Former Southern Regional High School standout and three-time state wrestling champion Frank Molinaro did not qualify for the Olympics at a qualifying event in Mongolia on Sunday.
Molinaro, competing in the 65 kg weight class, needed to finish in the top three in the event to qualify the weight for the Olympics. He won his first match over Xuan Dinh Nguyen of Turkey, 12-0, but then ran into two-time world medalist Yakup Gor of Turkey in the second round and fell, 6-4.
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Molinaro, who won the Olympic Trials as a No. 9 seed, has one final chance to qualify the weight at another qualifier in Turkey May 6-8. He will need to finish in the top two there.
Molinaro took an early 2-1 lead, scoring a takedown on a nice counter. But Gor pushed the United States wrestler out twice in the second period for a 3-2 lead.
Down by a point, Molinaro tried for a pushout but Gor held his ground on the line and tossed Molinaro over, grabbing his leg as he went out for a takedown. Molinaro challenged the takedown but it stood.
Trailing 6-2, Molinaro recorded a takedown with five seconds left but lost 6-4.
Had Gor reached the final, Molinaro would have been eligible to compete in repechage and wrestle back for third – which would have qualified the weight.
But Molinaro was eliminated when Gor lost in the semifinal. Instead it was Gor who took third and qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio.
The United States has qualified five of the six men’s freestyle weight classes after J’Den Cox, a Missouri wrestler who won his second national title this year, reached the final of the qualifier at 86 kg this weekend to qualify the weight for the U.S. and himself.
Four other weights, including the 74 kg class in which gold medalist Jordan Burroughs of Winslow is competing, were previously qualified.
Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find and like the NJ.com High School Wrestling page on Facebook.
