Junior Pan American Championships set for Aug. 17-19 in Fortaleza, Brazil

A group of talented Junior-level athletes will represent the United States this weekend at the Junior Pan American Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil, Aug. 17-19.

The tournament begins with Greco-Roman action on Friday, followed by women’s freestyle on Saturday and men’s freestyle closing out the tournament on Sunday.

Below is a breakdown of each squad:

Men’s freestyle

Leading the men’s freestyle team is 2016 Cadet World silver medalist Vitali Arujau, who will begin his college career at Cornell this fall. Arujau is the 2018 U23 representative at 61 kg and finished second at the Junior World Team Trials in May.

Other Junior Freestyle World Team alternates on the team include Brandon Courtney of Arizona State at 57 kg, Andrew Alirez at 65 kg, Austin O’Connor of North Carolina at 70 kg, Jeremiah Moody of Iowa at 74 kg and Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year Kordell Norfleet of Arizona State at 86 kg.

Courtney is a two-time Junior World alternate, who won the UWW Junior freestyle tournament in Las Vegas in April and followed it up winning the 2018 Junior World Team Trials in Rochester, Minn. A special wrestle-off for the 57 kg 2018 World Team bid against Junior World champion Daton Fix earned Courtney the second spot on the Junior National Team ladder.

Other UWW Junior Nationals champions from this season include Moody, who won freestyle, and Anthony Mantanona of Oklahoma and Austin Harris of Oklahoma State, who each won Greco titles at the event.

Mantanona and Harris will be competing in both freestyle and Greco in Brazil along with Cameron Caffey of Michigan State and Anthony Cassioppi of Iowa.

Cassioppi returns to the Junior Pan American Championships after winning a pair of gold medals at the same event last year in Lima, Peru.

He’s been on a roll this summer, winning his second Junior-level USA Wrestling Triple Crown to become only the second wrestler in history to accomplish the feat. He also took second at the Junior Greco World Team Trials in June.

The team will be coached by USA Wrestling National Freestyle Developmental Coach Kevin Jackson and University of Maryland head coach Kerry McCoy.

Women’s freestyle
The women’s lineup is full of international experience as there are five past age-group World Team members, including 2016 and 2018 Junior World Team member Brenda Reyna of McKendree, who will wrestle at 59 kg.

Reyna is not the only McKendree Bearcat on the team. She is joined by college teammates Felicity Taylor at 50 kg and Andrea Sennett at 72 kg.

Taylor won a 2018 Junior Fargo title last month and Sennett, a 2017 Senior U.S. Open All-American, wrestled in last year’s Pan Ams, where she finished fourth.

Also suiting up for the Red, White and Blue is 2015 Cadet World bronze medalist Kayla Marano of Emmanuel College at 68 kg, 2017 Junior World Team member Cameron Guerin at 55 kg, plus two-time Cadet World Teamers Vayle Baker at 53 kg and Ashlynn Ortega at 65 kg.

The team also features a pair of 2018 Senior National Team members, Michaela Beck at 57 kg and Mariah Harris of Campbellsville at 76 kg.

Beck took third at the 2017 Cadet Pan American Championships, and earlier this year, she claimed bronze at the Senior Pan American Championships in Lima.

Others with Pan Am experience include Baker and Guerin. Baker competed at the 2017 Junior Pan Ams, taking fifth, while Guerin won gold at the Cadet division.

A native of Washington, Guerin recently decided to forego the traditional college wrestling experience and train at the United State Olympic Training Center as a resident athlete.

Rounding out the talented group is 2018 Bill Farrell International bronze medalist Brianna Csontos of Columbia University at 62 kg.

Coaching the women’s squad is Jacquelyn Davis, Carlene Sluberski and Joe Favia.

Greco-Roman

The Junior Greco Pan Am team is led by 2017 Junior World silver medalist Cevion Severado at 55 kg, who will begin his freshman year at Mizzou this fall. Severado is a two-time Junior World Team Trials runner-up, who filled in for the 2017 Trials champion due to injury. Earlier this summer, Severado finished second at Fargo in Junior Greco.

Other Junior Trials runners-up in the lineup are Dylan Gregerson at 63 kg, Thomas Brackett at 82 kg, Caffey at 87 kg, Harris at 97 kg and Cassioppi at 130 kg.

Caffey, Harris and Cassioppi, along with Mantanona, are wrestling both Greco-Roman and freestyle.

Mantanona won the Junior Greco World Team Trials but did not participate in a special wrestle-off for the 77 kg Junior World bid against 2017 Junior World champion Kamal Bey, resulting in a No. 2 spot for Mantanona.

Brackett, Cassioppi and Leonard Merkin all competed in both styles at the 2017 Junior Pan American Championships.

Illinois native Cassioppi finished with double gold, while and Merkin won a pair of bronze medals and Brackett finished with silver in Greco.

Rounding out the team is Logan Treaster at 60 kg, who took seventh at the 2018 UWW Junior Nationals, and two-time U23 National Team member Britton Holmes of Northern Michigan at 67 kg.

Leading the team is USA Wrestling Manager of Greco-Roman Programs Gary Mayabb and Jay Antonelli, who was a part of the 2007 Senior World Champion Greco-Roman coaching staff.

Fans can watch all the action on Trackwrestling.com and see frequent updates from @USAWrestling on Twitter. 

2018 JUNIOR PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Fortaleza, Brazil, Aug. 17-19

Men’s freestyle roster
57 kg: Brandon Courtney (Goodyear, Ariz./Arizona State)
61 kg: Vitali Arujau (Syosset, N.Y./New York AC)
65 kg: Andrew Alirez (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado WC)
70 kg: Austin O’Connor (Lockport, Ill./Tar Heel WC)
74 kg: Jeremiah Moody (Cambridge, Wisc./Hawkeye WC)
79 kg: Anthony Mantanona (Indio, Calif./Oklahoma RTC)
86 kg: Kordell Norfleet (Chicago, Ill./Sunkist Kids)
92 kg: Cameron Caffey (Carbondale, Ill./Michigan State)
97 kg: Austin Harris (Stillwater, Okla./Titan Mercury/Cowboy WC)
125 kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Roscoe, Ill./ISI)
National Freestyle Developmental Coach: Kevin Jackson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach: Kerry McCoy, University Park, Md.

Women’s freestyle roster
50 kg: Felicity Taylor (Spillville, Iowa/Immortal Athletics WC)
53 kg: Vayle Baker (Benton, Pa./Minnesota Storm/Wyoming Seminary)
55 kg: Cameron Guerin (Yakima, Wash./Team Takedown)
57 kg: Michaela Beck (New York, N.Y./New York AC)
59 kg: Brenda Reyna (Mount Vernon, Wash./New York AC/Bearcat WC)
62 kg: Brianna Csontos (Amissville, Va./New York RTC)
65 kg: Ashlynn Ortega (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo West WC)
68 kg: Kayla Marano (Jefferson, Ga./Lion WC)
72 kg: Andrea Sennett (Wheeling, Ill./Bearcat WC)
76 kg: Mariah Harris (Campbellsville, Ky./Campbellsville)
Coach: Jacquelyn Davis, Boston, Mass.
Coach: Carlene Sluberski, Williamsburg, Ky.
Coach: Joe Favia, Hoboken, N.J.

Greco-Roman roster
55 kg: Cevion Severado (St. Peters, Mo./New York AC)
60 kg: Logan Treaster (Annapolis, Md./Newton HS)
63 kg: Dylan Gregerson (Riverton, Utah/Utah Valley RTC)
67 kg: Britton Holmes (Peyton, Colo./NMU-OTS)
72 kg: Leonard Merkin (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Jersey RTC)
77 kg: Anthony Mantanona (Indio, Calif./Oklahoma RTC)
82 kg: Thomas Brackett (Eads, Tenn./Wave WC)
87 kg: Cameron Caffey (Carbondale, Ill./Michigan State)
97 kg: Austin Harris (Stillwater, Okla./Titan Mercury/Cowboy WC)
130 kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Roscoe, Ill./ISI)
Manager of Greco-Roman Programs: Gary Mayabb, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach: Jay Antonelli, Annapolis, Md.

Team leader: Elison Dantas, Garahuns, Brazil
Medical: Shelby Hoppis, Princeton, N.J.
Referee: Roy Scott, Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.
Referee: Cody Goessl, Omaha, Neb.
Communications: Taylor Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Schedule
Friday, Aug. 17
10 a.m. – Preliminary rounds through semifinals (all Greco weights)
5: 30 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies
6 p.m. – Finals

Saturday, Aug. 18
10 a.m. – Preliminary rounds through semifinals (all women’s freestyle weights)
6 p.m. – Finals

Sunday, Aug. 19
10 a.m. – Preliminary rounds through semifinals (all men’s freestyle weights)
6 p.m. – Finals