#panam2018

Rivera Wins First Women's Pan Am Title for Puerto Rico Since 2002

Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 04:22 By Taylor Miller

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LIMA (May 4) – Puerto Rico earned its first female Pan American champion since 2002 on Friday night when Andribeth RIVERA picked up her third win of the day to secure the 59 kg gold.

Rivera faced Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) in her final match of round-robin competition. Beauregard stormed out to an 8-0 win but just moments later, Rivera threw the Canadian to her back and got the pin.

Rivera became just the second women’s freestyler to win a Pan Am title for Puerto Rico. The last to do it was Mabel Fonseca Ramirez, who won back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002.

The USA won two gold medals on Friday, receiving championship performances from Becka LEATHERS at 55 kg and Forrest MOLINARI at 65 kg.

Leathers had locked up the gold medal in the morning session in round-robin competition.

Molinari defeated Breanne Leigh GRAHAM (CAN) with a 5-2 win in the only match of the day at 65 kg.

The other women’s champion came at 72 kg, when Veronica Helen Frances KEEFE (CAN) put together a perfect 3-0 record in the event.

Moving on with the USA theme, the U.S. men’s Greco team won the Pan Am team title, outscoring runner-up Cuba 141-140.

Although they won the team title, the U.S. did not produce any champions in day-two action. However, the squad leaves Peru with six medals, including two gold, three silver and one bronze.

Cuba had two champions on Friday night, including Ariel FIS BATISTA (CUB) at 77 kg and Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) at 87 kg.

Fis, a 2018 Central American Caribbean Championship gold medalist, topped four-time Pan American medalist Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL), 9-5.

Gregorich, who finished seventh at the World Championships, improved on a second-place finish from last year’s Pan Ams, taking the top of the podium with a dominant 7-0 decision over Yorgen Jose COVA PULIDO (VEN).

Emerging from the 82 kg bracket was Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN), who strung together a perfect 4-0 record. In his final match of the day, Avendano defeated Brayden William AMBO (CAN) by fall early in the match.

The tournament continues tomorrow with the remaining women’s weights (50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76) and the first part of the men’s freestyle weights (79 and 92). It will all be live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

GRECO TEAM SCORES
1. USA – 141
2. Cuba – 140
3. Brazil – 106

GRECO-ROMAN
77 kg
GOLD - Ariel FIS BATISTA (CUB) dec. Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL), 9-5
BRONZE - Angelo Rafael MARQUES MOREIRA (BRA) win by fall over Francisco Albano BARRIO (ARG), 1:41
BRONZE - Reinier JIMENEZ TERRY (GUA) win by fall over Johan Antonio BATISTA (DOM), 3:33

82 kg
GOLD - Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)
SILVER – Geordan SPEILLER (USA)
BRONZE - Carlos Moises ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER)

87 kg
GOLD - Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) df. Yorgen Jose COVA PULIDO (VEN), 7-0
BRONZE - Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA) df. Alfonso Antonio LEYVA YEPEZ (MEX), 3-0
BRONZE - Carlos Alberto ADAMES PALMER (DOM) df. Phillip Raweriio BARREIRO (CAN), 9-0

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE

55 kg
GOLD – Becka LEATHERS (GOLD)
SILVER – Cara Gail NANIA (CAN)
BRONZE - Lady Raysa MORAN VALENZUELA (ECU)

59 kg
GOLD - Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD (PUR)
SILVER - Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
BRONZE - Kelsey Rene CAMPBELL (USA)

65 kg
GOLD - Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)
SILVER - Breanne Leigh GRAHAM (CAN)

72 kg
GOLD - Veronica Helen Frances KEEFE (CAN)
SILVER - Diana Luisa Victoria CRUZ ARROYO (PER)
BRONZE - Hannah La Shae GLADDEN (USA)

 

#WrestleTirana

Monday's U23 World Championship semifinals set

Monday, October 23, 2023 - 08:42 By Eric Olanowski

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TIRANA, Albania (October 23) --- Welcome, wrestling fans, to Albania's capital city for the 2023 U23 World Championships--the final stop on the world championship calendar.

Day One's action will feature freestyle wrestling at 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg.

Here are some of the biggest stars that'll be in action today:
- Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) - '22 U23 world champ
- Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) - '22 U23 world silver
- Aaron BROOKS (USA) - '22 U23 world bronze  
- Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA) - '22 U23 world bronze 
- Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) - '22 U20 world gold
- Vasile DIACON (MDA) - '22 U23 world bronze
- Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA) - '21 U20 world gold

Semifinal Matches (As they come in):
61kg
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) vs. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN) vs. Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN)

74kg
Imam GANISHOV (AIN) vs. Naveen NAVEEN (UWW)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) vs. Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA)

86kg
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) vs. Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA)

92kg
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) vs. Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) vs. Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (UWW)

125kg
Adil MISIRCI (TUR) vs. Kumar ANIRUDH (UWW)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) vs. Wyatt Avery HENDRICKSON (USA)

15:02: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll take a break until 18:00 and see you back here for the semifinals. 

14:32: Patil just ruined Vishanov's hopes of winning France their first freestyle U23 world title with a nine-point second period. More importantly, those nine points were unanswered, so after trailing 6-0, he locked up a semifinal spot with a 9-6 victory.

14:26: A sneaky storyline I'm watching is Adlan VISKHANOV's (FRA) success at 92kg. He's looking to become the first French freestyle wrestler to win a U23 world title. He leads 6-0 on Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (UWW).

14:20: Aaron BROOKS (USA) picked up his third dominant win of the day. He's now outscored his opponents 24-1 on his way to the semifinals.

13:50: We're starting the quarters, so I'll update the semifinal matches as the quarter-finals wrap up.

13:39: When the United States desperately needed a freestyle heavyweight, Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) arrived in Albania to save the day. As if Gable STEVESON (USA) and Mason PARRIS (USA) weren't enough, the Stars and Stripes now have Hendrickson throwing the competition around he's in his own league.

So far today, Hendrickson pinned Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN) after scoring 17 offensive points, then just took out Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA), 14-1.

13:29: We'll only run through the quarterfinals before taking a lunch break. Then, for tonight's session, we'll only wrestle through the semifinals. The first set of medal matches won't be until Tuesday night at 18:00 (local time).

13:12: It's a shame that one of those guys had to lose because that was such a hard-fought battle for both guys. Jacob Thomas CARDENAS (USA) was relentless with attacks to both sides of the body and ultimately scored the match-deciding takedown with :30 seconds left to take out Alan BAGAEV (AIN), 4-1.

13:02: The reigning champ Shirai picked up a second win of the day, moving into the quarterfinals after scoring a 4-1 win over Morodion. Shirai picked up two inactivity points and a late takedown against the Canadian.

12:30: Down goes Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) at 74kg. He adopted the strategy of keeping it quiet against NAVEEN (UWW) in the first period. He led 3-1 till the final minute when Naveen got a takedown on the edge. Gadzhiev tries a headpinch to win the bout but Naveen defends to score two points. Naveen beats Gadzhiev 5-3  

12:15: The United States wrestlers remain undefeated so far in the morning! Keegan OTOOLE (USA) roars to life in the second period to get a 12-2 win over Krisztian BIRO (ROU) at 74kg. Then Aaron BROOKS (USA) comes out and completes a 10-0 win over Owen MARTIN (CAN) at 86kg. Unreal athleticism from Brooks in that win. 

11:55: After an opening round 8-0 win over Igor Stefan SZUCKI (POL), reigning U23 world champion Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) will take on Joshua Philipp David MORODION (GER) in five matches on Mat C.

11:47: Reigning U23 world silver medalist Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) was just assigned to Mat C. He'll take on Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) in Bout 73.

11:36: I'm working on getting the video, but the Ganishov five on Diacon is on the list of top-five throws of the year. It's one of those throws that sends any normal human straight to the hospital.

11:25: Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA), the top threat in the United States to dethrone David TAYLOR (USA), is up now on Mat B. He's wrestling Turkiye's Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR).

11:18: It's early in the day, but Imam GANISHOV (AIN) beating U23 world bronze medalist Vasile DIACON (MDA) is the leading candidate for Upset of the Day. The Neutral Athlete picked up an 8-0 win in the 74kg qualification round, pushing him to the 1/8 final against  Stas David WOLF (GER).

11:10: Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA) of the United States, the '2021 U20 world champion, didn't skip a beat in his return to international competition. The offensive machine picked up five takedowns en route to the 10-0 opening-round win over Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR).

10:53: It's time to close out the 2023 calendar in style! The U23 Worlds is one of my favorite competitions of the season. Today's champions will likely bloom into tomorrow's stars. It's crazy to look back at the photos from the past few years at the U23 World Championships to see how the wrestlers have transitioned into stars and global sensations.