#WrestleOttawa

Rau and Pena Claim Second Pan Am Titles, Sovero wins gold in 13th Pan Am event

By Taylor GREGORIO

Photo of Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB). By Tony Rotundo. 

OTTAWA, Canada – Greco-Roman action of the Pan American Championships wrapped up on Saturday with the final three weight classes, while the first two women’s weight classes were contested.

The United States won two of the last three Greco gold medals, earning it the team title with 200 points. In second place was Cuba with 105 points. Cuba collected the other gold medal on Saturday.

John STEFANOWICZ (82 kg) and Josef RAU (87 kg) emerged victorious from their respective weight classes for the United States.

Stefanowicz put together a 2-0 record in round-robin action to secure the gold. In his final match of the day, he dominated Marciano ALI (PUR) with a 14-4 technical fall, which featured multiple big throws.

At 87 kg, Rau drew two passivity points from Carlos MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL) in the gold-medal match and scored gut wrenches each time in par terre for a 6-0 win.

Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) won his second-consecutive Pan Am Championships title, taking the crown at 77 kg.

Wrestling in a Nordic system bracket, Pena lost earlier in the day to Pat Smith in pool action. The two eventually met up once again in the finals, where the Cuban got his revenge.

Trailing after the first period, Pena got an opportunity on top, where picked up a gut wrench and held on to defeat Smith, 3-1.

Photo of Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER). By Tony Rotundo. 

In women’s freestyle, Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER) impressed at 72 kg, winning her first Pan Am title and sixth overall continental medal. She won her first Senior Pan American medal in 2002.

Sovero went 3-0 on the day, dominating the field. She opened her tournament with back-to-back falls before securing a 10-0 technical fall her final round against Shauna KUEBECK (CAN).

At 59 kg in women’s, 2018 U23 World champion Alexandria TOWN (CAN) swept the field, winning all three of her matches by technical fall. In her last match, she took out Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA), 10-0.

There were two athletes funded by the United World Wrestling Development Technical Assistance program that won medals today, including a silver medal from Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR) at 57 kg in women’s freestyle and a bronze from Lesyan COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM) at 87 kg in Greco-Roman.

Final Greco Team standings
1. USA – 200
2. Cuba – 105
3. Venezuela – 69
4. Mexico – 68
5. Colombia – 67
6. Brazil – 65
7. Canada – 55
8. Dominican Republic – 42
9. Puerto Rico – 29
10. Honduras - 18

Greco-Roman results
77 kg
GOLD - Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) df. Patrick SMITH (USA), 3-1
BRONZE - Wuileixis de Jesus RIVAS ESPINOZA (VEN) df. Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL), 6-1

82 kg
GOLD - John STEFANOWICZ (USA)
SILVER – Jose Andres VARGAS RUEDA (MEX)
BRONZE - Marciano ALI (PUR)

87 kg
GOLD - Josef RAU (USA) df. Carlos MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL), 6-0
BRONZE - Lesyan Osvaldo COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM), win by injury default
BRONZE - Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA), win by injury default

Women’s freestyle results
59 kg
GOLD - Alexandria TOWN (CAN)
SILVER – Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR)
BRONZE – Lauren LOUIVE (USA)

72 kg
GOLD - Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER)
SILVER – Victoria FRANCIS (USA)
BRONZE – Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)

#WrestleCoralville

How to Watch 2026 Pan-American Championships Live

By United World Wrestling Press

CORALVILLE, IOWA, United States (May 6) -- The 2026 Pan-American Championships will be held at the Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa from May 7 to 10.

Greco-Roman will kick off the competition with eight weight classes in action on Thursday and Friday will host the remaining two Greco and six Women's Wrestling weight classes. Four Women's Wrestling and three Freestyle weight classes will be on the mat on Saturday before Sunday sees remaining seven Freestyle weight categories.

UWW Plus

Full 2026 Pan-American Wrestling Championships Schedule

Day 1, May 7 (Thursday):

Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg
Greco-Roman Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg
Greco-Roman Finals (17:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg

Day 2, May 8 (Friday)

Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Qualification rounds (10:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Finals (17:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg

Day 3, May 9 (Saturday)

Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg
Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg
Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Finals (17:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg

Day 4, May 10 (Sunday)

Freestyle Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg
Freestyle Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg
Freestyle Finals (17:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg

PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 PREVIEW

All wrestling action will be live on UWW+ and you can subscribe to it. Click here to subscribe to UWW+. However, in the United States and Canada, the competition will be live on FloWrestling.

Download the UWW+ app from App Store | Play Store.

The brackets for Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling will be released by UWW on May 6, 16:00 hours local time.

UWW Preview for the Pan-Am Wrestling Championships: DOWNLOAD PREVIEWREAD HERE | WRESTLING PHOTOS 

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