Gutches wins wrestling gold
February 25, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Les Gutches, an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State, earned a gold medal at the Yasar Dogu Tournament earlier this month. Gutches won the championship of the 187.25-pound weight class in the freestyle event in Ankara, Turkey.
Gutches, the 1997 World Champion, won five straight matches to earn the title. It was his first international competition since the 1998 World Championships in Tehran, Iran,, where Gutches placed seventh.
Gutches victories included two wins over wrestlers who had beaten him during the 1997-98 season. In the semifinals, Gutches defeated Alexei Kruniakov of Russia 4-1; Krupniakov had beaten Gutches 4-2 at the 1998 World Cup in Stillwater, Okla. In the gold medal match, Gutches topped Magomed Kurguliev of Kazakhstan 3-1; Kurguliev had beaten Gutches 4-3 in the 1998 World Championships.
Gutches also beat Bagel Stamatis of Greece by a 10-0 technical fall in the first round, defeated Ismael Hacioglu of Turkey 9-1 in the second round, and beat Fatih Koyuncu of Turkey 9-1 in the quarterfinals.
The United States placed third in the team standings behind host Turkey and Russia at the tournament, which was held Feb. 11-12. Other medalists for the U.S. were Sammie Henson, who won the gold at 119 pounds, and Kerry McCoy, who won the bronze at 286 pounds.
