#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 4 Results and Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- The fourth day of the Ranking Series in Zagreb will see the remaining four Women's Wrestling weight classes in action along with two Greco-Roman weight classes 77kg and 87kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 3 RESULTS

14:55: GR 87kg semifinals - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) gets a 2-1 win over Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) in the semifinals at 87kg to take a step closer to be part of the Hungarian team for the European Championships. But to confirm that, he has to beat Istvan TAKACS (HUN), who won the other semifinals after a desperate arm-throw for four to beat Matej MANDIC (CRO), 6-2.

14:40: GR 77kg semifinals - Ali OSKOU (IRI) with a beautiful throw from par terre to get a 5-0 lead before another turn makes it 7-0. He eventually beats Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 10-1, and advances to the 77kg final. Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) will challenge the Iranian for the gold medal after the Hungarian defeated Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 7-0, majorly using gut-wrenches.

14:25: 76kg semifinals - Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) with two stepouts and one point for activity clock to take a 3-0 lead against Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) before a lost challenge from Japan adds another point to her score and she wins 4-0. She will take on Tristan KELLY (USA) for the gold medal who scored a four-pointer with seven seconds remaining against PRIYA (IND) to claim a 4-4 criteria victory 

14:10: 72kg semifinals - Buse TOSUN (TUR) is into the final at 72kg after a close 2-2 criteria win over Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN). She was down 2-1 but dragged the Japanese out of bounds to take the criteria and the win. For the gold medal, she will take on Diksha MALIK (IND) who posted a 4-2 win over Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW).

13:55: 57kg semifinals - MANISHA (IND) makes it to the final at 57kg with rather ease, beating Amory ANDRICH (GER), 11-0. She will test herself against Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) in the gold medal bout after the Japanese defeated Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR) via fall

13:45: 53kg semifinals - U20 world champion Everest LEYDECKER (USA) takes out world bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) 2-2. She scored a takedown in the first period and then defended that score. However, Antim managed to score a stepout alongwith a point for fleeing from Leydecker. With the score 2-2, Leydecker kept the criteria for a bigger technique and won. She will take on Roksana ZASINA (POL) for the gold medal who defeated Annika WENDLE (GER), 8-4, in the other semifinals.

13:15: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) gets two rolls from par terre and then defends to beat Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) and move into the semifinals at 77kg.

12:50: Almost five years after they met in the 2021 U17 World Championships, Katie GOMEZ (USA) and ANTIM (IND) meet again on the mat in Zagreb. Antim gets the first takedown an also point for activity clock. Antim extends her lead to 5-0 with another takedown before the break. Constant pressure from Antim and gets two more takedowns to lead 9-0. Antim finishes with an exposure and wins 11-0, avenging that loss from Budapest against Gomez, who went on to win the gold there.

12:35: Everest LEYDECKER (USA), U20 world champion and competing at her first senior international tournament, begins with an 11-0 victory over Anjali KACHHAWA (IND) at 53kg.

12:20: Priya PRIYA (IND), who finished fifth at the World Championships, pins Enrica RINALDI (ITA) at 76kg and moves into the semifinals.

12:05: Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE) drops her 72kg bout against Buse TOSUN (TUR), 2-0. Both activity clock points and then Tosun is solid in defense to post the victory

11:50: In an all Hungarian battle perhaps for the European Championships selection, Robert FRITSCH (HUN) gets the better of Levente LEVAI (HUN), 4-1, at 77kg. A turn from par terre for Fritsch in that win.

11:45: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) gets the par terre and wastes no time in getting Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) two reverse bodylock throws and two and four points respectively. He then gets a takedown to win the bout via technical superiority at 77kg

11:40: After a longish battle and review, Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) gets a 15-11 victory over Sydney PETZINGER (USA) at 53kg. 

11:25: Giullia PENALBER (BRA) with a dominant win on U23 world champion Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) at 57kg. Aliyeva never got going and Penalber led 14-4 before getting the fall

11:15: Asian champion at 62kg MASNISHA (IND) has moved down to 57kg. She faces Tindra DALMYR (SWE) in her opening bout and begins well to score a takedown. Dalmyr gets a four-pointer but Manisha controls the rest of the bout and wins 9-4

11:10: Amory ANDRICH (GER) gets a fall over Samantha STEWART (CAN) at 57kg. Stewart has been adjusting to the 57kg weight class but Andrich made short work of Stewart

10:45: Couple of quick results from Greco-Roman. First up is Levente Levai (HUN), European champion at 72kg and now at 77kg, with a 3-0 victory against Mohamed Khalil (EGY). And Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) holding on for a 3-2 victory against Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) at 77kg

10:30: Another day in the and we will see more wrestlers trying to adjust to the Olympic weight classes.

#WrestleCoralville

Welker Pins World Champ Reasco to Win Pan-Am Gold

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, IOWA, United States (May 9) -- Olympic bronze medalist, world bronze medalist and world champion. That was the hit-list of Kylie WELKER (USA) as she defended her Pan-American 76kg title in Coralville on Saturday.

Welker, a world bronze medalist herself last year, was among the three United States wrestlers who won gold medals as Women's Wrestling came to a close at the Pan-American Championships. The U.S. was the best team of the tournament with 235 points as all 10 wrestlers won medals including eight golds. Canada finished second with 136 points while Mexico was third with 128 points.

UWW Plus

Welker's path to gold medal was nothing short of a minefield as she faced Paris 2024 bronze medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) in the quarterfinals. But Welker got to work straightaway scoring a stepout to lead 1-0. She then countered Renteria's attack and scored a takedown to extend the lead to 3-0 before adding another to go into the break leading 5-0. She took 30 seconds in the second period to score her third takedown and then rolled Renteria twice to finish the match 11-0.

Up against world bronze medalist Milaimy MARIN (CUB) in the semifinals, Welker finished the bout with 1:18 remaining. Marin was put on the activity clock in the first period before Welker rushed her into a takedown to lead 3-0. Welker then overpowered Marin when the Cuban tried reaching for Welker's legs. It was scored four points as Marin fell straight from standing. A go-behind and then an arm-bar exposure was enough for an 11-0 win but Welker held Marin on the mat for the fall.

 

World champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) reached the final from the other side of the bracket with hopes of avenging her 10-0 loss to Welker from last year's Pan-Am semifinals. But the final did not start in Reasco's favor as she was put on the activity clock in the first period which gave Welker a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Welker was put on the activity clock but with seconds left in the 30-second clock, she tried reaching Reasco's leg.

The Ecuadorian world champion thought it was ideal moment to drag Welker towards the zone, but as she did that, Welker whizzed her for a two-point exposure and then held her on the mat for a fall which was confirmed just before Reasco went out of wrestling area.

With the gold medal, U23 world champion Welker is now a two-time Pan-Am champion.

The two other champions for the U.S. were former world medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA) and Abigail NETTE (USA) at 65kg and 59kg respectively.

Miracle, returning to wrestling since Paris 2024, won both her bouts via technical superiority. She defeated Alexis GOMEZ (MEX), 10-0, in Round 1 and then Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN), 10-0, in Round 3. Rowbottom defeated Gomez 6-4 in Round 2 to win the silver medal.

Nette had to win three bouts for the gold medal. She began with a 12-2 win over defending champion Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) and then secured two falls, first over Daniela MARTINEZ (MEX) and then against Mayara RAMOS (BRA) to confirm her title.

Beauregard, a four-time Pan-Am champion and world bronze medalist, defeated both Martinez and Ramos to secure the silver medal. And since Ramos defeated Martinez earlier in the day, she won the bronze medal.

 

Yepez Wins Fourth Straight Gold

Olympic and world silver medalist Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) captured her fourth straight Pan-American title at 53kg as she won the gold medal after beating Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 12-2, in the final.

Yepez scored first in the final when Di Benedetto tried a snap down and Yepez quickly turned it into a leg attack. She scored a takedown and then a turn to lead 4-0 before adding a stepout to lead 5-0. But she missed one of her attack and Di Benedetto scored a go-behind to make it 5-2.

If that takedown gave any hopes to Di Benedetto, Yepez quickly quashed then hitting a double-leg for four points and then a turn to lead 11-2. The two wrestlers split for the break but on return, Yepez took just 20 seconds to score the match-winning takedown, taking her score to 13-2.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, Yepez defeated former U20 world champion Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA), 11-0.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA)Zahid VALENCIA (USA) outscored his opponents 31-0 en route his third Pan-Am title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Valencia Defends 86kg Gold

Freestyle commenced on Saturday at the Pan-Ams and the U.S., like in Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling, dominated it.

In the three weight classes in action on Saturday, the U.S. won two golds medals through world champion Zahid VALENCIA (USA) at 86kg and Austin DE SANTO (USA) at 61kg. The third Freestyle gold of the night went to Geannis GARZON (CUB) who denied Phillip WEBSTER (USA) in the 74kg final.

Valencia, the defending champion at 86kg, went 31-0 in his three bouts. He began with a 10-0 win over Nestor TAFUR (COL) before beating Pedro GONCALVES (BRA), 11-0, in the semifinals.

In the final, Valencia opened the scoring against Christopher FOCA (DOM) using a snap down takedown and then scored another at the edge to lead 4-0. He then used a single-leg attack to lift Foca and slam him on the mat for four points and double the lead to 8-0. Foca attempted a head pinch but Valencia defended it and scored two points as Foca landed on the mat, giving Valencia the win with 2:31 remaining.

De Santo won his first two bouts in the Nelson bracket and then the semifinal, all with the score of 10-0, before blanking Caleb SMITH (PUR), 9-0, in the final. While Smith was pace-setter in the first period, it was De Santo who counter efficiently to lead 4-0 at the break.

But De Santo changed it in the second period, scoring a takedown and turn in the first 34 seconds and lead 8-0. He defended his lead without engaging much with Smith and also scored a stepout late in the final to clinch the gold medal.

Geannis GARZON (CUB)Geannis GARZON (CUB) won the 74kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

At 74kg, Garzon made amends after being disqualified for brutality last year, by winning the gold medal this year. Facing Webster in the final, Garzon led 4-0 at the break. In a back-and-forth second period, Garzon tried using a chest wrap to defend an attack from Webster. It was initially scored two for Garzon and one for Webster's reversal, giving Garzon a 6-1 lead.

The U.S. challenged the decision and after the review, the scoring was changed to four points for Garzon and two points for Webster with the former lead 8-2. Webster got a clean takedown soon after to trim the lead to 8-4 but as he was working on the next takedown, Garzon scored exposure lift for two points and Webster got a reversal for one point.

Garzon led 10-5 when Webster scored stepout to make it 10-6 but the U.S. challenged, saying the score should be 10-7. The scoring was deemed correct and Garzon body locked Webster in the final eight seconds to score a takedown and confirm his victory.   

Photo

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 13-2

BRONZE: Sabrina GAMA (BRA) df. Antonia VALDES (CHI), 8-2
BRONZE: Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA) df. Alexa ALVAREZ (VEN), 7-2

59kg
GOLD: Abigail NETTE (USA)
SILVER: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
BRONZE: Mayara RAMOS PEREIRA (BRA)

65kg
GOLD: Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
SILVER: Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN)
BRONZE: Alexis GOMEZ (MEX)

76kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Genesis REASCO (ECU), via fall

BRONZE: Milaimy MARIN (CUB) df. Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), 7-0
BRONZE: Edna JIMENEZ (MEX) df. Neirili BANGUERO (VEN), 9-5

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Austin DE SANTO (USA) df. Caleb SMITH (PUR), 9-0

BRONZE: Garette SAUNDERS (CAN) df. Alex VEGA TUN (GUA), 12-5

74kg
GOLD: Geannis GARZON TAMAYO (CUB) df. Phillip WEBSTER (USA), 12-6

BRONZE: Ibsen AGUILAR (VEN) df. Luis BARRIOS (HON), 8-6
BRONZE: Adam THOMSON (CAN) df. Raul PALACIOS (MEX), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Christopher FOCA (DOM), 10-0

BRONZE: Ethan RAMOS (PUR) df. Jose PINERO (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE: Nestor TAFUR (COL) df. Pedro GONCALVES (BRA), 11-0