#WrestleAcapulco

Sunday Night's Pan-American Finals Set

Sunday, May 8, 2022 - 14:20 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 8) -- The final day of the Pan-Am Championships is here. Eight freestyle weight classes will be in action after two were played out Saturday. Both the 79kg and 92kg gold medals were won by the USA.

After winning the Greco-Roman and women's wrestling team titles, the USA will be looking to clinch the freestyle team title as the tournament nears its close Sunday. (Day three recap: Hildebrandt helps USA win team title)

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

Finals matches:
57kg: Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA) vs. Darian Toi CRUZ (PUR) 
61kg: Nordic-style bracket 
65kg: Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR) vs. Joseph Christopher MC KENNA (USA) 
70kg: Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA)  vs.  Emmanuel Olufemi OLAPADE (CAN) 
74kg: Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA) vs. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) 
86kg: Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB) vs. Zahid VALENCIA (USA) 
97kg: Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) vs. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB)
125kg: Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) vs. Amarveer DHESI (CAN) 

1:56: That'll do it for this session. I would say it's time for lunch, but it's time for our sit-down interview with Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)! Lunch can wait. We'll see you back here at 17:00 (local time) for the closing session at the 2022 Pan-American Championships. 

1:51: The swag is real. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB) ​​is one of my new favorite guys to watch. He ​has some style and attitude to his wrestling. He'll need to bring it tonight when he takes on world and Olympic champ Kyle Snyder in the 97kg finals.

1:49: That was a fun one to way. Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA) and Alexis OLVERA MAGALLANES (MEX) just put up 24 points on the board, with the Brazilian scoring a late four to win the match. He'll wrestle the winner of Emmanuel Olufemi OLAPADE (CAN) vs. Jhon Wilmer CHUNGA CARRENO (PER) tonight for 70kg gold.

 
1:44: I feel like there's no break in the action. It's one match ending early after another. Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) stormed to an 11-0  Nishan Preet Singh RANDHAWA (CAN) 

1:41: Gomez grabs a finals spot at 74kg with an 11-0 shutout win against Rego.
 
1:34: That was short-lived! Dake demolished Maren Castillo in 40 seconds. He'll wrestle the winner of Cesar BORDEAUX REGO ALVAN (BRA) vs. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) in tonight's 74kg finals.

1:33: It's Dake time on Mat A! The two-time world champ and Olympic bronze medalist is wrestling Cuba's world bronze medalist Maren Castillo.

1:26: That was the most intense match I've seen here at the Pan-American Championships. Valencia pulled away in the second period and punched his ticket to the 86kg finals. He'll wrestle Cuba's Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB).

1:15: What a battle! Zahid VALENCIA (USA) and two-time Olympian Carlos Arturo IZQUIERDO MENDEZ (COL) are going toe-to-toe on Mat B. 

1:05: I'm back! We just shot a sit-down interview with two-time world champion J'den COX (USA), so be on the lookout for that over on our Youtube in the next few weeks.

11:55: Wrestling now: Thomas GILMAN (USA) is up on Mat A and Joey MCKENNA (USA) is up on Mat B.

11:45: We had a real tight one over on Mat B. Jacob Tizoc ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN) trailed Cristian Bernardo SANTIAGO PEREZ (MEX) but scored a takedown with 18 seconds left and hung on to the 5-5 criteria win.

11:35: Despite picking up the W, Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR) limped off the match after his win via fall over Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM).

11:13: This just in: Zain RETHERFORD (USA) has pulled out of the 2022 Pan-American Championships due to an illness. He did weigh in this morning, qualifying the United States for the Belgrade World Championships at 70kg.

11:03: The 35-year-old world bronze medalist Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB) is heading to Mat A to take on Sergio Peter GODOY VITE (ECU) at 74kg. He's looking for a second career Pan-American title and first since the 2017 Pan-Ams.

11:01: Interesting note: Pablo Dario VERA INSFRAN (PAR) is wrestling Angel Eduardo CORTES BONILLA (PAN) over on Mat A. He's looking to become the second wrestler ever from Paraguay to win a Pan-American medal.

10:54: The Americans won both freestyle golds last night and will be heavily favored in a lot of the weights today. But it'll be a while until any of them are up. The first guy that fans will see will be reigning world champion Thomas GILMAN (USA), who will be up on Mat A/ bout 254.

10:53: This is Eric Olanowski, taking back over on the live blog. We just wrapped up shooting some fun content with Sarah Hildebrant, which will come out on our Youtube over the next few weeks. 

10:45: Darian CRUZ (PUR) decided to sit on his 7-0 lead and was cautioned for fleeing But he manages to beat Oscar TIGREROS (COL) 7-2 at 57kg.

10:30: Tokyo Olympian Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) had to scrape hard for his win against Wber CUERO MUNOZ (COL) at 65kg. He was leading 4-0 but Cuero scored a step out. He added another and Destribats was cautioned for fleeing. It became 4-4 with seven seconds left. Cuero tried hard but failed to get the win.

10:20: Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN) has a technical superiority win over Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA) in Round 1 of 70kg

10:15: Brandon ESCOBAR (HON) and Enrique HERRERA (PER) are invovled in absolute scramble. Escobar had built an 8-4 lead before Herrera's comeback who now leads 8-8. Herrera steers clear with three takedowns but Escobar manages one in dying seconds. Herrera wins 14-8

10:09: On Mat B, Olvera takes longer but manages to beat Karlikowski 10-0 in the Round 1 bout at 70kg

10:07: Fix has a great start to the tournament. Silva tried to challenge the USA wrestler but there is a lot of gulf in the class. Fix wins 11-0 inside the first period

10:00: Daton FIX (USA) on Mat A to kickoff proceedings. The World silver medalist is taking on Joseph Andres SILVA (PUR) in Round 1 at 61kg. On Mat B, Alexis OLVERA MAGALLANES (MEX) is up against Cristian KARLIKOWSKI (ARG) at 70kg.

9:45: Welcome to the final day of what has been an exceptional, action-packed Pan-Am Championships so far. For one final time, wrestlers will on the mat in this beautiful town of Acapulco, Mexico.

#WrestleMonterrey

Freestyle history for Argentina, Mexico at Pan-Ams

Monday, May 12, 2025 - 07:28 By Vinay Siwach

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MONTERREY, Mexico (May 11) -- On a historic day in Monterrey, Argentina won its first-ever Freestyle gold medal at the Pan-American Championships while Mexico ended its drought for gold with two golds on Sunday.

Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG), who was silver medalist last year and has four bronze medals, defeated Joseph MC KENNA (USA) in a thrilling final to create history for Argentina. For Mexico, Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) won the gold medal at 57kg, thus ending a 32-year wait for the top medal at Pan-Ams. A few minutes later, Austin GOMEZ (MEX) also won gold to add his name to history.  

The United States, however, was the best Freestyle team of the tournament as it won the team title after adding four more golds to the three it won on Saturday. It finished at the top with 230 points, way ahead of second-placed Canada which had 144 points. Mexico was third with 139 points.

Destribats came close to the historic gold medal last year but had to pull out injured in the final and won a silver medal. The story was different this year.

After a tough 4-4 win in the semifinal, Destribats was in for a tougher challenge against McKenna in the final. But his defense in the first period saw him escape McKenna's attacks. He scored a stepout and led 1-0 at the break.

Destribats was about to be hit with an inactivity call when he headlocked McKenna and tried to pin. The pin was called but not upheld as it seemed that McKenna may have lost consciousness due to the hold. However, McKenna sprung back on his feet as soon as the whistle was blown and Destribats let go.

The fall was cancelled but Destribats now led 3-0. McKenna got on the scoreboard with a stepout to cut the lead to 3-1. Destribats, who was avoiding engagement, was hit with the passivity call and as he failed to scored McKenna got a point.

McKenna hit a leg attack and put forward pressure even as Destribats tried to avoid exposure using a chestwrap. But two points were awarded to McKenna which gave him a 4-3 lead with 11 seconds left.

Destribats did not give up and used an inside trip to score. While he failed to execute the trip, he managed to take McKenna out of bounds for a point to take a 4-4 criteria lead as the scorer of the latest point. The U.S. challenged the call but lost it, making the score 5-4 for Destribats which he defended for the final five seconds.

Before Destribats, only three other wrestlers from Argentina had made it to the finals at Pan-Ams in Freestyle with Yuri MAIER (ARG) being the last one in 2013.

Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) battles Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR) in the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Mexico rejoiced as Bravo Young won the gold medal at 57kg to start the evening session. He blanked Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR), 12-0, for the gold medal which was the first for Mexico in Freestyle since 1993.

Felipe GUZMAN (MEX), the Olympian from 1996, was the last wrestler to win gold for Mexico at the Pan-Ams in Freestyle.

Bravo Young, who moved to Mexico in 2024 before Paris Olympics, used different techniques including sweep single, double-leg attack to score four takedowns and lead 8-0. He finished the match with a fireman's carry for four points.

Austin GOMEZ (MEX)Austin GOMEZ (MEX), red, celebrates after winning the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Soon after, Gomez, who also transferred to Mexico before the Paris Olympics, posted an 11-0 win over Ian PARKER (USA) in the 70kg final to win the gold medal.

Gomez blanked his opponents 33-0 in three bouts that he wrestled for the gold medal. In the final, Gomez tossed Parker with a headlock for four and then turned him twice using the same for an 8-0 lead. The U.S. challenged for two points as Parker held Gomez on the mat for a moment but it was lost on review, making the score 9-0 for Gomez.

A double-leg blast from Gomez was enough for him to finish the final and win 11-0 and the second gold medal for Mexico on Sunday.

U.S. wins four golds

The gold medals for the U.S. on Sunday began when Evan WICK (USA) won all four of his bouts in the round-robin bracket at 79kg. Wick outscored his opponents 40-0 in four bouts to clinch the gold medal, first of Sunday and fourth overall for the U.S.

Trent HIDLAY (USA) added to the count by winning the 92kg gold medal, winning all four of his bouts in the round-robin.

Justin RADEMACHER (USA)Justin RADEMACHER (USA) scores a takedown against Arturo SILOT (CUB) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Osvaldo Aguilar)

At 97kg, Justin RADEMACHER (USA) held on to a 5-4 victory over Arturo SILOT (CUB) in the final to clinch the gold medal, the seventh straight year a U.S. wrestler has won at 97kg.

Rademacher was the first to strike, scoring a takedown on the edge for two points. After a bit of struggle, Silot managed to get on board with a takedown and take a 2-2 criteria lead. Rademacher hit back instantly, scoring with a single-leg attack and reclaiming the lead 4-2.

In the second period, Rademacher was awarded a point as both wrestlers went out after a scramble but it was Silot who put his hand outside the zone first. Silot hit back with a counter takedown to cut the lead to 5-4 with two minutes left on the clock. However, Rademacher defended his lead first with attacks and later by seeing off any attacks that Silot did.

Rademacher survived a flurry in the final 10 seconds, including a challenge for fleeing, to win, as Silot tried making sense of the match as he walked off the mat.

Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) showed little mercy for his 125kg opponents, winning the gold medal via a fall Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN) in the final, which included a slam which left the crowd in awe.

A double-leg attack gave Hendrickson the first four points of the final and he later locked Deschatelets from behind, lifted him well above the mat and slammed him for a five-pointer. He secured the fall in 24 seconds to finish the final.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) df. Lucas RODRIGUEZ (PUR), 12-0

BRONZE: Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA) df. Eduardo PALAS SEQUEIROS (PER), 7-0
BRONZE: Liam CRONIN (USA) df. Pedro MEJIAS (VEN), 5-4

65kg
GOLD: Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Joseph MC KENNA (USA), 5-4

BRONZE: Wilfredo RODRIGUEZ (VEN) df. Matias MUNOZ (CHI), 10-0
BRONZE: Peiman BIABANI (CAN) df. Matheus DA LUZ (BRA), 10-0

70kg
GOLD: Austin GOMEZ (MEX) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 11-0

BRONZE: Sixto AUCCAPINA (PER) df. Jorge GATICA (CHI), 12-2
BRONZE: Jacob ALEXANDER TORRES (CAN) df. Royglen TEMPLE BATISTA (PAN), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Evan WICK (USA)
SILVER: Shane JONES (PUR)
BRONZE: Jasmit PHULKA (CAN)

92kg
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA)
SILVER: Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
BRONZE: Edwin MORALES (PUR)

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT (CUB), 5-4

BRONZE: Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN) df. Ricardo BAEZ (ARG), 11-0

125kg
GOLD: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN), via fall (9-0)

BRONZE: Jose DIAZ (VEN) df. Maxwell LACEY (CRC), 3-2
BRONZE: Gino AVILA (HON) df. Rizieri CHAVEZ (MEX), 10-0