel added another accomplishment to his wrestling résumé by finishing third in the U20 World Freestyle Championships in Amman, Jordan.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Warsaw, Poland, but was moved July 21 due to Poland's inability to grant visas to athletes from Russia and Belarus.
The competition began Monday and concludes Sunday.
McDanel advanced to the semifinals at 97 kilograms (approximately 214 pounds) before dropping a 5-1 decision Monday to Iran’s Abolfazl Babaloo.
He bounced back to beat Kazakhstan’s Kamil Kurugliyev 8-2 on Tuesday, snapping an early 2-all tie for the bronze medal.
McDanel finished 3-1, opening with technical fall wins over Japan’s Toyoki Hamada (12-1) and Poland’s Taron Shahinyan (12-2).
“It’s awesome to get a medal,” McDanel said. “I learned a lot. I think I could have got the gold if I had done some things differently that I learned after I lost my semifinal match. I think I did well bouncing back to finish and getting bronze. My family is proud of me. Obviously, it’s not what I wanted. It was my first world tournament. I’m glad that I medaled, and I have a lot of stuff to work on.”
A Nebraska signee, McDanel’s year also has included a Pan-American championship, a U20 Freestyle World Team Trials title, a U20 Freestyle Nationals championship and an OHSAA state title to cap his high school career.
“This is bigger than high school,” McDanel said. “It’s the World Championships. It doesn’t get bigger for this age group. It’s a pretty big deal. Some people might not understand how big of a deal it is, but I think it’s pretty serious.”
The USA team was guided by Nebraska assistant coach Tervel Dlagnev.
“As a family, we just felt blessed to be able to see him and coach Dlagnev represent our country, state and the Teays Valley community against the best in the world at his age level,” said McDanel’s father, Josh, an assistant coach with the Teays Valley wrestling program. “Not every day does a kid from Ashville, or even Ohio, get this opportunity. We are truly proud of how he carried himself during the entire competition.”
After heading home for a visit with family and friends, McDanel will return to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in preparation for his freshman year at Nebraska in fall 2024.
“I’ve been in Colorado Springs since June, so I’m going home for a little bit,” he said. “I’ve been gone all summer. I miss my family. I’m going to go home for a little while then I’ll head back out and start training again. I’m going to take a little break. I haven’t had one for about a year.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Camden McDanel earns bronze at U20 World Freestyle Championships
