#Fortaleza2018

Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and USA Boasts Multiple Finalists at #Fortaleza2018

Saturday, August 18, 2018 - 18:58 By Taylor Miller

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FORTALEZA, Brazil – The first session of the women’s freestyle tournament of the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships wrapped up with three 2017 Junior Pan American runners-up turning in undefeated performances, setting themselves up to reach the top of the podium.

All three of those wrestlers hail from Canada, including Jayd DAVIS at 53 kg, Hannah TAYLOR at 57 kg and Dejah SLATER at 68 kg.

Davis has rolled through the 53 kg bracket so far with two early falls and a 12-2 technical fall, which came against 2017 Cadet World athlete Vayle BAKER (USA).

Tonight, Davis will face Fatima ROJAS CHAVEZ (MEX), who is a 2018 Senior Central American and Caribbean Championships runner-up and Senior Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalist.

At 57 kg, Taylor pinned 2018 Senior Pan American bronze medalist Michaela BECK (USA) at the final buzzer. The Canadian continued on with another pin in 5:44 against 2017 Cadet Pan Am silver medalist Susana LOZANO (MEX).

To open her tournament at 68 kg, Slater defeated 2015 Cadet World bronze medalist Kayla MARANO (USA) with a 15-4 technical fall. She followed it up with a 10-0 win against Grabriela PEDRO (BRA).

The 50 kg bracket saw Mariela ESCALANTE (MEX) and Greidy ESTUPINAN (COL) advance to the finals. This tournament marks their Pan American debuts.

There are three head-to-heads tonight that will determine the round-robin winner. Those weights include 59 kg, 62 kg and 76 kg.

At 59 kg, Brenda REYNA (USA) will face Katherine CUERO (COL), while the 62 kg deciding match also features USA vs. Colombia with Brianna CSONTOS (USA) taking on Paula MONTOYA (COL) for gold.

With only two people in the bracket, Beatriz RODRIGUES (BRA) and Miriam OLVERA (MEX) will wrestle their first matches of the day, going for the 76 kg title.

At 72 kg, Thais DE LUCAS (BRA) went 2-0 in the first half of the day. Should she win her last match tonight, she will take home the crown.

At 65 kg, there are four wrestlers tied with 2-1 records going into tonight’s session, counting Megan FENDELET (CAN), Andrea GARCIA (COL), Atzimba LANDAVERDE (MEX) and Ashlynn ORTEGA (USA). The winner will be determined after the last two matches are wrestled.

The medal matches are set for 5 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

#development

South Africa completes phase one of UWW DNSS Program

Monday, November 17, 2025 - 08:24 By United World Wrestling Press

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PRETORIA, South Africa (November 17) --  The South African Wrestling Federation successfully completed the first phase of the United World Wrestling National Development and Support Strategy (DNSS) from October 17 to 26.

Under the supervision of Vincent AKA, UWW International Development Officer for Africa, and the coordination of Markus DEKKER, member of the SAWF Coaches Council, a nationwide development mission was undertaken. The UWW-SAWF team visited provincial associations, conducting technical assessments, talent identification sessions, and workshops for coaches.

South Africa

Using the UWW National Federation Assessment Tool (NFAT), the mission provided a detailed overview of the current state of wrestling in South Africa -- from grassroots participation to elite athlete preparation.

The tour covered major provinces including Western Cape, Eastern Province, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng North, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, engaging hundreds of athletes, coaches, and local administrators.

The assessment revealed strong technical potential among the U15 and U17 categories, as well as a growing passion for wrestling across communities and schools.

The mission also identified the need for stronger governance structures and more consistent communication between SAWF, provinces, and clubs to unify efforts under a national development plan.

Both teams will continue to work towards second phase of the program which will include establishing two regional pilot centers [Pretoria and Western Cape] to act as training and coordination hubs, launch a "School Integration" program linking PE teachers, schools, and wrestling clubs, developing a national athlete database to monitor and support emerging talents.

It will also aim to organize governance and compliance workshops to reinforce management capacity, implementing UWW coaching courses nationwide, forming a National Technical Committee to coordinate DNSS implementation and introducing measurable evaluation indicators to ensure accountability and progress tracking.