Chestnut Ridge's Kooper Deputy seeks gold in Azerbaijan
· Yahoo Sports
Competing in the United World Wrestling U17 Freestyle World Championships might be the least of Kooper Deputy’s worries.
The 16-year-old from Bedford County was dealing with other issues in the buildup to his first international competition. The travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Deputy will wrestle in the 48-kilogram weight class Friday, was a challenge. He was also getting accustomed to different types of food and the time change, which is eight hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.
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“It’s a little out of his comfort zone,” said Josh Deputy, Kooper’s father and head coach of Chestnut Ridge High School and the Orchard Wrestling Club. “It’s an obstacle for him.
“He’s a regimented kid who likes to do things a certain way.”
The weight cut has also been difficult for Kooper. He won a PIAA title at 107 pounds in March, but the sport’s 2-pound growth allowance made the limit 109 by that point in the season. The world championships’ 48-kilogram weight class equates to 105.8 pounds, making it even more difficult on a rising sophomore who has grown over the past few months.
“When it comes time to compete, he’ll do well,” Coach Deputy said during a Thursday-morning phone call from Baku. “He’s a gamer. Most kids say they want to be a state champion. He’s never said that. He wants to represent our country. That’s important to him.”
Deputy has a first-round bye and should wrestle for the first time around 2:30 a.m. Eastern Friday.
He will face the winner of a first-round bout between Ahmed Saleh of Egypt and Bogdan Sapojnic of Germany.
A quarterfinal victory there likely would earn Deputy a date with either European champion Huseyn Rzazade of Azerbaijan or Asian runner-up Amirali Ragheb of Iran.
The semifinal round will begin around 5 a.m., with the championship bouts set for Saturday morning.
Rzazade is one of the favorite’s in a weight that also includes European runner-up Volodymyr Boiko of Ukraine, Asian champion Farrukh Makhmudov of Uzbekistan and Russia’s Kirill Kondrashov, who won the U15 European championship last year.
Local wrestlers have fared well recently in the Cadet/U17 world championships.
Bo Bassett, who just graduated from Bishop McCort Catholic, won gold at 45 kilograms in 2021 and his brother, Keegan Bassett, won that weight class last year. Another recent Bishop McCort grad, Jax Forrest, claimed silver at 55 kilos in 2022.
Kooper Deputy has the pedigree to follow in their footsteps, according to his father.
“I don’t think this is too big for him,” Coach Deputy said of the world stage. “He’s a veteran at this stuff. He’s competed in every big event through youth up to high school last year.”
In addition to his PIAA title, Kooper Deputy has won three Super 32 crowns and is ranked first nationally at 106 pounds in folkstyle. That success has translated to freestyle, where he won a national title last year in Fargo, North Dakota.
“He’s kind of the same (in freestyle) as folkstyle,” his father said. “He’s big into his hand fight and snapdowns, and he’s very good on top in par terre.
“He has a good gut (wrench), and he likes to snake his bar in during his gut. That plays a lot into his freestyle success. Usually, if he gets his bar, it’s over.”
Kooper Deputy sees plenty of familiar faces on the U17 freestyle team. Pennsylvanians Evan Restivo of State College (51 kilos), Chase Karenbauer of Mercer (55) and former Bishop McCort wrestler Jayden O’Farrill of State College (80) are on the team, and Chance Marsteller, who had a legendary PIAA career, is one of the team’s coaches.
No matter what happens on the mat, Coach Deputy expects Kooper to enjoy the experience – at least after weigh-ins.
“These kids on this team, they grew up around me,” the coach said. “I was playing cards with them all. This group of kids is part of my boy’s life.”