#WrestleBuenosAires

USA wins Greco-Roman team title with nine medals at #WrestleBuenosAires

By Taylor Miller

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Greco-Roman competition of the 2019 Pan American Championships wrapped up on Friday with USA winning the team title after collecting nine medals.

The USA picked up medals in all three weight classes on Friday night with a gold from Cheney HAIGHT, silver form Kamal BEY and bronze from Patrick MARTINEZ.

Haight won his third Pan Am title, besting the competition at 82 kg. In the finals, Haight won a 3-1 bout against 2018 Pan Am bronze medalist Carlos ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER).

Cuba and Venezuela picked up the other gold medals.

Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) outlasted 2017 Junior World champion Bey in a 3-1 war at 77 kg to earn Cuba its fourth gold medal of the tournament.

At 87 kg, Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN) became only the seventh Greco wrestler in Venezuela’s history to win a Pan Am title, defeating Antonio DURAN ROBLES (CUB) in the finals.

Duran scored the first two points, but Avendano put up six unanswered points, two of which came from a caution and two when Duran committed a defensive leg foul in par terre. Shortly after, Duran was penalized for another defensive leg foul, which resulted in a disqualification for the Cuban and a win for Avendano. The Venezuelan led 8-2 at the time of the DQ.

In women’s freestyle, USA and Canada split the gold medals, each winning two.

USA’s Alex HEDRICK and Julia SALATA clinched their gold medals in the morning session, each going 2-0 in their respective round robins at 55 kg and 65 kg.

On Friday night, Canadians Laurence BEAUREGARD and Dejah SLATER came out on top of their round-robins.

Beauregard went 3-0 on the day, ending her tournament with a quick 10-0 tech fall over Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA) to win the 59 kg bracket.

At 72 kg, Slater topped Rachel WATTERS (USA) in a 12-1 tech fall, thanks to a takedown and six leg laces in the first period.

Competition continues tomorrow with women’s and men’s freestyle at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. EST) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.                                                                                                                                              

Greco-Roman final team standings
1. USA – 205
2. Cuba – 135
3. Brazil – 98
4. Venezuela – 84
5. Mexico – 64
6. Peru – 61
7. Colombia – 48
8. Argentina – 47
9. Dominican Republic – 46
10. Ecuador – 43

Final results in Greco-Roman
77 kg
GOLD - Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) dec. Kamal BEY (USA), 3-1
BRONZE - Juan ESCOBAR (MEX) tech fall David CHOC HUOC (GUA), 10-0
BRONZE - Jair CUERO MUNOZ (COL) dec. Johan BATISTA (DOM), 6-5

82 kg
GOLD - Cheney HAIGHT (USA)
SILVER - Carlos ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER)
BRONZE - Adil BARROS MACHADO (BRA)

87 kg
GOLD - Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN) win by disqualification Antonio DURAN ROBLES (CUB)
BRONZE - Alfonso LEYVA YEPEZ (MEX) tech fall Carlos ADAMES PALMER (DOM), 8-0
BRONZE - Patrick MARTINEZ (USA) tech. fall Phillip BARREIRO (CAN), 9-0

55 kg
GOLD - Alex HEDRICK (USA)
SILVER - Jayd DAVIS (USA)
BRONZE - Elis AZERRAD PARODI (ARG)

59 kg
GOLD - Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
SILVER - Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD (PUR)
BRONZE - Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA)

65 kg
GOLD - Julia SALATA (USA)
SILVER - Jessica BROUILLETTE (CAN)
BRONZE - Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA)

72 kg
GOLD - Dejah SLATER (CAN)
SILVER - Rachel WATTERS (USA)
BRONZE - Linda MACHUCA (ARG)

 

 

#development

Tunisia Conducts Coach and Referee Courses

By United World Wrestling Press

Tunis, Tunisia (12 February)—The Tunisian Wrestling Federation organized two courses to help expand and improve its base of coaches and referees. During a week-long education program, they conducted a Level 1 Coaching Course and an Introduction to Refereeing Course.

The Level 1 Coaching Course was led by UWW Certified Educators Mr. Ahmed KHEDHRI (TUN) and Ms. Marwa AMRI (TUN).

The course was held from February 7-11 with over 50 participants. “It was a great course and an outstanding atmosphere. The group was very cohesive and showed great discipline and seriousness during the course,” said Mr. Khedhri.

"This course focused on providing foundational skills to help them develop as a coach. Of the 51 participants, there were 16 women coaches,“ said Ms. Amri. "This was an excellent course and a very good atmosphere. The women’s participation was very good and included former champions.” 

TUNParticipants from the Coach and Referee Courses in Tunisia gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Before the coaching course, the Tunisian Wrestling Federation organized the Introduction to Refereeing Course.

This was led by Mr. Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN), UWW Educator and Vice-President of the UWW Referee Commission. This course was held from February 3-5 and had 27 participants (14 women).

During the course, the participants developed their skills as a referee through theoretical and practical experience.

“The majority of the participants were from the Tunisian National Team, so the level of wrestling knowledge was very high," said Mr. Bouaziz. "The group was enthusiastic, and the learning atmosphere was very good. They pushed me to give them as much information and explanations as possible.”