U.S. wrestler Haley Augello hurt by controversial call but takes blame in loss

Wrestler Haley Augello was eliminated from medal contention Wednesday after a controversial penalty call in a 3-2 loss against Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan.

Even after the arena’s booing spectators loudly blamed the referee for the outcome, Augello took responsibility.

“She won fair and square,” Augello said. “If I kept it close enough to let the ref decide, that’s nobody’s fault but mine.”

Augello, of Lockport, Ill., was penalized one point for stalling early in the first period, though neither woman had made an attacking move at that point. Wrestling referees typically are bipartisan in calling stalling penalties, meaning that if they hit one wrestler with it, they’ll usually call the other competitor’s delaying tactics too.

Eshimova was never called for stalling, though she spent much of the match backing away from Augello’s attacks. She also did not attempt a single takedown.

Augello said she understood why someone would want to be overly cautious at the Olympics. She vowed to learn from the experience, which was only her second international competition at the 105.8-pound class.

“I am here for a reason, and there is no reason I shouldn’t be beating these girls,” Augello said. “I know I am right there with them. I know when I grab onto them that I am stronger, I am faster, I am a better wrestler than them.

“I made some mistakes today. I am going to walk away and learn from them. I will come back stronger and bring back some medals for my country the next championships and the next Olympic Games.”

In her first match on the Olympic mat, Augello upset reigning world bronze medalist Jessica Blaszka of the Netherlands 7-0.

Augello lost to reigning world champion Eri Tosaka of Japan, 11-2, in the quarterfinals, though the score does not represent how close the match was. Augello was leading 2-1 in the second period when she made a costly mistake that gave Tosaka, who won silver in London four years ago, the lead. After the error, Augello struggled to regain her footing and gave up several more points.

Tosaka went on to win the gold medal, drawing Augello into the repechage to compete for the bronze.

“Even though I didn’t get what I want, I love being out there,” Augello said. “It hurts to lose, but I would do it all over again.”

Augello, a former world cadet champion, has been on an upward trajectory for the last year, including a first-place finish at the women’s university national championships in March. She wrestles for King University in Tennessee, where she won two national titles before taking an Olympic redshirt this season.

The youngest member of the U.S. women’s wrestling team, Augello, 21, will return to King this school year to complete her education.

U.S. coach Terry Steiner said Augello could be successful, “but it really comes down to bottling up what she feels now and using that to motivate her to stay on track.

sstclair@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @stacystclair