#WrestleMorelia

Ayyoub de Canada Gana el Botin de Oro en #WrestleMorelia

By Taylor Miller

MORELIA, Mexico – En el último día del Campeonato Panamericano de Cadetes, Ismail AYYOUB (CAN) ganó el Botín de Oro en estilo libre masculino después de un día exitoso en Morelia, México.

Ayyoub ganó el título en 80 kg, derrotando a John BEST (USA) en la final, 10-3.

USA ganó las otras nueve medallas de oro, de Daniel Sheen con 45 kg, Joey Fischer con 48 kg, Nico Provo con 51 kg, Jacob Rundell con 55 kg, Jesse Mendez con 60 kg, Robert Pérez III con 65 kg, John Best con 71 kg, Michael Misita con 92 kg y Braxton Mikesell con 110 kg.

Sheen, Fischer, Méndez, Pérez, Best, Misita y Mikesell ganaron sus segundos oros este fin de semana al reclamar títulos en Grecorromana el viernes.

En la clasificación por equipos, USA ganaron con 245 puntos, seguidos de México con 138 puntos y Canadá con 134 puntos.

Team standings
1. USA – 245
2. Mexico – 138
3. Canada – 134
4. Peru – 83
5. Brazil – 65
6. Ecuador – 61
7. Guatemala – 57
8. Argentina – 46
9. Colombia – 38
10. Panama – 38

45 kg
GOLD – Daniel SHEEN (USA)
SILVER - Esteban MORALES MAYANCHA (ECU)
BRONZE - Carlos HERNANDEZ PEREZ (MEX)

48 kg
GOLD – Joseph FISCHER (USA)
SILVER - Treye TROTMAN (CAN)
BRONZE - Helisson QUEIROZ BRESSON (BRA)

51 kg
GOLD – Nico PROVO (USA)
SILVER – Enrique HERRERA HUACRE (PER)
BRONZE - Luisaldo CORTEZ GARCIA (MEX)
BRONZE - Marlon GODINEZ PEREZ (GUA)

55 kg
GOLD – Jacob RUNDELL (USA)
SILVER - Fotis PAPADOPOULOS (CAN)
BRONZE - Miguel GASPAR RIVAS (ECU)
BRONZE - Erick BARROSO BAUTISTA (MEX)

60 kg
GOLD – Jesse MENDEZ (USA)
SILVER - Jan LOPEZ SOLIS (MEX)
BRONZE - Peter MCCRACKIN (CAN)

65 kg
GOLD – Robert PEREZ III (USA)
SILVER - Stone LEWIS (CAN)
BRONZE - Jonnathan PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA)
BRONZE - Matias MUNOZ RAMIREZ (CHI)

71 kg                                                                       
GOLD – John BEST (USA)
SILVER - Lautaro SEGHESSO (ARG)
BRONZE - Carlos SEVILLANO GONGORA (ECU)
BRONZE -  Malhcon PINEDA CUNIL (GUA)

80 kg
GOLD - Ismail AYYOUB (CAN)
SILVER – Jack DARRAH (USA)
BRONZE - Juan ITURRIZA RUIZ (MEX)

92 kg
GOLD – Michael MISITA (USA)
SILVER - Jorge DE LA O OLAN (MEX)
BRONZE - Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA)

110 kg
GOLD – Braxton MIKESELL (USA)
SILVER - Axel ORTEGA LUNA (MEX)
BRONZE - Diego NOLE AZABACHE (PER)

#CanadaWrestling

Former world champion Di Stasio of Canada retires

By United World Wrestling Press

OTTAWA, Canada (March 13) -- After nearly 15 years of representing Canada, Justina DI STASIO (CAN) has decided to retire.

During her career, Di Stasio built an impressive resume that will go down as one of the all-time greats in Canadian wrestling history. The 32-year-old represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Di Stasio won gold medal at the World Championship in 2018, a Pan-American Games gold medal in 2019 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2022. In addition, she is a multiple-time Pan-Am Championships gold medalist.

While there have been many memorable moments, a few stood out to Di Stasio, including her start with the national team, her win at the 2018 worlds, being coached on the national team by two-time Olympic medalist Tonya VERBEEK (CAN), and making her first Olympics in 2024.

“Winning worlds was a special moment, especially because I could hear my parents cheering from the stands," Di Stasio said. "It reminded me of my tournaments as a kid. It also helped me frame everything in my life better. I realized it is about the journey and not the destination. It was amazing to feel the way I did on that one day, but it was only one day. I had worked so hard in the lead up, but I realized I had to enjoy those days too. I still wanted to be the best in the world and I never didn’t train like it, but from that point, I made sure to enjoy my wrestling every day.”

That love for the sport kept Di Stasio going despite setbacks that stalled her dream of competing at the Olympics. After failing to qualify for the Rio and Tokyo Games, Di Stasio qualified for Paris 2024, eventually finishing 12th.

“Making it to the Olympics came with lots of pressure, but good pressure. I had won everything else and trained every day thinking I could be an Olympic champion. Even though it was a heart-breaking result, I know I couldn’t have worked harder and that helped me accept the result. I would have loved to make it there when I was younger, but I think I needed to be more mature to handle the result.”

Read full news on Wrestling Canada Lutte website.