#WrestleAcapulco

Flawless U.S. sweeps Pan-Am Championships

By Gaurav Bhatt

Team USA capped off their Pan-American Championships campaign flawlessly, winning all seven gold medals on offer on Saturday in Acapulco. 

Spencer LEE (57kg), Nick LEE (65kg), Alec PANTELO (70kg), Alex FACUNDO (79kg), Nate JACKSON (92kg), Kyle SNYDER (97kg), and Mason PARRIS (125kg) finished atop the podium as the US contingent completed a sweep of men's Freestyle titles.

Such was the domination that all but two Americans struck gold without giving up a point.

Snyder asserted his supremacy in the 97kg division, winning his sixth straight and seventh overall gold medal. The Rio Olympic gold medallist and three-time world champion opened his run by pinning Luis PEREZ (DOM) — an opponent Snyder had also beaten in the 2017 and 2021 Pan-Am finals. Synder then carried the momentum into an 11-0 technical fall against Matias URIBE (CHI) before the final clash against familiar foe Arturo SILOT (CUB).

In what was the third straight final between the two, Silot took Snyder to the limit. The 22-year-old, who had previously lost technical falls to the American, came out strong, but couldn't maintain his pace as Snyder completed a hard-fought 10-5 win.

Spencer Lee returned to international action after almost eight years and spent a total of 141 seconds on the mat. Lee began his marauding run with a 10-0 shutout against Oscar TIGREROS (COL) before mirroring the result against Davi SILVA (BRA).

In the final against Pedro MEJIAS (VEN), Lee — a three-time age-level World champion — put on a clinic of two-point moves. And while the five-time medallist Mejias managed a two-point counter, the writing was on the wall for the Venezuelan as Lee rolled him to victory.

Nick Lee soared to the top in the 65kg category with a commanding 10-0 victory over Joshua KRAMER (ECU), before posting another 10-0 tech fall win over Jacob Alexander TORRES (CAN). The 25-year-old's final opponent — three-time medallist Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) — forfeited the match.

Jackson was named the Outstanding Wrestler and awarded the Golden Boot at the Pan-Am Championships, and his blink-and-you-miss 92kg routs showed why. 

He stormed out of the blocks, opening his campaign with a massive double-leg takedown into a leg lace roll on Tejvir BOAL (CAN), before securing the fall in under two minutes. Another highlight-reel moment came against Erwin VARGAS (MEX), as Jackson jumped over the Mexican's attack and secured a pin. Jackson — who won the gold medal at the Zagreb Open last month — then shut out Cesar UBICO (GUA) and Jose BETANCOURT (PUR); the four victories coming in a total of 275 seconds.

Alec PANTALEO (USA)Alec PANTALEO (USA), blue, won his second Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / William Bain)

Pantaleo clinched his second 70kg title after three years with the routs of Victor SOTO (PUR), Erick BARRON (MEX), and Lovera Mauricio MAURICIO (ARG). The 27-year-old received a walkover win from Peiman BIABANI (CAN).

After winning the 74kg gold at the U20 Pan-Am Championships, Facundo returned to Mexico to win his first international gold. The 22-year-old opened his title run with a 10-0 dismantling of 2019 bronze medallist Jasmit PHULKA (CAN), then secured an injury default win against Dylan PALACIO (URU). Facundo sealed his championship status with a 10-0 drubbing of Jose CANO (MEX).

Mason PARRIS (USA)Mason PARRIS (USA) dominated his way to 125kg gold. (Photo: UWW / William Bain)

World medallist Parris secured the 125 kg gold with a 10-0 victory against Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN), followed by back-to-back injury default wins over Jose DIAZ (VEN) and Donovan SMITH (PUR).

With a perfect campaign, Team USA won the men's freestyle team trophy with 250 points. Canada came second at 98 points, followed by Puerto Rico with 89. 

Earlier, Team USA secured both Greco-Roman and women's freestyle team trophies with 183 and 205 points respectively. The Greco-Roman competitors won 2 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze to finish ahead of Mexico (125 points), while American women secured 5 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze, with Canada second at 140 points. 

This is the seventh consecutive year that the United States swept all three team trophies.

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RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Mejias PEDRO JESUS (VEN), 12-2

BRONZE: Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU) df. Jaime PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA), 11-3
BRONZE: Oscar TIGREROS URBANO (COL) df. Davi SILVA GIOVANNETTI (BRA), 13-2

65kg
GOLD: Nicholas LEE (USA) df. Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Shannon HANNA (BAH) df. Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM), 11-9
BRONZE: Joshua KRAMER (ECU) df. Jacob ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN), 9-6

70kg
GOLD: Alec PANTALEO (USA) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Lovera MAURICIO (ARG) df. Victor SOTO RIVERA (PUR), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Alexander FACUNDO (USA)
SILVER: Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)
BRONZE: Jose CANO LOPEZ (MEX)

92kg
GOLD: Nathan JACKSON (USA)
SILVER: Tejvir BOAL (CAN)
BRONZE: Cesar UBICO (GUA)

97kg
GOLD: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT (CUB), 10-5

BRONZE: Cristian SARCO (VEN) df. Ailton BRITO (BRA), 11-0
BRONZE: Luis PEREZ (DOM) df. Matias URIBE (CHI), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Mason PARRIS (USA) df. Jonovan SMITH (PUR), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Ibrain TORRES ESPINOSA (CUB) df. Avila GINO (HON), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Diaz JOSE DANIEL (VEN) df. Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN), 6-0

#WrestleAcapulco

Pino Hinds returns to Greco, wins fourth Pan-Am title

By Vinay Siwach

ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 5) -- Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) could not have asked for a better return to Greco-Roman after trying his hand at freestyle for the last three years.

In 2019, he won the silver medal at the World Championships at 130kg but has since wrestled freestyle. Despite qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, he had to vacate the 130kg spot for the four-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB).

But as the new Olympic cycle begins, Pino is expected to remain at 130kg and lead Cuba's charge. He took the first steps in that direction by winning the Pan-Am gold in Acapulco, Mexico.

Outscoring his opponents 29-2 on Thursday, Pino won his fourth Pan-Am title and the first since 2018 to remain undefeated in the four editions of the competition.

A relieved Pino said he was happy to be back to his natural Greco-Roman style after trying and winning the gold only made the return sweeter.

"I am very happy," Pino said. "For 2-3 years [four] I didn't wrestle in Pan Am as last time was in Peru. But I am back to Greco-Roman and I feel good. I also became the champion on return so very good."

Meanwhile, the USA crowned four champions on the opening day of the competition taking a giant leap in defending the team title they won last year. Colombia and Honduras had a champion each. The remaining three gold medals will be decided Friday.

In his run to the final, Pino had to encounter a familiar opponent on the mat in Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) in the quarterfinal which more or less decided Pino's position in the tournament.

Acosta, who finished fifth at the Olympics, was Cuba's second choice at 130kg and had won Pan-Am titles whenever Lopez decided to sit out. He later moved to Chile in 2016.

The two traded passivity points in either half but it was Pino's two points from par terre that made the difference in the 3-1 win.

"The match against Yasmani was the one I had to prepare more," he said. "In this competition, I had opponents from USA, Yasmani and Peru before the final and I knew to be the champion I need to have a strong gut."

He used that effectively in the final against another Tokyo Olympian Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA), scoring six points from that technique in a 9-1 win to claim the gold. The final was a rematch from the 2016 Pan-Am gold-medal bout which Pino had won easily, claiming his first continental title.

Soghomonyan had upset defending champion Leo SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) in the quarterfinals 2-1 before moving past Gino AVILA DILBERT (HON) 9-0 in the final. But he could not keep up to Pino's game in the final.

While the Pan-Am title is a strong start to the Olympic cycle for Pino, he is taking it one step at a time and focusing on the World Championships later this year in Belgrade, Serbia.

A three-time World medalist, the 28-year-old reached the final in Nursultan but suffered a close defeat at the hands of four-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR). The loss is still fresh in Pino's memory but he says that he is ready to avenge that defeat and win the title.

"I am back and I will compete at the World Championships," he said. "I know I have to beat Riza [KAYAALP] to win the gold. I was close in Nursultan but did a mistake but now I am ready to win."

Randon MIRANDA (USA)Randon MIRANDA (USA) won the 60kg final for his first Pan-Am gold. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

USA dominates

Four gold medals on the first day of the competition gave the USA 100 team points, thanks to solid performances by Brady KOONTZ (USA), Samuel JONES (USA), Randon MIRANDA (USA) and Patrick SMITH (USA). Incidentally, all four wrestlers had to overcome tough home wrestlers to claim the gold medals.

At 60kg, Samuel GURRIA VIGUERAS (MEX) had lit up the arena with his high-flying moves including in the final against Miranda but he had to settle for a silver as the USA wrestler had one extra move than him.

The two were involved in a 20-point slugfest in the final with Gurria being egged on by the vocal fans. But it was Miranda who kept the action going in the first period and was giving the advantage.

He awarded two points as Gurria tried to defend and score a reversal from par terre but committed a leg-foul. He was again put in par terre and Miranda scored four points from two chest-wrap exposures. He then had Gurria in a headlock looking to finish the bout but scored only two. He landed on his back in danger in the same motion, giving up two as well and the score read 9-2. It was initially scored four points for Gurria but the USA successfully challenged the call.

They were involved in another two-and-two situation in the second period before Gurria launched a big headlock for four. A reversal gave Miranda a 12-8 lead and it remained that till the end.

"That was a lot of points," Miranda said after the match. "He was looking to score as he was in his hometown and with that, he brought in the energy."

Miranda had suffered a loss in the final at the '21 edition but was focused enough to win it this year. Despite getting stuck in a few situations, he trusted his game plan to pull off the win, which he thought was critical.

"I think staying composed [made the difference]," he said. "I had a little bit of gameplan, not give him too many openings for him as he caught me a couple of times but that was the goal -- to not get caught."

After ascending to the top of the podium, Miranda can definitely take pride in the win, a warm-up before he enters the USA World Team Trials in June.

"I have to work on some of the stuff for the world team trials for the World Championships," he said. "But I am definitely proud of this and this means that I am training good and hard."

KoontzBrady KOONTZ (USA) won the 55kg gold medal in Acapulco. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

His teammate Koontz won the 55kg title with his win over Axel SALAS ESQUIVEL (MEX) in Round 2 proving to be the difference. He scored two gut-wrenches from par terre to lead 5-0 at the break and when Salas was on top in the second period, Koontz scored when Salas failed to complete a head-pinch exposure. He added a takedown to finish the bout 9-1.

At 63kg, USA's world team member Jones defeated Jose RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX) with 2:08 on the clock to win his first Pan-Am title. After scoring a stepout and point from passivity, he launched Rodriguez for two four-point throws from body locks to win the bout 10-0.

Patrick SMITHPatrick SMITH (USA), red, won his third Pan-Am title and fifth medal overall. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Smith was the USA's fourth gold medalist of the night as he remained undefeated in the 72kg Nordic bracket. The bout which made the difference was against Edsson OLMOS GUTIERREZ (MEX) which Smith won 4-2. This was Smith's third Pan-Am title and fifth medal overall.

Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) celebrates after winning the 67kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Tokyo Olympian Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) won his first senior Pan-Am title by beating Kenedy MORAES PEDROSA (BRA), 5-0, in the 67kg final.

His opening action to go behind and score a takedown on the edge earned him two points before another point was added for Moraes' passivity. He scored a gut-wrench from par terre to lead 5-0 and survived the remaining time to win the gold.

"I feel proud," Horta said. "The work we are doing is good. I managed the bout tactically well to win. This was my second Pan-Am tournament for me and now I start the preparation for the Olympic cycle with the Bolivarian Games in July."

Kevin MEJIA CASTILLOKevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) defended his 97kg Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

History-maker Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), who became the first wrestler from Honduras to win a Pan-Am title last year, gave himself a birthday present by defending his 97kg Pan-Am title in Acapulco. To win the gold without giving up a single point in the tournament only made it more memorable for him.

"I am really happy," Mejia said. "I never thought I will be a two-time Pan-Am champ. I thank my trainers who are always with me. Winning was hard here."

The 24-0 scoreline in his three bouts includes an 8-0 win over Juan CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) in the gold medal bout. He began with a four-point move from par terre and then scored another exposure to lead 7-0. He finished the bout in two minutes and 21 seconds with a stepout.

But to take the next step and win medals on the world stage, Mejia says that he needs better training.

"I need to prepare more [to win at Worlds]," he said. "Better training in Europe is important to have better results"

Apart from the three remaining Greco-Roman weight classes, women's wrestling will also begin Friday with four weights in action.

Samuel JONESSamuel JONES (USA) became the 63kg Pan-Am champion. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Greco-Roman Results

55kg
GOLD: Brady KOONTZ (USA) 
SILVER: Axel SALAS ESQUIVEL (MEX)
BRONZE: Brandon ESCOBAR AMADOR (HON)

Key match: Brady KOONTZ (USA) df Axel SALAS ESQUIVEL (MEX), 9-1 in Round 2

60kg
GOLD: Randon MIRANDA (USA) df. Samuel GURRIA (MEX), 12-8

BRONZE: Dicther TORO (COL) df. Maikol JOSEFA (DOM), 8-0
BRONZE: Joao BENAVIDES (PER) df. Emerson  FELIPE (GUA), 5-4

63kg
GOLD: Samuel JONES (USA) df. Jose RODRIGUEZ (MEX), 10-0

67kg
GOLD: Julian HORTA (COL) df. Kenedy MORAES (BRA), 5-0

BRONZE: Enyer FELICIANO (DOM) df. Cristobal TORRES (CHI), 4-3
BRONZE: Nilton SOTO (PER) df. Diego MARTINEZ (MEX), 2-0

72kg
GOLD: Patrick SMITH (USA)
SILVER: Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
BRONZE: Cristian MEJIA TEPEN (GUA)

Key match: Patrick SMITH (USA) df. Edsson OLMOS GUTIERREZ (MEX), 4-2 in Round 2

97kg
GOLD: Kevin MEJIA (HON) df. Juan CONDE (CUB), 8-0

BRONZE: Carlos ADAMES (DOM) df. Igor ALVES (BRA), 7-3
BRONZE: Nicholas BOYKIN (USA) df. Eduardo GAJARDO (CHI), via forfeit

130kg
GOLD: Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA), 9-1 

BRONZE: Leo SANTANA (DOM) df. Gino AVILA (HON), via injury default
BRONZE: Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) df. Edgardo LOPEZ (PUR), 9-0