Kizhan Clarke

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

Career

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

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.

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.

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. However, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Clarke went 4–2 at the US U23 National Championships but was unable to place.

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. 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.

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. After beating the tenth-seed to reach the semi-finals, Clarke defeated the sixth-seed on ultimate tie-breaker to reach the finals. 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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. He competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his first match and he did not qualify for the Olympics.

Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location

Win 38-24

New York City, New York Win 37-24

Win 36-23

Loss 35-22

Win 35-21

Loss 34–21

Tirana, Albania

Loss 34–20

Istanbul, Turkey

Win 34–19

Bucharest, Romania Win 33–19

Loss 32–19

Win 32–18

Win 31–18

Germany Win 30–18

Win 29–18

Loss 28–18

Win 28–17

Loss 27–17

Loss 27–16

Budapest, Hungary

Loss 26–15

Yerevan, Armenia Win 26–14

Win 25–14

Heidelberg, Germany Win 24–14

Win 23–14

Loss 22–14

Zagreb, Croatia Win 22–13

Win 21–13

Germany Win 20–13

Loss 19–13

Nice, France Win 19–12

Win 18–12

Win 17–12

Loss 16–12

Fort Worth, Texas Loss 16–11

Win 16–10

Win 15–10

Loss 14–10

Omaha, Nebraska Win 14–9

Loss 13–9

Win 13–8

Win 12–8

Win 11–8

Loss 10–8

Akron, Ohio Win 10–7

Win 9–7

Win 8–7

Loss 7–7

Win 7–6

Win 6–6

Loss 5–6

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 5–5

Loss 4–5

Win 4–4

Loss 3–4

Akron, Ohio Loss 3–3

Win 3–2

Win 2–2

Loss 1–2

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 1–1

Loss 0–1