#panam2018

USA Advances Five to Men’s and Women’s Freestyle Finals in Lima

Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 21:21 By Taylor Miller

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LIMA (May 5) – Three women’s freestylers and two men’s freestylers from the USA will compete for gold medals tonight at the 2018 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru, on Saturday night.

Highlighting the morning session for the U.S. was three-time World champion Adeline GRAY, who picked up two first-period falls in her first Pan Am Championships appearance. Gray, a 2015 Pan Am Games gold medalist, Mabelkis CAPOTE (CUB), who finished fifth at the U23 World Championships, and Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA), who is a 2016 World Military champion and a 2014 World silver medalist.

Seeking gold at 76 kg, Gray will face Andrea OLAYA GUTIERREZ (COL) in the finals.

Other women for USA advancing to the finals are Whitney CONDER at 50 kg and Sarah HILDEBRANDT at 53 kg.

In men’s freestyle the U.S. sent 2017 Junior World champion Mark HALL at 79 kg and two-time Greco-Roman Olympian Ben PROVISOR at 92 kg to the finals.

After wrestling Greco on Friday, Provisor got back on the mat for USA, this time in freestyle. In the final round of round-robin action, Provisor will face Esdras LOPEZ PEREZ (MEX). As both are undefeated at the weight, the winner of this matchup will take gold.

Hall only wrestled one match as his first one was a forfeit. He put up a dominant semifinals performance, defeating Santiago MARTINEZ RESTREPO (COL), 10-1.

Waiting for Hall on the other side of the bracket is Ethan RAMOS (PUR), who is a native of the U.S., wrestling for Puerto Rico. Both wrestlers competed in the same weight class on the NCAA collegiate level.

Ramos picked up notable wins over veteran Shawn DAYE FINLAY (CAN), 14-4, and Marcos Rob QUESADA MARTINEZ (PER), who he pinned in one minute.

Cuba put through three women into the finals, including Lienna MONTERO HERRERA at 57 kg, Yaquelin ESTORNELL at 62 kg and 2017 Junior World silver medalist and U23 World bronze winner Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ at 68 kg.

At 62 kg, Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) will battle Estornell for gold. A two-time Pan Am champion, Nunes defeated two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jackeline RENTERIA CASTILLO (COL) in the semifinals with an 11-6 decision.

The finals are set for 7 p.m. ET and can be watched live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

FINALS MATCHUPS

Men’s freestyle

79 kg
GOLD - Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR) vs. Mark John HALL II (USA)
BRONZE - Rashji Leonardo MACKEY (BAH) vs. Santiago MARTINEZ RESTREPO (COL)
BRONZE - Shawn Kenneth DAYE FINLEY (CAN) vs. Marcos Roberto QUESADA MARTINEZ (PER)

92 kg
ROUND 5 - Dalton James WEBB (CAN) vs. Kensil Alexander GRAJALES HERNANI (PER)
ROUND 5 - Esdras Carlos LOPEZ PEREZ (MEX) vs. Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA)Women’s freestyle

Women’s freestyle

50 kg
GOLD - Whitney CONDER (USA) vs. Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL)
BRONZE - Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU) vs. Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Evelin del Carmen SOSA (ARG) vs. Jade Marie DUFOUR (CAN)

53 kg
GOLD - Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) vs. Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)
BRONZE - Kristina Katelyn MCLAREN (CAN) vs. Betzabeth Angelica ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)
BRONZE - Dannia Stefanny FIGUEROA DUQUE (COL) vs. Lilianet DUANES ANDRES (CUB)

57 kg
GOLD - Lianna de la Caridad MONTERO HERRERA (CUB) vs. Alejandra ROMERO BONILLA (MEX)
BRONZE - Yessica Coraima OVIEDO PEREZ (DOM) vs. Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
BRONZE - Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR) vs. Michaela Hope BECK (USA)

62 kg
GOLD - Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) vs. Yaquelin ESTORNELL ELIZASTIGUE (CUB)
BRONZE - Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA) vs. Linda MORAIS (CAN)
BRONZE - Karla Johanna CAMPOS GONZALEZ (ECU) vs. Jackeline RENTERIA CASTILLO (COL)

68 kg
GOLD - Soleymi Antonieta CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN) vs. Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
BRONZE - Yanet Ursula SOVERO NINO (PER) vs. Temitope Lydia OGUNJIMI (CAN)
BRONZE - Diana Paulina MIRANDA GONZALES (MEX) vs. Leonela Aleyda AYOVI PARRAGA (ECU)

76 kg
GOLD - Adeline Maria GRAY (USA) vs. Andrea Carolina OLAYA GUTIERREZ (COL)
BRONZE - Andrimar Daniela LAZARO DIAZ (VEN) vs. Gracelynn DOOGAN (CAN)
Mabelkis CAPOTE PEREZ (CUB) vs. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)

#UWWAwards

UWW Comebacks of the Year 2025: Uguev, Maroulis, Amoyan

Friday, December 19, 2025 - 10:30 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 18) -- United World Wrestling’s 2025 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year are three wrestlers who refused to let their careers be defined by defeat and setbacks.

Freestyle Comeback Wrestler: Zaur UGUEV (UWW)

There was a time not too long ago where Uguev career trajectory was pointing him in the direction of becoming the greatest lightweight of this generation, but he hit a slump in 2023 and 2024, finishing fifth at the World Championships.

This year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned to top form. He went from an afterthought to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers -- reclaiming world gold for a third time in his career and first time since the 2019 World Championships with a 11-2 win over Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg finals.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

Women’s Wrestling Comeback Wrestler: Helen MAROULIS (USA)

For most, 2021 seems like yesterday. But for Maroulis, it’s been a grueling four years of waiting and working to reclaim her spot a top the world ranks. Despite having to completely change her style of wrestling due to lack of conditioning that stemmed from an allergic reaction to antibiotics before the World Championships, Maroulis found a way to bolster her resume with a fourth world title -- adding to her career wins 2015, 2018, and 2021, not to mention her three Olympic medals.

She did so with three quick pins in Zagreb before inside tripping Il-Sim SON (PRK) in dramatic fashion, stealing the world title as the clock expired.

After the match, the 11-time world and Olympic medalist said, "I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it. It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

Greco-Roman Comeback Wrestler: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

Like Maroulis’ four-year battle to get back to the top, Amoyan found himself fighting an uphill battle to regain world gold since his last title-winning run in Oslo in 2021. But after moving up from 72kg to 77kg, he struggled. He fell one match short of his goal at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he settled for a bronze medal.

But 2025 was different as the 26-year-old put on arguably the greatest Greco-Roman performance of the Zagreb World Championships, capping off his run to a second world title with an unexpected 9-1 thumping of reigning Olympic gold medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

"I became a world champion back in 2021 [at 72kg], but I really wanted to become world champion at 77kg. For two years, I struggled with injuries, and nothing was going as it should. Thankfully, at this World Championships I was prepared -- mentally, physically, and functionally -- and by God's grace I managed to triumph and become a two-time world champion."