Cassioppi and Caffey seal gold, seven other Americans wrestle for Junior Pan Am titles

FORTALEZA, Brazil – The U.S. men’s freestyle team shone bright in the first session of freestyle action at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil, on Sunday morning, going 26-2 against the field.

Of note, the five wrestlers that competed in Greco earlier this week went undefeated. Four of them—Dylan Gregerson, Cameron Caffey, Austin Harris and Anthony Cassioppi—are going for their second gold medals of the week.

Caffey and Cassioppi already secured titles at their respective weight classes, wrestling four matches each in round-robin action.

For Greco-Roman Golden Boot winner Cassioppi, it marks his second-consecutive year of winning double gold at the Junior Pan Am Championships.

The Illinois native started his tournament at 125 kg with a 7-4 win over the 2017 Junior Pan Am runner-up Aly Barghout of Canada before edging out University of North Carolina wrestler Andrew Gunning of Peru, 3-1.

Cassioppi wrapped up his session with two 10-0 tech falls to seal the freestyle heavyweight title.

At 92 kg, Caffey survived a wild match against 2018 Grand Prix of Spain bronze medalist Hunter Lee of Canada, scoring six points in the second period for a 22-12 tech fall. In his second match, Caffey outlasted 2017 Cadet Pan Am runner-up Pedro Garay Lopez of Mexico, 7-5.

The Michigan State wrestler closed out his tournament with a 12-2 win over 2018 Junior Pan Am Greco silver medalist Fabio Conceicao of Brazil.

At 97 kg, Harris, who won the Greco-Roman title earlier this week, spent only 2:05 on the mat in the first session, defeating Richard Deschatelets of Canada and Guillherme Pradella of Brazil with 10-0 technical falls.

In his third-round match, he will take on Emiliano Prado Guzman of Mexico. Should Harris win that match, he will win gold.

Greco champion Gregerson picked up two wins en route to a finals bid at 61 kg, winning an 11-5 decision against Oscar Calvopino of Ecuador before wrapping up a 10-0 tech fall against Esteban Perez of Guatemala, 10-0.

Tonight, he will take on Marco Palmero of Canada.

Bouncing back from his bronze-medal finish in Greco, Anthony Mantanona has dominated the 79 kg field so far.

He opened his tournament with a pin in 31 seconds over Eli Gomez Tejeda of Ecuador, whom he defeated twice in the Greco tournament. To wrap up his morning session, Mantanona recorded an 11-0 win over Phelipe Dos Santos of Brazil and a 10-0 shutout against Antony Iparraguirre Pereyra of Peru.

Tonight, Mantanona will take on Mexico’s Miguel Ornelas Reynoso, seeking gold.

Tar Heel Austin O’Connor moved on to the 70 kg finals through pool play, coming back from a first-round loss. In his next match, O’Connor edged out Aaron Guajardo of Mexico, 2-1. To move onto the finals, he beat out Gunnar Sales from Canada, 5-0.

For gold, O’Connor will take on Jose Valera of Guatemala.

Andrew Alirez and Jeremiah Moody advanced to the freestyle finals at 65 kg and 74 kg, repectively.

Alirez claimed a pair of 10-0 technical falls over opponents from Argentina and Guatemala, while Moody won by a tech fall before securing a pin in the semifinals in 1:15.

Arizona State sophomore Kordell Norfleet impressed in his international debut, tallying three wins by technical fall without surrendering a single point.

Norfleet began his tournament with an 11-0 win over Nicolas Beaz of Argentina before beating Jhon Carmona of Colombia, 12-0. Both won bronze in the Greco earlier this week. To close out his morning session, Norfleet teched Jose Palmero of Mexico in 33 seconds, 10-0.

Should Norfleet win tonight’s bout against Connor Pattison of Canada, he will win gold. Pattinson is 1-2 on the day.

Fellow Sun Devil Brandon Courtney will compete for bronze tonight after losing by fall to Jonathan Prata of Argentina. Prior to his defeat, Courtney won his first two matches with dominating tech falls.

The medal matches are set for 5 p.m. ET live on Trackwrestling.

2018 JUNIOR PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Fortaleza, Brazil

57 kg: Brandon Courtney (Goodyear, Ariz./Arizona State)
WIN Kevin CHAVEZ BETANCUR (COL), 10-0
WIN Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA), 12-2
LOSS Jonathan PRATA ALAS (ARG), fall 0:54
vs. Luis MORALES MAYANCHA (ECU)

61 kg: Dylan Gregerson (Riverton, Utah/Utah Valley RTC)
WIN Oscar CALVOPINA CANCIO (ECU), 11-5
WIN Esteban PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA), 10-0
vs. Marco PALERMO (CAN)

65 kg: Andrew Alirez (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado WC)
WIN Ivan KLECKER (ARG), 10-0
WIN Enrique PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA), 10-0
vs. Cristian SANTIAGO PEREZ (MEX)

70 kg: Austin O’Connor (Lockport, Ill./Tar Heel WC)
LOSS Sergio GODOY VITE (ECU), 9-6
WIN Aaron GUAJARDO GARCIA (MEX), 2-1
WIN Gunnar SALES (CAN), 5-0
vs. Jose VARELA GARCIA (GUA)

74 kg: Jeremiah Moody (Cambridge, Wisc./Hawkeye WC)
WIN Juan PALMA FRANCIS (ECU), 10-0
WIN Marcos QUESADA MARTINEZ (PER), fall 1:15
vs. Ty BRIDGWATER (CAN)

79 kg: Anthony Mantanona (Indio, Calif./Oklahoma RTC)
WIN Eli GOMEZ TEJEDA (ECU), fall 0:31
WIN Phelipe DOS SANTOS (BRA), 11-0
WIN Antony IPARRAGUIRRE PEREYRA (PER), 10-0
vs. Miguel ORNELAS REYNOSO (MEX)

86 kg: Kordell Norfleet (Chicago, Ill./Sunkist Kids)
WIN Nicolas BAEZ (ARG), 11-0
WIN Jhon CARMONA (COL), 12-0
WIN Jose PALMERO MARQUEZ (MEX), 10-0
vs. Connor PATTISON (CAN)

92 kg: Cameron Caffey (Carbondale, Ill./Michigan State)
WIN Hunter LEE (CAN), 20-12
WIN Pedro GARAY LOPEZ (MEX), 7-5
WIN Miguel FAUNDEZ ZAPATA (CHI), 10-0
WIN Fabio CONCEICAO (BRA), 12-2

97 kg: Austin Harris (Stillwater, Okla./Titan Mercury/Cowboy WC)
WIN Richard DESCHATELETS (CAN), 10-0
WIN Guilherme PRADELLA LIMA (BRA), 10-0
vs. Emiliano PRADO GUZMAN (MEX)

125 kg: Anthony Cassioppi (Roscoe, Ill./ISI)
WIN Aly BARGHOUT (CAN), 7-4
WIN Andrew GUNNING (USA), 3-1
WIN Jose DIAZ PONCIANO (GUA), 10-0
WIN Marcos CARROZZINO (BRA), 10-0