#WrestleGuatemalaCity

México Reclama Cuatro Campeones, USA Gana Título de Equipo en #WrestleGuatemalaCity

By Taylor Miller

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – El primer día de competencia del Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil ha terminado con acción en grecorromana.

USA ganó el título del equipo con 190 puntos. En segundo lugar fue Mexico con 130 puntos y cuatro campeones. Colombia terminó en tercer lugar con 122 puntos.

Final results

55 kg: Duvan SANCHEZ CAICEDO (COL) fue el primer campeón del noche de Colombia. Derrotó a Antonio RUIZ MORA (ECU), 4-2, en los finales.

GOLD - Duvan SANCHEZ CAICEDO (COL) dec. Antonio RUIZ MORA (ECU), 4-2
BRONZE – Billy SULLIVAN (USA) TF Luis MENDOZA JIMENEZ (BOL), 9-0
BRONZE – Oseas LORENZO BAUTISTA (GUA) df. Richard GARCIA ANDRADE (PAN), fall 4:41

60 kg: Andres CORTES HERRERA (COL) repitió como campeón panamericano juvenil el miércoles. En su último combate, tuvo un partido cerrado contra Emerson FELIPE ORDONEZ (GUA).

GOLD – Andres CORTES HERRERA (COL)
SILVER – Haiden DRURY (USA)
BRONZE – Emerson FELIPE ORDONEZ (GUA)

63 kg: Hunter LEWIS (USA) ganó su primer título Panamericano de juvenil. El año pasado, el ganó medallas de oro en grecorromana y estilo libre masculino en el nivel cadete.

GOLD – Hunter LEWIS (USA) TF Carlos GONZALEZ VAHOS (COL), 8-0
BRONZE - Cristian MEJIA TEPEN (GUA) TF Jose ESPINOSA MOSQUERA (PAN), 8-0

67 kg: Damian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB) fue el primer campeón del noche de Cuba. Derrotó a Diego MARTINEZ (MEX), 8-0, en los finales.

GOLD - Damian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB) TF Diego MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX), 8-0
BRONZE – Benji PEAK (USA) TF Lucas BELTRAN (ARG), 10-1
BRONZE - Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) TF Juan PALMA FRANCIS (ECU), 12-3

72 kg: Evaristo HERNANDEZ REYNA (MEX) ganó cinco combates hoy, incluyendo un 9-0 victoria contra Franco CHIALANZA (ARG) en los finales.

GOLD – Evaristo HERNANDEZ REYNA (MEX) TF Franco CHIALANZA (ARG), 9-0
BRONZE – Ryan CUBAS CASTILLO (PER) TF Haner RAMIREZ RAMIREZ (COL), 16-8

77 kg: Emmanuel BENITEZ CASTRO (MEX) ganó todos de sus combates con technical fall o pin para ganar el oro en 77 kg. El año pasado él fue el subcampeón en el Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil en 72 kg.

GOLD – Emmanuel BENITEZ CASTRO (MEX)
SILVER – Isaiah ALFORD (USA)
BRONZE – Miguel Genaro SILVA COC (PER)

82 kg: Arturo CAMACHO VALENCIANO (MEX) tuvo un gran victoria contra Max WOHLABAUGH (USA), ganando 8-0 en el final en 82 kg. Camacho ganó el Campeonato Panamericano de Cadete en 2016.

GOLD – Arturo CAMACHO VALENCIANO (MEX) TF Max WOHLABAUGH (USA), 8-0
BRONZE – Fabian CASTILLO PAVEZ (CHI) TF Max MADRID DE LEON (PAN), 10-1

87 kg: Jesus LOPEZ NINO (MEX) tuvo una actuación impresionante para convertirse en el cuarto campeón de México esta noche. Lopez fue el campeón panamericano cadete de 2017.

GOLD – Jesus LOPEZ NINO (MEX)
SILVER – Keaton FANNING (USA)
BRONZE - Johan NAVEDA VARGAS (PER)

97 kg: Gabriel ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB) dominó la competencia para ganar su segunda medalla de oro panamericano este ano. También fue victorioso en el Campeonato Panamericano de Mayores.

GOLD – Gabriel ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUBA) TF Braxton AMOS (USA), 12-4
BRONZE – Fabio CONCEICAO RODRIGUES (BRA) df. Juan CANTILLO TORRES (PAN), fall 0:27

130 kg: En su primera competencia internacional, Lee HERRINGTON (USA) fue dominante y compiló un récord de 3-0.

GOLD – Lee HERRINGTON (USA)
SILVER – Diego ALMENDRAS RODRIGUEZ (CHI)
BRONZE –  Samir VARGAS VALOR (COL)

Final team standings
1. USA - 190
2. Mexico - 130
3. Colombia - 122
4. Ecuador - 84
5. Peru – 80
6. Guatemala - 60
7. Cuba - 50
8. Panama - 48
9. Chile - 45
10. Argentina - 30

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a trip down memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

WATCH ZAGREB OPEN 2025 TOP BOUTS HERE

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.