Gray, Escobedo, Metcalf power into Pan American Games finals
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
American Adeline Gray (in blue) powered into the finals of the Pan American Games on Friday afternoon in Toronto. Robbert Wijtman photo.
TORONTO, Canada – Three more Americans will take aim at wrestling gold at the Pan American Games.
U.S. freestyle wrestlers Adeline Gray, Angel Escobedo and Brent Metcalf advanced to the Pan Am Games finals after strong showings in Friday’s first session at the Hershey Centre.
The medal round is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday in Toronto. The matches will be shown on a live webcast on ESPN3.
American Erin Clodgo will wrestle for bronze on Friday night.
Gray, a two-time World champion, came out strong in scoring a quick 10-0 first-period technical fall over 2014 World silver medalist Aline da Silva of Brazil in women’s freestyle at 75 kg/165 lbs.
Gray beat da Silva 2-1 in the finals of the 2014 World Championships.
“I definitely had a tough draw against Brazil in the first round,” Gray said. “I knew it was going to be a battle. She came out there fighting, but I ended up getting a first-period which was nice. I should’ve got that at the World Championships. It was nice to get that momentum going.”
Gray then powered past Puerto Rico’s Ana Gonzalez by a 12-0 tech in the semifinals. Gray launched Gonzalez with a spectacular four-point move to punctuate the win.
Gray will face Justina DiStasio of Canada in the finals.
“She’s a big strong girl, but so am I,” Gray said. “As long as I keep good position and get my offense firing, she can’t stop me. I need to keep my momentum going in the finals.”
Esobedo opened with a quick 10-0 technical fall over Colombia’s Emir Hernandez in the men’s freestyle quarterfinals at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Escobedo, fifth at the 2013 Worlds, followed by pinning Peru’s Pablo Benites in the semifinal round.
“I felt great,” Escobedo said. “I got my feet moving and scored a lot of points. My coaches told me that I’ve got to start out hot and be ready to go when the whistle blows.”
Escobedo will face 2014 World bronze medalist Yowlys Bonne of Cuba in the finals. Escobedo was brought in as a late replacement for World Team member Tony Ramos for the Pan Ams.
“I was at a barbeque on July 4 and (U.S. National Coach) Bruce Burnett called me. I’m eating fried chicken and I get a call from Bruce and he says, ‘can you make weight for Pan Ams?” Escobedo said. “I put my chicken down and told my wife, ‘I think I have to go for a run right now.’ I didn’t even get to finish my chicken. I had to be disciplined right away to get my weight down.”
Metcalf, a four-time World Team member, opened with a quick 10-0 tech over Guatemala’s Marbin Miranda Casasola in the quarterfinals at 65 kg/143 lbs.
Metcalf then rallied for a 10-8 win over returning Pan Am Games champion and World silver medalist Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico in the semifinals. Gomez was an NCAA champion for Michigan State.
Metcalf scored a gut wrench and takedown in the closing stages of the match to earn the victory over Gomez.
“I just had to get back to what I’m good at, which is wrestling offense,” Metcalf said. “I did too much sitting around where I let the guy have too much. He’s a very quality opponent and a very high level opponent. I need to tighten it up and be more stingy.
“The wrestling you saw in the back half of that match was me where I needed to be, which is having an urgency to score.”
There were some bizarre sequences in the bout, including some questionable scoring in the second period.
“I’m not sure why they scored it that way,” Metcalf said. “I got the takedown and then I hit a gut, and then he grabbed my knee pad which is a penalty. But I think they scored that sequence 2 and 2. I don’t know how he ended up with eight points. I don’t really know what was going on there.”
Metcalf will face Cuba’s Franklin Maren in the finals. Metcalf beat Maren at the World Cup and Beat the Streets events this year.
Clodgo dropped a 11-7 quarterfinal decision to returning Pan Am Games champion Katerina Vidiaux of Cuba in women’s freestyle at 63 kg/138.75 lbs
Clodgo will face Dennisse Antes of Ecuador in the bronze-medal match. Antes suffered an arm injury in her semifinal loss to Vidiaux and had to default the bout.
The U.S. captured seven medals, including three gold medals, during the first two days of the tournament.
The fourth and final day of the tournament is set for Saturday in Toronto. Americans Jordan Burroughs, Jake Herbert, Kyle Snyder and Zach Rey will take the mat in men’s freestyle for Team USA.
Burroughs and Herbert are returning Pan American Games champions.
Pan American Games, July 15-18
Hershey Centre, Toronto, Canada
Gold-medal matchups
Women’s freestyle
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Braxton Stone (Canada) vs. Katerina Vidiaux (Cuba)
69 kg/152 lbs.
Dori Yeats (Canada) vs. Maria Acosta (Venezuela)
75 kg/165 lbs.
Adeline Gray (USA) vs. Justina DiStasio (Canada)
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Angel Escobedo (USA) vs. Yowlys Bonne (Cuba)
65 kg/143 lbs.
Brent Metcalf (USA) vs. Franklin Maren (Cuba)
U.S. results
Women’s freestyle
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Erin Clodgo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
LOSS Katerina Vidiaux (Cuba), 11-7
vs. Dennisse Antes (Ecuador) in bronze-medal match
75 kg/165 lbs. – Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
WIN Aline da Silva (Brazil), tech fall 10-0
WIN Ana Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
vs. Justina DiStasio (Canada) in gold-medal match
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Angel Escobedo, Ames, Iowa (New York AC)
WIN Emir Hernandez (Colombia), tech fall 10-0
WIN Pablo Benites (Peru), fall 2:01
vs. Yowlys Bonne (Cuba) in gold-medal match
65 kg/143 lbs. – Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC)
WIN Marbin Miranda Casasola (Guatemala), 10-0
WIN Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico), 10-8
vs. Franklin Maren (Cuba) in gold-medal match
TORONTO, Canada – Three more Americans will take aim at wrestling gold at the Pan American Games.
U.S. freestyle wrestlers Adeline Gray, Angel Escobedo and Brent Metcalf advanced to the Pan Am Games finals after strong showings in Friday’s first session at the Hershey Centre.
The medal round is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday in Toronto. The matches will be shown on a live webcast on ESPN3.
American Erin Clodgo will wrestle for bronze on Friday night.
Gray, a two-time World champion, came out strong in scoring a quick 10-0 first-period technical fall over 2014 World silver medalist Aline da Silva of Brazil in women’s freestyle at 75 kg/165 lbs.
Gray beat da Silva 2-1 in the finals of the 2014 World Championships.
“I definitely had a tough draw against Brazil in the first round,” Gray said. “I knew it was going to be a battle. She came out there fighting, but I ended up getting a first-period which was nice. I should’ve got that at the World Championships. It was nice to get that momentum going.”
Gray then powered past Puerto Rico’s Ana Gonzalez by a 12-0 tech in the semifinals. Gray launched Gonzalez with a spectacular four-point move to punctuate the win.
Gray will face Justina DiStasio of Canada in the finals.
“She’s a big strong girl, but so am I,” Gray said. “As long as I keep good position and get my offense firing, she can’t stop me. I need to keep my momentum going in the finals.”
Esobedo opened with a quick 10-0 technical fall over Colombia’s Emir Hernandez in the men’s freestyle quarterfinals at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Escobedo, fifth at the 2013 Worlds, followed by pinning Peru’s Pablo Benites in the semifinal round.
“I felt great,” Escobedo said. “I got my feet moving and scored a lot of points. My coaches told me that I’ve got to start out hot and be ready to go when the whistle blows.”
Escobedo will face 2014 World bronze medalist Yowlys Bonne of Cuba in the finals. Escobedo was brought in as a late replacement for World Team member Tony Ramos for the Pan Ams.
“I was at a barbeque on July 4 and (U.S. National Coach) Bruce Burnett called me. I’m eating fried chicken and I get a call from Bruce and he says, ‘can you make weight for Pan Ams?” Escobedo said. “I put my chicken down and told my wife, ‘I think I have to go for a run right now.’ I didn’t even get to finish my chicken. I had to be disciplined right away to get my weight down.”
Metcalf, a four-time World Team member, opened with a quick 10-0 tech over Guatemala’s Marbin Miranda Casasola in the quarterfinals at 65 kg/143 lbs.
Metcalf then rallied for a 10-8 win over returning Pan Am Games champion and World silver medalist Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico in the semifinals. Gomez was an NCAA champion for Michigan State.
Metcalf scored a gut wrench and takedown in the closing stages of the match to earn the victory over Gomez.
“I just had to get back to what I’m good at, which is wrestling offense,” Metcalf said. “I did too much sitting around where I let the guy have too much. He’s a very quality opponent and a very high level opponent. I need to tighten it up and be more stingy.
“The wrestling you saw in the back half of that match was me where I needed to be, which is having an urgency to score.”
There were some bizarre sequences in the bout, including some questionable scoring in the second period.
“I’m not sure why they scored it that way,” Metcalf said. “I got the takedown and then I hit a gut, and then he grabbed my knee pad which is a penalty. But I think they scored that sequence 2 and 2. I don’t know how he ended up with eight points. I don’t really know what was going on there.”
Metcalf will face Cuba’s Franklin Maren in the finals. Metcalf beat Maren at the World Cup and Beat the Streets events this year.
Clodgo dropped a 11-7 quarterfinal decision to returning Pan Am Games champion Katerina Vidiaux of Cuba in women’s freestyle at 63 kg/138.75 lbs
Clodgo will face Dennisse Antes of Ecuador in the bronze-medal match. Antes suffered an arm injury in her semifinal loss to Vidiaux and had to default the bout.
The U.S. captured seven medals, including three gold medals, during the first two days of the tournament.
The fourth and final day of the tournament is set for Saturday in Toronto. Americans Jordan Burroughs, Jake Herbert, Kyle Snyder and Zach Rey will take the mat in men’s freestyle for Team USA.
Burroughs and Herbert are returning Pan American Games champions.
Pan American Games, July 15-18
Hershey Centre, Toronto, Canada
Gold-medal matchups
Women’s freestyle
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Braxton Stone (Canada) vs. Katerina Vidiaux (Cuba)
69 kg/152 lbs.
Dori Yeats (Canada) vs. Maria Acosta (Venezuela)
75 kg/165 lbs.
Adeline Gray (USA) vs. Justina DiStasio (Canada)
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Angel Escobedo (USA) vs. Yowlys Bonne (Cuba)
65 kg/143 lbs.
Brent Metcalf (USA) vs. Franklin Maren (Cuba)
U.S. results
Women’s freestyle
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Erin Clodgo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
LOSS Katerina Vidiaux (Cuba), 11-7
vs. Dennisse Antes (Ecuador) in bronze-medal match
75 kg/165 lbs. – Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
WIN Aline da Silva (Brazil), tech fall 10-0
WIN Ana Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
vs. Justina DiStasio (Canada) in gold-medal match
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Angel Escobedo, Ames, Iowa (New York AC)
WIN Emir Hernandez (Colombia), tech fall 10-0
WIN Pablo Benites (Peru), fall 2:01
vs. Yowlys Bonne (Cuba) in gold-medal match
65 kg/143 lbs. – Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC)
WIN Marbin Miranda Casasola (Guatemala), 10-0
WIN Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico), 10-8
vs. Franklin Maren (Cuba) in gold-medal match
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