#WrestleAcapulco

Live Blog: Pan-American Championships (Day One)

Thursday, May 5, 2022 - 15:02 By Eric Olanowski

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 5) -- The opening day of action at the 2022 Pan-Ameican Championships kicks off with Greco-Roman action at 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 72kg, 97kg and 130kg. 

Finals matches (as they come in):
55kg - Nordic style
60kg - Randon Drew MIRANDA (USA) vs. Winner 21
63kg -  Jose Alberto RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX) vs. Samuel Lee JONES (USA) 
67kg -  Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) vs. Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) 
72kg - Nordic style
97kg - Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) vs. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) 
130kg - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) vs. Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) 

2:05: One of the highlights of the morning has been Samuel GURRIA VIGUERAS (MEX). He scored 14 points in his first match and is winning 4-0 against Maikol JOSEFA (DOM). The winner of this match gets Randon Miranda in tonight's 60kg finals.

1:46: Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) put up seven points in the second period and will wrestle Moraes Pedrosa for the 67kg title.

1:42: Last year, Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) became the first wrestler from Honduras to win a Pan-Am title. He outscored his opponents 16-0 and will wrestle Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) for 97kg gold tonight.

1:32: Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL), after picking up a quick 10-0 win over Nilton Gonzalo Marcos SOTO GARCIA (PER), will try to stop Mexico's  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA from punching his ticket to the 67kg finals in his home country. They are wrestling on Mat A.

1:20: Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) defeated Enyer Manuel FELICIANO (DOM) by three points, putting Brazil in the gold medal matches at 67kg and 130kg.

12:45 : After upsetting the returning champion in the quarterfinals, Soghomonyan picked up a 9-0 win over  Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON) and moved into the 130kg finals. He'll take on Cuba's 2019 world silver medalinst Pino Hines.

12:20:  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX) punched his ticket to the 67kg semifinals with a 8-4 win over Hayden Daniel TUMA (USA). 

12:17:  Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) leads reigning champion Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) by one point with less than a minute to go. That match is wrapping up over on Mat B.

11:54: The difference in the match was a gut wrench, which Pino Hines scored in the first period. He outlatsted Acosta Fernandez, 3-1, and will take on the winner of  Jacob Fredrick PHILLIPS (CAN) and Edgardo Juan LOPEZ MORELL (PUR). Currently, the Lopez Morell leads the Canadian, 7-0.

11:45: The match of the morning is coming up next on Mat B, where world medalists Pino Hines and Acosta Fernandez will collide in the 130kg quarterfinals. 

11:40: Returning champs Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) and Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) will be in action on Mat B. They'll wrestle in bouts 37 and 41, respectively. 

11:15: Pino Hinds collected a 9-0 win in the first round and will clash with Chilie's first-ever GR world medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI). It's worth noting that Acosta Fernandez transferred from Cuba to Chile in 2017.

11:03: Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) returns to the mat for the first time in two years after relinquishing his 130kg starting spot to Mijian LOPEZ (CUB). He's wrestling on Mat B Tanner Richard FARMER (USA).

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran shines, U.S. surprises in Greco-Roman on Day 1

Monday, September 2, 2024 - 17:46 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 2) -- Seven years after it crowned a world champion at U20 level, the United States will have a chance to end that drought on Tuesday.

Two wrestlers, Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) and Otto BLACK (USA), reached the finals of 55kg and 63kg in Greco-Roman at the U20 World Championships which kicked off in Pontevedra, Spain on Monday. Kamal BEY (USA) won the gold medal in 2017 at 74kg and since then the U.S. has been looking for a world champion. It was also the last time the U.S. had two wrestlers in the final.

Cortez had three back-and-forth bouts in the morning session but was at his best in the semifinal against Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ). He took the par terre position in the first period and finished the bout 9-0 after getting four turns over Aitbekov using the trap-arm.

In his earlier bouts, Cortez pulled off a 9-8 win against Anil MOR (IND), and defeated Peter TOTOK (HUN) 7-4 before going past Maxim SARMANOV (MDA) 9-6.

He will wrestle former U17 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) for the gold medal. Ahmadi Vafa overcame Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3, in the other semifinal at 55kg.

Black took out Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) in the semifinal at 63kg after battling hard to keep his 3-2 lead. Hoveyan tried jumping over Black to get a four-pointer but Black defended it and slammed Hoveyan on the mat for four points to win 7-2.

For the gold, he will face Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) who had to win the semifinal twice. Zakriev pinned Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) very early in the semifinal but Georgia challenged and won as Khozrevanidze's head was outside the zone when Zakriev was trying to pin him.

Khozrevanidze used his second life in the bout to perform a headlock and got four points. However, Zakriev avoided any fall position and reversed the position and turned Khozrevanidze three times. After a challenge and consultations from referees, Zakriev led the bout 11-4.

He scored four points using a big throw and a lost challenge from Georgia gave him another point as he won 16-4.

Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) will wrestle for the 77kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran had two other finalists, taking the total to three. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) scored a controlled 3-1 win over Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO) at 77kg and will take on Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) for the gold. Iarbilov defeated Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4, in the other semifinal.

At 130kg, Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) joined a long list of top Iranian super heavyweights in Greco-Roman as he reached the final after beating Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) 2-1 in the semifinal. He scored a takedown against Harutyunyan's point for forced par terre.

For the gold medal, he will face former U17 world champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) who won 3-1 against Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN) in the other semifinal.

Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated returning champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Kyrgyzstan, a country that has grown leaps and bounds in wrestling over the last decade, sent one wrestler in the final. Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) had an epic run at 87kg to reach the final. In the semifinal, he took less than two minutes to beat Patrik GORDAN (ROU) 8-0.

Joju SAMADOV (AZE) will look to stop him from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first U20 world champion in Greco-Roman since 2018. Samadov had a close semifinal against Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ) but managed to win 4-2.

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) vs. Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)

SF 1: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) df. Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ), 9-0
SF 2: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3 

63kg
GOLD: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) vs. Otto BLACK (USA)

SF 1: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) df. Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 16-4
SF 2: Otto BLACK (USA) df. Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM), 7-2

77kg
GOLD: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) vs. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)

SF 1: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) df. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4
SF 2: Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) df. Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Joju SAMADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Patrik GORDAN (ROU), 8-0
SF 2: Joju SAMADOV (AZE) df. Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ), 4-2

130kg
GOLD: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) vs. Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)

SF 1: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN), 3-1
SF 2: Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) df. Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 2-1