#WrestleBuenosAires

Ecuador Sends Three to Women’s Freestyle Finals at #WrestleBuenosAires

Saturday, April 20, 2019 - 17:57 By Taylor Miller

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Pictured is Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU). Photo by Lucia Cruz.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Ecuador women’s freestyle team put together an impressive session on Saturday morning at the 2019 Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sending three wrestlers to the finals.

The last time Ecuador had three Pan Am women’s freestyle finalists was in 2014 in Mexico City, where all three were champions.

2011 Junior World bronze medalist Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) will face 2018 Senior World silver medalist and returning Pan American champion Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) in the 53 kg finals.

Valverde is a six-time Senior Pan American medalist, winning gold in 2014.

To get to the finals, Hildebrandt took out 2018 World bronze medalist Diana WEICKER (CAN).

At 57 kg, Lissette ANTES CASTILLO (ECU) dominated her way to the finals, scoring a 9-0 decision and a fall to earn a chance to wrestle for gold.

Tonight, she will take on 2018 Junior Pan American champion Hannah TAYLOR (CAN).

Photo: Adeline GRAY (USA) against Erica WEIBE (CAN). Photo by Lucia Cruz.

The third wrestler from Ecuador representing in the finals is Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) at 76 kg. She will take on four-time World champion Adeline GRAY (USA) for gold.

En route to the finals, Gray defeated 2016 Olympic champion Erica WEIBE (CAN) in the quarterfinals, 10-0.

In addition to Hildebrandt and Gray, there are three other Americans in the women’s freestyle finals, including 2018 Senior World bronze medalists Mallory VELTE and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK and three-time Junior World medalist Erin GOLSTON.

Velte will face Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) in the 62 kg gold-medal bout. Velte defeated Nunes in the 2018 World bronze-medal match, 2-1, in October.

To advance to the finals, Nunes knocked off 2018 Pan American champion Yaquelin ESTORNELL ELIZASTIGUE (CUB), 15-7.

Waiting for Mensah-Stock on the other side of the 68 kg bracket is 2018 U23 World champion Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB).

Mensah-Stock defeated Sanchez in the 2018 World Championships in an early round.

For 50 kg gold, Golston will take on 2016 Junior Pan Am champion Yusneylys GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB).

Men’s freestyle also began today with round-robin brackets at 79 kg and 92 kg. Champions will be crowned tonight.

The medal matches will begin at 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EST) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals pairings

Women’s freestyle

50 kg
GOLD - Yusneylys GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB) vs. Erin GOLSTON (USA)
BRONZE - Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU) vs. Thalia MALLQUI PECHE (PER)
BRONZE - Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) vs. Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)

53 kg
GOLD - Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) vs. Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
BRONZE - Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL) vs. Diana WEICKER (CAN)
BRONZE - Justina BENITES VASQUEZ (PER) vs. Lilianet DUANES ANDRES (CUB)

57 kg
GOLD - Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) vs. Lissette ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
BRONZE - Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) vs. Yessica OVIEDO PEREZ (DOM)
BRONZE - Betzabeth SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN) vs. Nes RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR)

62 kg
GOLD - Mallory VELTE (USA) vs. Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
BRONZE - Nathaly GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN) vs. Yaquelin ESTORNELL ELIZASTIGUE (CUB)
BRONZE - Abnelis YAMBO MIRANDA (PUR) vs. Mayra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)

68 kg
GOLD - Tamyra MENSAH (USA) vs. Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
BRONZE - Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER) vs. Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
BRONZE - Andrimar LAZARO DIAZ (VEN) vs. Ambar GARNICA FLORES (MEX)

76 kg
GOLD - Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) vs. Adeline GRAY (USA)
BRONZE - Erica WIEBE (CAN) vs. Mabelkis CAPOTE PEREZ (CUB)
BRONZE - Diana CRUZ ARROYO (PER) vs. Gabriela CANALES HERRERA (MEX)

Men’s freestyle

79 kg – round three matches
Francisco GUZMAN VELAZQUEZ (PUR) vs. Chandler ROGERS (USA)
Santiago MARTINEZ RESTREPO (COL) vs. Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)

92 kg – round three matches
J'den COX (USA) vs. Diego RAMIREZ FLORENTIN (PAR)

#WrestleNoviSad

Mesenbrink takes steady steps to win U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 25, 2025 - 17:22 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 25) -- Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) remembers his last year's U23 World Championships campaign. He won a bronze medal, left Tirana a little frustrated and missing his training room in Penn State.

With lessons from that tournament and surrounded by his Penn State teammates and coaches, Mesenbrink made sure he did not return home without a medal. The former U20 world champion became U23 world champion after beating Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2, in the 74kg final.

Mesenbrink was a leg-attack machine in the final and Ozmus did little to defend those, giving up the final in 2:59, just on the stroke of the break.

"It's just about constantly getting better, technically, and emotionally, too," Mesenbrink said. "If I'm just running in there, trying to grab onto his head, he can get in. So just being able to constantly improve. I think that's a strong testament to the people around me and to the coaches that I have and the teammates that I have at Penn State."

Seven wrestler out of the 10 on the United States Freestyle team are part of the same training center -- the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club, Penn State, which Mesenbrink said made a lot of difference this year.

"It's fun, because last year I came by myself. It was just me at the U23s. So it was fun this year that we had seven out of 10 guys," he said. "Last year, I knew the guys, but it wasn't my teammates, right? Now it's my teammates, the guys that I'm literally in the room with every day. We go over and it's almost like, are we even in Serbia right now? It feels like we're in America, because we got so many guys here."

In Tirana, the American wrestler lost to Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) in the quarterfinals but bounced back to win the bronze medal. But in Novi Sad on Friday, Mesenbrink faced Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) in the semifinals and came out on top 6-4, with a buzzer beating takedown.

The win boasted Mesenbrink's confidence who was close to make the U.S. senior team for World Championships in Zagreb where Takahashi won gold, but lost to David CARR (USA) domestically.

However, that loss made Mesenbrink think about his aims and how he wants to improve his wrestling on the mat.

"I think the big thing of not making the world team, it was just, I got to get better in those specific areas," he said. "That's the most fun part. I thought this is all this is, is a title. This is gonna be fading so quick. So I thought I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work on the things that I've been working on and I've been working really hard since Final X to get those improvements."

Mobin AZIMI (IRI)Mobin AZIMI (IRI) celebrates after winning the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In the only other final of Freestyle, Mobin AZIMI (IRI) earned the first gold medal for Iran after beating Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3, in the 92kg final. Azimi broken Khaniev down in the final and scored three stepout points to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Halit OZMUS (TUR), 12-2

BRONZE: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. PARVINDER (IND), 8-2
BRONZE: Manuel WAGIN (GER) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 8-4

92kg
GOLD: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Takhir KHANIEV (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Sherzod POYONOV (UZB) df. Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR), 11-1
BRONZE: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 10-0

Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) df. Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB), 6-1
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 7-1

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Sina KHALILI (IRI)

SF 1: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. PJ DUKE (USA), 14-4
SF 2: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 8-2

79kg
GOLD: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) vs. Levi HAINES (USA)

SF 1: Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 5-2
SF 2: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 11-4

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) vs. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW), 5-0
SF 2: Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 12-2