The Israeli team wrestling member Mitchell Finesilver defeated his Canadian opponent by criteria on Friday at the Pennsylvania Olympic Regional Training Center.
The Pennsylvania RTC tweeted:”Finesilver gets the takedown with 3 seconds left on the clock. He takes the match, 3-3, on criteria!”
The Colorado-born Finesilver told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that “I think my performance at the PRTC event was decent. I needed to commit to more attacks and trust my shots. I’m happy that I could rely on my conditioning to pull off the win in the end. It’s a result of my coaches believing me.”
Finesilver beat the Canadian grappler Jasmit Phutka 3-3 in the 76 kg match. Phutka is from Abbotsford, British Columbia, and won a bronze medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Championships and a silver medal at the Grand Prix of Spain.
The PRTC, whose mission is “to enrich lives locally and globally through the sport of wrestling,” live tweeted Finesilver’s match. The Canadian was first put on the shot clock because of lack of action. The goal of Freestyle international wrestling is to encourage the wrestlers to take shots. Phutka did not score during the 30 second shot penalty clock period.
As a result, Finesilver was awarded a point. After leading 1-0, Finesilver was hit with a passivity call and put on the shot clock. Phulka secured a point, leading to a 1-1 score.
Phulka scored on a go-behind move and increased his lead to 3-1. Finesilver took Phulka down with a mere three second left on the clock, clinching the match for him based on criteria because he secured the last takedown.
After Finesilver won a bronze medal in January at the Henri Deglane tournament in Nice, France, Kendall Cross, the coach for the New York City Regional Training Center, where Finesilver is based, tweeted: “This young man MAKES DEPOSITS! EVERY! DAY! And he took some dividends this wknd at the GRAND PRIX de FRANCE!@mitchieboy_fine BRONZE MEDALIST
@nycrtc @CULionsWR”
This young man MAKES DEPOSITS! EVERY! DAY! And he took some dividends this wknd at the GRAND PRIX de FRANCE!@mitchieboy_fine BRONZE MEDALIST @nycrtc @CULionsWR pic.twitter.com/lG5gGG9EiF
— Kendall Cross (@cross_kendall) January 17, 2021
Cross is one of America’s most highly decorated wrestlers. He won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Finesilver told the Post after his victory in France that “I have a lot of pride being able to represent Israel on the world’s stage,” adding that “It’s amazing to be able to represent my culture and heritage.”
Finesilver earned All-American status as a Duke University wrestler at the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association Wrestling Championship. He placed fourth in the nation at the tournament.