Granger's Sarah Hildebrandt wins silver in World Wrestling Championships

On its Twitter feed, USA Wrestling called it “a great match.” 

Unfortunately, the results weren’t so great for Sarah Hildebrandt. 

Giving up a two-point exposure with about 30 seconds to go, Hildebrandt dropped a 5-3 decision to Japan’s Remina Yoshimoto in the gold medal match of the 50 Kg (110-pound) weight class at the World Wrestling Championships in Oslo, Norway. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with a silver medal, which Hildebrandt , age 28, earned for the second time in her career Wednesday night. 

But it’s not what she went there for.  In previous interviews, Hildebrandt made it clear she would only be happy with gold. 

“Sarah. I’ll tell ya, it was just a hard loss against a team (Japan) that we are having trouble climbing above,” said Team USA coach Terry Steiner. “They have a pipeline that is continuously pumping out great athletes.” 

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Things appeared to be going Hildebrandt’s way at the start, as she scored a point when Yoshimoto was put on the shot clock, then went up 3-0 after a scramble with about 30 seconds remaining in the first period. 

But Yoshimoto, 21, recorded a takedown of her own just before the break, then tied the score 3-3 when she forced Hildebrandt to step out with two minutes to go. 

Commentators referred to the battle as a “great match” and noted that the momentum swung back-and-forth throughout. 

As the clock ran down, Yoshimoto got in deep on a scramble and turned Hildebrandt’s back to the mat for an exposure, taking a 5-3 lead. 

Think of an exposure as the equivalent of the two-point nearfall in high school wrestling. 

Hildebrandt struggled but could not get away as the clock ran out, and Yoshimoto claimed an upset victory and the first gold medal of her career. 

Japanese wrestlers have dominated women’s events at the World Championships, with three gold medals and a silver in the first six weight classes to be decided. There are four to go. 

U.S. wrestler Adeline Gray, however, made history when she won the 76 Kg gold medal, giving her six world championships for her career. 

Hildebrandt was seeded No. 1 entering the tournament, while Yoshimoto, the 2017 Cadet world champ, was seeded No. 18.  Hildebrandt is ranked No. 4 in the world by United World Wrestling, while Yoshimoto is not ranked. 

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USA Wrestling described the match as follows: 

“Hildebrandt and Yoshimoto had one of the most exciting finals matches of the tournament featuring plenty of scrambles and key moments. Hildebrandt opened a 3-0 lead to take momentum early, taking advantage of a shot clock point and a scramble position. However, Yoshimoto wasted no time before hitting the break, scoring a takedown to cut Hildebrandt’s lead to 3-2 after the first three minutes. 

In the second period, Yoshimoto forced multiple key positions and capitalized, earning one point on a step out and two points on exposure in a scramble to take the 5-3 lead which held up to the end.”