#WrestleGuatemalaCity

USA gana ocho medallas de oro en el dia final de #WrestleGuatemalaCity

By Taylor Miller

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – El Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil 2019 se acabó hoy con el estilo libre masculino en la Ciudad de Guatemala.

USA gano ocho de las 10 medallas de oro, y Cuba recogió las otra dos.

Recibiendo el Botín de Oro por ser la luchadora más destacada del torneo fue Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (USA), quien ganó el título en 61 kg.

USA reclamó su tercer título del equipo de la semana con 240 puntos. En segundo lugar fue Canadá con 120 puntos, y México resulto en tercer lugar con 113 puntos.

In English

The 2019 Junior Pan American Championships came to a close on Friday night with men’s freestyle.

The United States won eight of the 10 gold medals, and Cuba won the other two.

Receiving the Golden Boot as the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler was Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (USA), who won the title at 61 kg.

USA won its third team title of the weekend with 240 points. Canada was second with 120 points and Mexico finished third in 113 points.

Final team standings
1. USA - 240
2. Canada - 120
3. Mexico - 113
4. Ecuador - 102
5. Cuba - 70
6. Brazil - 59
7. Guatemala - 51
8. Peru - 38
9. Panama - 34
10. Colombia - 30

Finals results

57 kg
GOLD – Trevor MASTROGIOVANNI (USA) TF Elkin ESPANA SANTA (COL), 12-1
BRONZE – Brayden TODD (CAN) TF Luis MENDONZA JIMENEZ (BOL), 10-0
BRONZE – Lucas NAVARRETE VIDAL (ECU) TF Jonathan PRATA (ARG), 10-0

61 kg
GOLD – Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (USA) TF Carlos MENDOZA PENA (MEX), 10-0
BRONZE – Esteban PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA) TF Bryan MORA VALENZUELA (ECU), 11-1

65 kg
GOLD – Cristian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB) df. Real WOODS (USA), 6-4
BRONZE – Francisco GONZALEZ TORRES (MEX) df. Oscar CALVOPINA CANCIO (ECU), 3-2
BRONZE – Eduardo AYALA PENA (ESA) TF Raul BATISTA BARRIA (PAN), 10-0

70 kg
GOLD – Peyton ROBB (USA) TF Diego SANDOVAL ZARCO (MEX), 10-0
BRONZE – Sergio GODOY VITE (ECU) TF Leonardo RIVERA CASTRO (PER), 12-2
BRONZE – Connor QUINTON (CAN) df. Jhoan SERNA RODRIGUEZ (COL), 9-8

74 kg
GOLD – Daniel BRAUNAGEL (USA)
SILVER – Raul Israel PALACIOS DOMINGUEZ (MEX)
BRONZE – Pedro ARAUJO CAMPOS (BRA)

79 kg
GOLD – Shane GRIFFITH (USA) TF Carson LEE (CAN), 12-1
BRONZE - Miguel ORENLAS REYNOSO (MEX) TF Brisd WALTTUONI ROJAS (PER), 11-0
BRONZE - Giovanni DE OLIVEIRA GAION PIAZZA (BRA) df. Jonathan LOPEZ VARGAS (GUA), fall 2:18

86 kg
GOLD – Zac BRAUNAGEL (USA)
SILVER – Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB)
BRONZE – Gino AVILA DILBERT (HON)

92 kg
GOLD – Yonger BASTIDA POMARES (CUB)
SILVER – Jakob WOODLEY (USA)
BRONZE – Josue CAMPOS ARIZPE (MEX)

97 kg
GOLD – Tanner SLOAN (USA)
SILVER – Ikjyot RANDHAWA (CAN)
BRONZE – Victor MANCHENO JUMBO (ECU)

125 kg
GOLD – Seth NEVILLS (USA)
SILVER – Jackson SERNA (CAN)
BRONZE – Steeven YEPEZ PENAFIEL (ECU)

 

2026 World Championships

Hedayati Beats World Champ Mirzazadeh to Claim Iran's World Team Spot

By Vinay Siwach

KERMAN, Iran (June 16) -- World champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) decided to skip the second bout of the best-of-three series against Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), ending his hopes of defending his world title this year.

Hedayati, who has been knocking on the door of Iran's world team for more than two years, defeated Mirzazadeh, 5-1, in the opening selection bout at 130kg to secure a spot on Iran's Greco-Roman team for the 2026 World Championships, to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1.

Mirzazadeh still had a chance to claim the spot if he won the remaining two bouts, but he chose not to continue in the series, effectively conceding the berth to Hedayati.

Hedayati scored on a passivity point, two pushouts and a two-point go-behind. Mirzazadeh's only point came from passivity as he failed to score from par terre.

"I respect Mirzazadeh a lot as he is a world champion," Hedayati told UWW. "But we worked a lot for one year to beat him."

In the selection bout last year, Hedayati hoped to hang on for a 1-1 criteria victory but Mirzazadeh scored a par terre turn to win 3-1. Hedayati switched his strategy this year and did not wait for the par terre position. He even asked for a standing restart when Mirzazadeh was called passive.

"Last year, I waited for the second period to win 1-1, but now I started to push right off the whistle," he said. "My plan was to push him out because I can do it. When I got passivity advantage, I asked for a start in standing."

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 5-1.

The 22-year-old Hedayati, who hails from Amol, the same town as 125kg freestyle world champion Amirhossein ZARE (IRI), will be making his senior World Championships debut in Astana as part of a strong Iran team that features three champions among seven returning medalists.

Zare was present in Kerman to support and coach Hedayati, who calls the Freestyle wrestler 'a brother'.

"I train with Zare because of our weight classes and he came here for my match," he said. "Outside of the mat, we run together, go for hiking, cross country and share a lot of time together to discuss wrestling. We always talk about winning the gold medal together, especially at the Olympics."

The Olympics are still two years away, but Zare and Hedayati can both win gold at the World Championships in Astana.

Hedayati, despite his debut, will enter as the favorite at 130kg. He has already won golds at the U20 and U23 World Championships, the Asian Championships and Ranking Series. He has registered wins over all major 130kg wrestlers including Riza KAYAALP (TUR), Oscar PINO (CUB), Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR), among others.

His only international loss came in 2022 in the U20 World Championships final, 6-4, against Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) that he has since avenged.

"I am training with Ghasem REZAEI (2012 London Olympic champion at 96kg) to improve my par terre offense so I can be a complete wrestler. My defense in par terre is good," he said.

In other weight classes, Iran will be bringing seven medalists including three champions. Olympic champion Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) will be at 67kg and Hadi SARAVI (IRI) at 97kg. Both are defending world champions along with Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) who will be at 82kg.

The returning silver medalists are Payam AHMADI (IRI) at 55kg and Alireza MOHMADI (IRI) at 87kg, while Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) at 63kg and Danial SOHRABI (IRI) at 72kg are returning bronze medalists.

Former U20 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI), who finished 17th last year, will look to win a medal for his team along with Ali OSKOU (IRI) at 77kg who will be making his World Championships debut.

Iran's Freestyle team for the 2026 World Championships will be selected on Friday, June 19 with Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) and Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI), both at 97kg. 

Iran's Greco-Roman Team for 2026 World Championships

55kg: Payam AHMADI (IRI)
60kg: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
63kg: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI)
67kg: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
72kg: Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
77kg: Ali OSKOU (IRI)
82kg: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)
87kg: Alireza MOHMADI (IRI)
97kg: Hadi SARAVI (IRI)
130kg: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)