#WrestleAcapulco

Gilman adds Pan-Am title to growing resume

By Vinay Siwach

ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 8) -- Over the last year, Thomas GILMAN (USA) has managed to check a few things off his bucket list. He has won an Olympic medal and a world title.

On Sunday, he checked off another item by winning his first Pan-Am title, helping the USA clean sweep the team titles in Acapulco, Mexico.

The USA won eight of the 10 gold medals at the tournament to finish first with 229 points in the team race. They were way clear of second-placer Canada which had 138 points. Puerto Rico finished third with 120 points.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and J'den COX (USA) had won the 79kg and 92kg gold medals on Saturday.

Sunday began with Gilman living up to the reputation of being the favorite to win the gold. He outscored his opponents 34-2 in three bouts. His two wins were via fall while the final was settled with the score of 11-0 against Darian CRUZ (CUB).

Now an experienced wrestler on the US team, the 27-year-old stuck to the basics and managed to capture the gold, four years after he finished with a bronze medal at the same tournament.

"I knew I was ready to go," Gilman said about his final. "I wanted to move my feet quickly and get on top. [In the final], I stayed where I am good."

Using his strong underhooks and collar tie, Gilman produced a takedown masterclass throughout the tournament. Even in the final, he had four takedowns and a gut-wrench as he sailed through for a first-period finish against Cruz.

Gilman's game plan on the day was similar to what he did in the final and later explained that it is his go-to for all bouts.

"That's pretty much the game plan every time regardless [who the opponent is]," he said. "Being aware of the tricks I can do from there. Just being patient in my positions and nothing changes with the opponent and make him wrestle where I am good."

His growth since the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships has also resulted in maturity on the mat. After winning the World title in Oslo last year, Gilman had said that he is learning to win and be consistent.

"I'm starting to learn how to win as a competitor," Gilman had said in Oslo. "I think I'm a pretty decent wrestler. But I don't know if I know how to really win on a consistent basis yet."

One of the areas of his game in which Gilman has been continuously working is having more room to score via gut wrenches after completing a takedown.

"It's been a focus of mine getting a takedown in the middle of the mat, get it on top and work on my turns," he said. "Our points are either pushouts or takedowns on the edge so trying to focus on getting the guy in the middle of the mat so there is more room to work on top."

"The Cuba match was a good example. A couple of sticky situations but I did not really hesitate," he said referring to his semifinal against Alexei ALVAREZ BLANCO (CUB). "I wrestled through, let my body take over. So there are improvements, room for growth."

That will be put to use when Gilman wrestles for the spot on the USA's world team. He will appear for Final X next month against a yet-to-be-known opponent and try to win a best-of-three series to claim the spot.

In Belgrade, he has a chance to win back-to-back titles and while the participation of an RWF wrestler is still unlikely, Gilman has kept a close look on his other opponents as well. One of them is Olympic silver medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND) who, Gilman says, has a similar style of wrestling.

"There are a couple of guys on my mind but I am getting ready for everybody," he said. "Ravi KUMAR (IND) is a brawler like me. I'd like to wrestle him. I have never wrestled him. It will be fun for the fans because we are not holding back. We are not the most technical or tactical so it will potentially be a fistfight and may the best man win."

Another world champion who had a successful outing Sunday was Kyle DAKE (USA) as he defended his 74kg Pan-Am title.

The three-time world champion quickly got to business in Acapulco by beating Diego SANDOVAL ZARCO (MEX), 12-1 in the quarterfinals before taking out Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB), 10-0 in the semifinals.

In a surprise call, he was put on the activity clock in the final against Franklin GOMEZ (PUR) but it did not bother him much as he went on to score quick points and close out the final 10-1.

"Nice to get back on the mat and I am glad to be part of the process," Dake said.

Like Gilman, he will be trying to make the USA team next month. Dake seemed satisfied with his performance in Acapulco but said that he can work on his attacks.

"[I have to] just keep scoring points and be more creative with my attacks," he said. "Like put a couple together, move forward and go get them."

fixDaton FIX (USA), red, won his first Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Two World Championships silver medalists from Oslo were the gold medalist for the USA in Acapulco as Daton FIX (USA) picked up the 61kg title while Kyle SNYDER (USA) won the 97kg gold.

At 61kg, Fix wrestled in a Nordic-system bracket and destroyed all of his opponents in the process of claiming the gold medal. This was Fix's first Pan-Am Championships gold to go with his Games gold from 2019.

A big name in folkstyle domestically, the USA wrestler expressed his happiness to wrestle freestyle again.

"It's good to wrestle freestyle again as it's my favorite style," Fix said.

SnyderKyle SNYDER (USA) defended his 97kg Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Snyder was equally dominant at 97kg and defeated Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), 12-1 in the final. He outscored his opponents 33-1 and was satisfied with how he wrestled at the tournament.

"I wrestled the way I have been practicing and compete up to that standard," he said. "I feel I did a really good job. I am happy about."

The two-time Olympic medalist was aware of the lack of competition at the Pan-Ams but he said it was more about his own wrestling than the opponents.

"I am looking to wrestle on a certain day, that's what I am focused on," he said. "It's not much about the competition at an event like this. I want to wrestle the way I have been training and how I know I can compete. I look forward to wrestling Cuba. At Worlds, obviously, it's RWF, Iran, Azerbaijan."

To reclaim the world title he last won in 2017 in Paris after beating Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) in the final, he will have to win the spot on the USA team before flying to Belgrade. Snyder said that there isn't much to change for the trials in the USA.

"I just want to keep working on what I've been working on," he said. "Stay focused and recover. I think I am on a pretty good track."

The remaining two gold medals for the USA came at 65kg and 86kg. Joseph McKENNA (USA) won the 65kg gold while Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won the 86kg.

McKenna wrestled Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) in the final and comfortably beat him 10-0. He began with a big four before getting three rolls to finish the bout.

More than the final, McKenna fashed a tougher challenge from Tokyo Olympian Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) in the semifinals. McKenna was comfortably leading 4-1 when Destribats hit a four but McKenna in the same motion to get two points. He hit a four as well to lead 10-5 at the break.

But that was all Destribats had as McKenna added three more points in the second period to win 13-5.

ValenciaZahid VALENCIA (USA) calimed the gold medal at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Valencia did not get a technical superiority win in the 86kg final but did enough to beat Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB), 4-1. He scored two non-action points in the first period while a takedown in the second period made it four.

Canada wins 2 gold

USA would have had a perfect day if not for Amarveer DHESI (CAN) and Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN) as they won Pan-Am titles for their country.

DhesiAmarveer DHESI (CAN) pulled off a late exposure to win the 125kg gold. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Dhesi, a former junior world champion, wrestled two-time World bronze medalist Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) and came out on top 5-3 at 125kg. The result gave him his first Pan-Am title and the first for Canada in six years.

The two wrestlers exchanged activity points on either side of the break but Dhesi scored a takedown to lead 3-1. Gwiazdowski responded with his own with 46 seconds remaining to lead 3-3 on criteria.

But Dhesi rallied to get another two points via exposure with 11 seconds remaining on the clock to win the 125kg gold.

"I am pretty confident in that position," Dhesi said. "There was no way it was not two. But you never know. I wore him down, it worked in my favor. It was pretty nice."

The Pan-Am title is just the start of a busy calendar for Dhesi who will compete at the Canada Nationals in two weeks before heading to the Ranking Series event in Rome, Italy. He also plans to compete at the Commonwealth Games in August before heading to the Worlds.

In a weight class full of studs, Dhesi hopes he can make his mark soon.

"I wrestled Taha [AKGUL] at the Olympics, the first bout," he said. "I looked up to these athletes when I was young. I feel like I am in the middle of the pack somewhere. I feel that I want to break through and get to the higher pack. Hopefully get some medals at the World Championships."

"For that, I need to be confident myself and I always felt that I have the ability to wrestle well. Sometimes it doesn't show on the mat so I am trying to get better at producing that wrestling on the mat."

Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN)Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN), blue, was crowned the Pan-Am champ at 70kg. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

At 70kg, Zain RETHERFORD (USA) was the favorite to win the gold but had to pull out moments before his first bout due to illness.

That gave others in the bracket to claim their first Pan-Am title and Olapade was not wasting it giving Canada the first gold of the tournament after two silver-medal finishes Saturday.

Wrestling a Nordic bracket, he defeated Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA) via fall in Round 1. He was given a walkover for the bout against Rutherford to qualify for the semifinals. 

Jhon CHUNGA CARRENO (PER) was all over the place as Olapade wasted no time in winning the semifinal 12-1 to set up a gold-medal bout against Da Silva Joaquim.

While he could not be as dominant as the Round 1 win, Olapade was still too much for the Brazil wrestler.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Thomas GILMAN (USA) df. Darian CRUZ (PUR), 11-0

BRONZE: Alexei ALVAREZ BLANCO (CUB) df. Enrique HERRERA HUACRE (PER), 10-0
BRONZE: Oscar TIGREROS URBANO (COL) df. Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN), 4-3

61kg
GOLD: Daton FIX (USA)
SILVER: Joseph SILVA (PUR)
BRONZE: Pedro FLORES SALAZAR (MEX)

65kg
GOLD: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Sebastian RIVERA (PUR), 10-0

BRONZE: Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Andre QUISPE FAJARDO (CHI), 10-0
BRONZE: Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM) df. Jacob ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN), 10-0

70kg
GOLD: Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN) df. Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA), 4-1

BRONZE: Alexis OLVERA MAGALLANES (MEX) df. Jhon CHUNGA CARRENO (PER), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Franklin GOMEZ (PUR), 10-1

BRONZE: Cesar BORDEAUX REGO ALVAN (BRA) df. Leon PERALTA LANAS (CHI), 10-0 
BRONZE: Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB) df Diego SANDOVAL ZARCO (MEX), 8-1

86kg
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB), 4-1

BRONZE: Carlos IZQUIERDO MENDEZ (COL) df. Christian ANGUIANO FLORES (MEX), 4-1
BRONZE: Ethan RAMOS (PUR) df. Jorge LLANO (ARG), 11-0

97kg
GOLD: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), 12-1

BRONZE: Maxwell LACEY GARITA (CRC) df. Esdras LOPEZ PEREZ (MEX), via fall
BRONZE: Luis PEREZ SOSA (DOM) df. Nishanpreet Singh RANDHAWA (CAN), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Amarveer DHESI (CAN) df. Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA), 5-3 

BRONZE: Catriel MURIEL (ARG) df. Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA), via fall
BRONZE: Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) df. Charles MERRILL (PUR), 2-1

#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