Koontz and Rau compete at World Championships

Brady Koontz and Joe Rau competed in Greco-Roman at the 2023 World Championships in Serbia last week. Koontz, who wrestled for Dubuque last season, went 1-1 at 55kg. He picked up a first round win 7-3 over Hyeokjin Jeon of South Korea before falling 9-0 to Denis Florin Mihai of Romania in the round of 16. When his opponent failed to reach the finals, Koontz was eliminated.

Rau, a former Elmhurst NCAA champion, opened his tournament at 97kg with a 4-1 win over Filip Smetko of Croatia. His next match came against four-time world champion and three-time Olympic medalist Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia. Aleksanyan won 9-0 and went on to reach the finals, sending Rau into the repechage. Rau had the first chance on top in his opening repechage match against Nicu Samuel Ojog of Romania, but Ojog stepped over a front headlock attempt from Rau and secured a fall to end Rau’s tournament.

Full results and match replays can be seen on FloWrestling ($).