Mensah Stock, Wiebe cruise to titles at Matteo Pellicone

Friday, March 5, 2021 - 20:45 By Vinay Siwach

OSTIA, Italy (March 6) --- Tamyra Mariama MENSAH-STOCK (USA) had a perfect 2019. She won gold around the world beginning with the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January and finishing with the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. She was rising as one of the best in the world. As she stepped into 2020, she was expected to continue her gold-winning rush at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series in Rome. But she failed despite leading 8-0 in the final as Feng ZHOU (CHN) came back to win 8-8 on criteria.

A year later, Mensah-Stock was back at the same arena to try and change the color of her medal. With a display of composure, style and dominance, the American wrestler claimed the 68kg gold medal by defeating European champion Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) 11-0 in the final at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event in Rome on Friday.

The 29-year-old world champion had a little sluggish start but turned it around in her own style to claim the gold medal after coming agonizingly close to it last year. Apart from a surprise toss she suffered in her first-round bout against Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), she looked in total control of her three bouts.

"I performed a lot better at the end compared to the entire tournament," Mensah-Stock said."I was trying to remember who I am and the switch was in my first match when she (Hanzlickova) threw me. I was like 'okay I don't want that to happen again.'"

She did exactly that, outscoring her opponents 28-4 and defending all attacks that were thrown at her. The final in particular saw Mensah Stock display why she was the best in her category in the world. She defended a pair of leg attacks from Hristova and countered them with her own to finish the match.

"When I went to the final I said you know what, I am here to wrestle so let's do this," she said. "I was getting myself motivated and talking to myself. I wrestled my way and did not worry about what she had."

Eica WIEBE (CAN) after winning the gold medal at Matteo Pellicone

Another wrestler who came into the event with high hopes was Rio Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN). The defending champion at 76kg category did have some hiccups but prevailed in all her bouts to win her second consecutive gold medal in Rome.

Wiebe led Canada's dominating show at the event as Michelle FAZZARI (CAN) also won the title down at 62kg weight category after beating Marianna SASTIN (HUN) 2-1. Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN) contributed with a bronze medal at the 68kg weight category after a 6-4 win over Alexandria Junis GLAUDE (USA).

Wiebe, who suffered a loss by fall just a week back in Kiev, Ukraine, took her time to get going in all her bouts. She opened the day with a 5-1 cautious win against Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA). Her semi-final against Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) was a 2-0 win, both points scored in the first period.

Even in the final against Hamza, Wiebe took her time to finally start her attacks. She was warned for passivity but got into work mode in the activity period, scoring a four-point throw. She then controlled the entire bout, winning the gold 11-0.

"My nephew's named Matteo and the Matteo Pellicone is my lucky tournament and I am happy to do him proud," Wiebe said. "My first two opponents, they have qualified for the Games, they are great competitors, I have never wrestled Samar (Hamza) before so it's exciting to feel her out."

Wiebe has suffered some unexpected losses in recent times including at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan in 2019 with the latest being the fall in Kiev. But that has not hurt her preparations for the Tokyo Olympics where she will be the defending champion.

"It's great to get on the mat after such a hiatus and everything is building for Tokyo," she said. "I am excited to get back home and continue to do that, trying to get back into the swing of competing and trying to figure out this sport. I just tried to wrestle and be myself there."

At 57kg, Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) scored two late takedowns against Asian champion SARITA (IND) to win 4-2 and claim the gold medal.

Both Mensah Stock and Wiebe have five Ranking Series titles to their names. The USA wrestler has won five gold medals, a silver and two bronze in total. Wiebe has six medals in total as she won a bronze medal at the Klippan Lady Open in 2018.

Not revealing much about her plans for the USA Olympic Trials, Mensah Stock said, "Olympic trials are next. I am training for myself, working hard to get better for myself and when it comes to anybody, I really don't know who I am going to be wrestling.

"It can be anybody's day. I don't want to say the name because I am training for anybody. I want to go out and wrestle my way."

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) won the gold at 77kg

Earlier, three new Greco-Roman champions were also crowned in Rome as Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN) won the gold at 72kg. Zolton LEVAI (HUN) defended his title at 77kg while Russian national champion Adlan AKIEV (RUS) took the top honors at 82kg.

Fritsch was up against returning silver medalist Selcuk CAN (TUR) and was behind 0-2 but staged a comeback in the second period to win 2-2 on criteria. It was a disappointing end for Can who was looking to change the colour of his silver medal from last year to gold. All four points in the bout were either passivity or pushouts.

Levai successfully defendied his title at 77kg after a comfortable 3-1 win against Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) in the final. En route his gold medal, Levai notched up wins against Patrick Harrison SMITH (USA) 2-0 in quarter-final and Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) 11-1 in the semi-finals.

Akiev dominated the 82kg final with big throw to take a 5-1 lead against Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), a returning silver medalist in Rome. Akbudak did try to make a comeback but had to be content with the silver.

RESULTS
Greco-Roman

Final #WrestleRome GR Team Scores:
GOLD: Russia (175 points)
SILVER: Second Hungary (145 points)
BRONZE: Turkey (136 points)
Fourth: Kazakhstan (134 points)
Fifth: India (82 points)

72kg
GOLD - Robert FRITSCH (HUN) df. Selcuk CAN (TUR), 2-2
BRONZE - Kuldeep MALIK (IND) df. Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS), 10-9

77kg
GOLD - Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) df. Yunus BASAR (TUR), 3-1
BRONZE - Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ) df. Peyton WALSH (USA), 8-0
BRONZE -Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) df. Patrick SMITH (USA), via fall

82kg
GOLD - Adlan AKIEV (RUS) df Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 6-1"
BRONZE - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA), 8-0
BRONZE - Laszlo SZABO (HUN) df. Salih AYDIN (TUR), 2-1

Women’s Wrestling
57kg
GOLD - Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Sarita SARITA (IND), 4-2
BRONZE - Francesca INDELICATO (ITA) df. Anshu ANSHU (IND), via inj. def.
BRONZE - Emma TISSINA (KAZ) df. Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)

62kg
GOLD - Michelle FAZZARI (CAN) df. Marianna SASTIN (HUN), 2-1
BRONZE - Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ), 6-1

68kg
GOLD - Tamyra STOCK MENSAH (USA) df. Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL), 11-0
BRONZE - Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN) df. Alexandria Junis GLAUDE (USA), 6-4
BRONZE - Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), via inj. def

76kg
GOLD: Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) df. Samar HAMZA (EGY), 10-0
BRONZE - Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA), 6-0
BRONZE - Enrica RINALDI (ITA) df. Matilde CALDARELLI (ITA), 10-0

#WrestleMonterrey

Freestyle history for Argentina, Mexico at Pan-Ams

Monday, May 12, 2025 - 07:28 By Vinay Siwach

MONTERREY, Mexico (May 11) -- On a historic day in Monterrey, Argentina won its first-ever Freestyle gold medal at the Pan-American Championships while Mexico ended its drought for gold with two golds on Sunday.

Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG), who was silver medalist last year and has four bronze medals, defeated Joseph MC KENNA (USA) in a thrilling final to create history for Argentina. For Mexico, Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) won the gold medal at 57kg, thus ending a 32-year wait for the top medal at Pan-Ams. A few minutes later, Austin GOMEZ (MEX) also won gold to add his name to history.

The United States, however, was the best Freestyle team of the tournament as it won the team title after adding four more golds to the three it won on Saturday. It finished at the top with 230 points, way ahead of second-placed Canada which had 144 points. Mexico was third with 139 points.

Destribats came close to the historic gold medal last year but had to pull out injured in the final and won a silver medal. The story was different this year.

After a tough 4-4 win in the semifinal, Destribats was in for a tougher challenge against McKenna in the final. But his defense in the first period saw him escape McKenna's attacks. He scored a stepout and led 1-0 at the break.

Destribats was about to be hit with an inactivity call when he headlocked McKenna and tried to pin. The pin was called but not upheld as it seemed that McKenna may have lost consciousness due to the hold. However, McKenna sprung back on his feet as soon as the whistle was blown and Destribats let go.

The fall was cancelled but Destribats now led 3-0. McKenna got on the scoreboard with a stepout to cut the lead to 3-1. Destribats, who was avoiding engagement, was hit with the passivity call and as he failed to scored McKenna got a point.

McKenna hit a leg attack and put forward pressure even as Destribats tried to avoid exposure using a chestwrap. But two points were awarded to McKenna which gave him a 4-3 lead with 11 seconds left.

Destribats did not give up and used an inside trip to score. While he failed to execute the trip, he managed to take McKenna out of bounds for a point to take a 4-4 criteria lead as the scorer of the latest point. The U.S. challenged the call but lost it, making the score 5-4 for Destribats which he defended for the final five seconds.

Before Destribats, only three other wrestlers from Argentina had made it to the finals at Pan-Ams in Freestyle with Yuri MAIER (ARG) being the last one in 2013.

Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) battles Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR) in the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Mexico rejoiced as Bravo Young won the gold medal at 57kg to start the evening session. He blanked Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR), 12-0, for the gold medal which was the first for Mexico in Freestyle since 1993.

Felipe GUZMAN (MEX), the Olympian from 1996, was the last wrestler to win gold for Mexico at the Pan-Ams in Freestyle.

Bravo Young, who moved to Mexico in 2024 before Paris Olympics, used different techniques including sweep single, double-leg attack to score four takedowns and lead 8-0. He finished the match with a fireman's carry for four points.

Austin GOMEZ (MEX), red, celebrates after winning the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Soon after, Gomez, who also transferred to Mexico before the Paris Olympics, posted an 11-0 win over Ian PARKER (USA) in the 70kg final to win the gold medal.

Gomez blanked his opponents 33-0 in three bouts that he wrestled for the gold medal. In the final, Gomez tossed Parker with a headlock for four and then turned him twice using the same for an 8-0 lead. The U.S. challenged for two points as Parker held Gomez on the mat for a moment but it was lost on review, making the score 9-0 for Gomez.

A double-leg blast from Gomez was enough for him to finish the final and win 11-0 and the second gold medal for Mexico on Sunday.

U.S. wins four golds

The gold medals for the U.S. on Sunday began when Evan WICK (USA) won all four of his bouts in the round-robin bracket at 79kg. Wick outscored his opponents 40-0 in four bouts to clinch the gold medal, first of Sunday and fourth overall for the U.S.

Trent HIDLAY (USA) added to the count by winning the 92kg gold medal, winning all four of his bouts in the round-robin.

Justin RADEMACHER (USA) scores a takedown against Arturo SILOT (CUB) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

At 97kg, Justin RADEMACHER (USA) held on to a 5-4 victory over Arturo SILOT (CUB) in the final to clinch the gold medal, the seventh straight year a U.S. wrestler has won at 97kg.

Rademacher was the first to strike, scoring a takedown on the edge for two points. After a bit of struggle, Silot managed to get on board with a takedown and take a 2-2 criteria lead. Rademacher hit back instantly, scoring with a single-leg attack and reclaiming the lead 4-2.

In the second period, Rademacher was awarded a point as both wrestlers went out after a scramble but it was Silot who put his hand outside the zone first. Silot hit back with a counter takedown to cut the lead to 5-4 with two minutes left on the clock. However, Rademacher defended his lead first with attacks and later by seeing off any attacks that Silot did.

Rademacher survived a flurry in the final 10 seconds, including a challenge for fleeing, to win, as Silot tried making sense of the match as he walked off the mat.

Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) showed little mercy for his 125kg opponents, winning the gold medal via a fall Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN) in the final, which included a slam which left the crowd in awe.

A double-leg attack gave Hendrickson the first four points of the final and he later locked Deschatelets from behind, lifted him well above the mat and slammed him for a five-pointer. He secured the fall in 24 seconds to finish the final.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) df. Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR), 12-0

BRONZE: Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA) df. Eduardo PALAS SEQUEIROS (PER), 7-0
BRONZE: Liam CRONIN (USA) df. Pedro MEJIAS (VEN), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Joseph MC KENNA (USA), 5-4

BRONZE: Wilfredo RODRIGUEZ (VEN) df. Matias MUNOZ (CHI), 10-0
BRONZE: Peiman BIABANI (CAN) df. Matheus DA LUZ (BRA), 10-0

70kg
GOLD: Austin GOMEZ (MEX) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 11-0

BRONZE: Sixto AUCCAPINA (PER) df. Jorge GATICA (CHI), 12-2
BRONZE: Jacob ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN) df. Royglen TEMPLE BATISTA (PAN), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Evan WICK (USA)
SILVER: Shane JONES (PUR)
BRONZE: Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)

92kg
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA)
SILVER: Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
BRONZE: Edwin MORALES (PUR)

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT (CUB), 5-4

BRONZE: Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN) df. Ricardo BAEZ (ARG), 11-0

125kg
GOLD: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN), via fall (9-0)

BRONZE: Jose DIAZ (VEN) df. Maxwell LACEY (CRC), 3-2
BRONZE: Gino AVILA (HON) df. Rizieri CHAVEZ (MEX), 10-0

Mensah Stock, Wiebe cruise to titles at Matteo Pellicone

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Freestyle history for Argentina, Mexico at Pan-Ams