#WrestleBuenosAires

USA Men’s Freestyle Becomes First Team in History to Win Every Pan Am Weight

Sunday, April 21, 2019 - 23:57 By Taylor Miller

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The United States won all eight available gold medals on Sunday night at the 2019 Pan American Championships. With the U.S. winning the first two men’s freestyle weights yesterday, it becomes the first time in history that a team has won every gold in a specific style at the Pan Am Championships.

In the team scoring, USA collected 250 points, followed by Canada with 129 points and Cuba with 115 points.

The United States won six of its eight finals by tech fall.

Leading the way was 2018 World champion David TAYLOR (USA), who earned the Outstanding Wrestler award after a strong performance at 86 kg.

In the finals, Taylor defeated Pedro CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN) with a 10-0 shut out to snatch his second-straight Pan Am title.

Also winning his second in a row was two-time World bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) at 125 kg, who scored a 10-0 win against Korey JARVIS (CAN).

Four-time World champion and 2012 Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) won his third-career Pan Am title on Sunday.

In an entertaining battle with 2015 Pan Am silver medalist Jevon BALFOUR (CAN), Burroughs pulled out a 7-0 win for the crown at 74 kg.

Kyle SNYDER (USA), 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion, also earned his second Pan Am title, winning by injury default over Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) at 97 kg.

Others claiming golds for the USA were Josh RODRIGUEZ at 57 kg, Joe COLON at 61 kg, Colton MCCRYSTAL at 65 kg and Anthony ASHNAULT at 70 kg.

Final team standings
1. USA – 250
2. Canada – 129
3. Cuba – 115
4. Puerto Rico – 72
5. Venezuela – 68
6. Argentina – 53
7. Colombia – 48
8. Brazil – 41
9. Dominican Republic – 37
10. Peru – 37

Final results

57 kg
GOLD - Joshua RODRIGUEZ (USA) TF Oscar TIGREROS URBANO (COL), 10-0
BRONZE - Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN) TF Daniel ALVES DO NASCIMENTO (BRA), 10-0
BRONZE –  Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) dec. Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN), 4-0

61 kg
GOLD – Joe COLON (USA)
SILVER – Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
BRONZE – Scott SCHILLER (CAN)

65 kg
GOLD - Colton MCCRYSTAL (USA) TF Damian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB), 12-1
BRONZE - Mauricio SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU) dec. Daniel BRIOSO (DOM), 9-5
BRONZE – Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) TF Sixto AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER), 16-5

70 kg
GOLD - Anthony ASHNAULT (USA)
SILVER - Nicholas ROWE (CAN)
BRONZE - Mitchel TAIPE DUANAMA (PER)

74 kg
GOLD - Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) dec. Jevon BALFOUR (CAN), 7-0
BRONZE - Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) TF Adonis ARROYO (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE –  Julio RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM) TF Jorge DESPAIGNE LAGAR (CUB), 10-0

86 kg
GOLD - David TAYLOR III (USA) TF Pedro CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE - Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB) TF Meruzhan NIKOYAN (ARG), 10-0
BRONZE – Alexander MOORE (CAN) TF Christian ANGUIANO FLORES (MEX), 11-0

97 kg
GOLD - Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB), injury default
BRONZE - Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) TF Maxwell LACEY GARITA (CRC), 10-0
BRONZE – Evan RAMOS (PUR) dec. Jordan STEEN (CAN), 8-5

125 kg
GOLD - Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) TF Korey JARVIS (CAN), 10-0
BRONZE - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Eduardo GARCIA BETANZOS (MEX), fall
BRONZE - Antoine BRAGA ABOU JAOUDE (BRA) TF Jorge MEDINA ARROYO (ECU), 12-1

 

#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