Kizhan Clarke
Personal information
Full nameKizhan Andre Clarke
Born (1997-12-16) December 16, 1997 (age 26)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Home townTampa, Florida, U.S.
Sport
Country United States (2018–2022)
 Germany (2023–present)
SportWrestling
Weight class65 kg (143 lb)
Event(s)Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamTar Heels
ClubTar Heel Wrestling Club
AC Lichtenfels
Coached byRob Koll
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Germany
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Bucharest 65 kg
Grand Prix
Silver medal – second place 2023 Nice 65 kg
German Nationals
Gold medal – first place 2023 Heidelberg 65 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the North Carolina Tar Heels
NCAA Division I National Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Detroit 141 lb

Kizhan Andre Clarke (born 16 December 1997) is a German-American freestyle wrestler who competes internationally at 65 kilograms.[1] He was a medalist at the European Championship and the Grand Prix Henri Deglane, and was also a NCAA Division I National runner-up out of the University of North Carolina.[2]

Career

High school

Clarke was born in Wiesbaden, Germany to an American father and a German mother, and moved to Dallas, Texas at the age of one before moving to Florida in seventh grade.[3] He started wrestling as a freshman at Riverview High School in Riverview, Florida, and became a state champion and two-time finalist before graduating.[4]

American University

2016–2017

Clarke wore a redshirt during his first year wrestling for the American Eagles, winning over 30 matches and placing at six tournaments.[5]

2017–2018

Clarke went 16–13 as the team's starter at 141 pounds, and was unable to place at the EIWA Championships or qualify for the NCAA's.[5] After the season, he competed in freestyle at the US Open and the U23 US World Team Trials, but was unable to place.

2018–2019

Clarke then moved up to 157 pounds, recording a 26–13 record and placing seventh at the EIWA Championships, though missing a trip to NCAA's.[5] After the season, he once again competed at the US Open and the U23 US World Team Trials though was unable to place.[6]

2019–2020

Dropping down to 149 pounds, Clarke improved to a 35–7 record, placed fourth at the EIWA Championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament.[7] However, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In November 2020, Clarke went 4–2 at the US U23 National Championships but was unable to place.[9]

University of North Carolina

2021–2022

In March 2021, Clarke went 2–2 at the US Last Chance Qualifier, failing to qualify for the US Olympic Team Trials.[10]

After being unable to compete during the 2020–2021 season due to COVID-19 protocols, Clarke transferred to the University of North Carolina for his final year.[10] Back down to 141, Clarke posted a 17–1 record during the regular season before going 0–2 at the ACC Championships, requiring an at-large berth to qualify for the NCAA tournament.[11]

Ranked as the fifteenth-seed, Clarke avenged a loss suffered at the ACC Championship in the first round, and took out returning NCAA finalist Jaydin Eierman to advance to the quarterfinals.[12] After beating the tenth-seed to reach the semi-finals, Clarke defeated the sixth-seed on ultimate tie-breaker to reach the finals.[13] In the finals, Clarke fell to returning champion Nick Lee, though earned runner-up and All-American honors and closed his final year at 21–4.[14]

Germany

2023

In January, Clarke returned to freestyle and represented Germany for the first time in international competition, at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane. He defeated fellow NCAA runner-up Ridge Lovett and veteran Evan Henderson to make the finals, where he was defeated by All-American Pat Lugo.[15]

In April, Clarke defeated Niklas Dorn in a best-of-three wrestle-off to determine Germany's starter.[16] He then went 1–1 at the European Championships, defeating Italy's Colin Realbuto though falling to U20 World Champion Erik Arushanian.[17]

In June, Clarke became a German National champion with three wins over fellow countrymen.[18] He then competed at the Stepan Sargsyan Cup in Armenia, defeating an opponent from Kazakhstan before falling to U20 World Champion Peiman Biabani.[19] In July, he competed at the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament, though was eliminated by North Carolina teammate Lachlan McNeil.[20]

From September to November, Clarke competed in the German Bundesliga, where he participated in six dual meets for AC Lichtenfels and emerged victorious in four of them.[21]

2024

In February, Clarke earned a bronze medal from the European Continental Championships, with a notable victory over Individual World Cup and U23 World Champion Vazgen Tevanyan.[22]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location 2024 European Championships at 65 kg Win 34–19 Goderdzi Dzebisashvili 5–3 February 16–17, 2024 2024 European Continental Championships Bucharest, Romania Win 33–19 Vazgen Tevanyan 3–2 Loss 32–19 Gadzhimurad Rashidov 0–6 Win 32–18 Besir Alili Fall Win 31–18 Danny Mayr TF 16–0 November 25, 2023 2023 KG Baienfurt/Ravensburg – AC Lichtenfels (71 kg) Germany Win 30–18 Magomed Kartojev 8–2 November 18, 2023 2023 AC Lichtenfels – SV Wacker Burghausen (71 kg) Win 29–18 Dawid Volny 7–0 November 4, 2023 2023 ASV Schorndorf – AC Lichtenfels (71 kg) Loss 28–18 Nicolai Grahmez 1–9 October 21, 2023 2023 AC Lichtenfels – RSV Rotation Greiz (75 kg) Win 28–17 Roman Walters TF 17–0 October 2, 2023 2023 AC Lichtenfels – AV Germania Markneukirchen (66 kg) Loss 27–17 Islam Dudaev 2–10 September 30, 2023 2023 AC Lichtenfels – ASV Schorndorf (66 kg) 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial 15th at 65 kg Loss 27–16 Lachlan McNeil 3–5 July 13, 2023 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Budapest, Hungary 2023 Stepan Sargsyan Cup 7th at 65 kg Loss 26–15 Peiman Biabani 1–3 June 15–17, 2023 2023 Stepan Sargsyan Cup Yerevan, Armenia Win 26–14 Timur Aitkulov 11–10 2023 German Nationals at 65 kg Win 25–14 Niklas Dorn 6–1 June 8–11, 2023 2023 Deutsche Meisterschaft Männer Heidelberg, Germany Win 24–14 Victor Lyzen 4–0 Win 23–14 Alexander Semisorow 6–4 2023 European Championships 10th at 65 kg Loss 22–14 Erik Arushanian 2–2 April 17, 2023 2023 European Continental Championships Zagreb, Croatia Win 22–13 Colin Realbuto 3–0 2023 German World Team Trials at 65 kg Win 21–13 Niklas Dorn 6–0 April 1–2, 2023 2023 German World Team Trials Germany Win 20–13 Niklas Dorn 4–0 2023 Henri Deglane Grand Prix at 65 kg Loss 19–13 Pat Lugo 0–7 January 20–22, 2023 Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2023 Nice, France Win 19–12 Evan Henderson 10–8 Win 18–12 Ridge Lovett 4–1 Win 17–12 Quentin Sticker TF 11–0 2021 US Last Chance DNP at 65 kg Loss 16–12 Mitch McKee TF 1–12 March 27, 2021 2021 US Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier Fort Worth, Texas Loss 16–11 Evan Henderson TF 2–13 Win 16–10 Dean Heil 9–2 Win 15–10 Mitch McKee TF 14–4 2020 U23 US Nationals 4th at 65 kg Loss 14–10 Max Murin TF 0–10 November 13–15, 2020 2020 U23 US National Championships Omaha, Nebraska Win 14–9 Clay Carlson TF 10–0 Loss 13–9 Don Demas 3–5 Win 13–8 Cael Happel TF 10–0 Win 12–8 James Emmer TF 10–0 Win 11–8 Tony Mendoza TF 11–0 2019 U23 US World Team Trials DNP at 70 kg Loss 10–8 Benjamin Lamantia TF 0–11 June 1–3, 2019 2019 U23 US World Team Trials Challenge Akron, Ohio Win 10–7 Mike Van Brill 5–1 Win 9–7 Seth Hogue 7–6 Win 8–7 Anthony Scantlin TF 10–0 Loss 7–7 Kendall Coleman 3–7 Win 7–6 Benjamin Brancale 8–6 Win 6–6 Kevin Budock TF 12–1 2019 US Open DNP at 70 kg Loss 5–6 Jake Keating TF 1–12 April 23–26, 2019 2019 US Open National Championships Las Vegas, Nevada Win 5–5 Zehlin Storr 6–1 Loss 4–5 Jason Nolf TF 0–10 Win 4–4 Carlos Herrera TF 14–2 2018 U23 US World Team Trials DNP at 70 kg Loss 3–4 Matthew Kolodzik 2–6 June 1–3, 2018 2018 U23 US World Team Trials Challenge Akron, Ohio Loss 3–3 Hayden Hidlay TF 0–10 Win 3–2 Austin Singer TF 10–0 Win 2–2 Sammy Peticos TF 10–0 2018 US Open DNP at 70 kg Loss 1–2 Josh Reyes TF 0–10 April 24–28, 2018 2018 US Open National Championships Las Vegas, Nevada Win 1–1 Jacob Hatley TF 10–0 Loss 0–1 Matthew Kolodzik TF 5–16

References

  1. ^ "Clarke To Compete In European Championships". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  2. ^ "March 2024 International Men's Freestyle Rankings". THE FIGHT SITE. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ "Lawyer in the Making: Unlocking Ki Zhan Clarke". American University. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  4. ^ "Riverview's Kizhan Clarke makes a name for himself in wrestling". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  5. ^ a b c "Kizhan Clarke – 2020–21 – Wrestling". American University. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  6. ^ "These are the wrestlers outside the top 10 we might see make the NCAA finals | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  7. ^ "Kizhan Clarke Remains Undefeated, Leads Wrestling at Navy Classic". American University. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  8. ^ Goodwin, Cody. "NCAA cancels Division I, II, III wrestling championships amid COVID-19 pandemic". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  9. ^ Bray, David (2020-11-09). "Who's Registered For 2020 UWW Jr & U23 Nationals?". FloWrestling. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  10. ^ a b "UNC Wrestling Adds Kizhan Clarke For 2021–22 Season". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  11. ^ Hamilton, Andy (2022-03-29). "Overcomers: Kizhan Clarke Laid Down The Law During Run To NCAA Finals". FloWrestling. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  12. ^ NJ.com, Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for (2022-03-18). "NCAA Wrestling Championships, 2022: 8 N.J. wrestlers reach quarterfinals". nj. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  13. ^ "Pitt's Cole Matthews Earns NCAA All-America Status". Pitt Panthers #H2P. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  14. ^ "Clarke Caps Off Season With Runner Up Finish". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  15. ^ "American Men's Freestyle Rankings – February 20th, 2023". InterMat. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  16. ^ "Kizhan Clarke To Compete In European Wrestling Championships". Tar Heel Times. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  17. ^ admin (2023-04-28). "3x Bronze für ACL-Eagles". AC Lichtenfels – Bundesliga Ringen (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  18. ^ admin (2023-06-12). "Gold für Hannes Wagner und Kizhan Clarke". AC Lichtenfels – Bundesliga Ringen (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  19. ^ "Stepan Sargsyan Cup 2023 wrestling". uww.org. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  20. ^ jeandaniel. "Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  21. ^ admin (2023-11-26). "22:5 Sieg in Baienfurt. Revanche geglückt!". AC Lichtenfels – Bundesliga Ringen (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  22. ^ admin (2024-02-19). "4 Medaillen bei der Europameisterschaft". AC Lichtenfels – Bundesliga Ringen (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-09.

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