Olympians Provisor, Smith, Coleman lead U.S. Pan American Greco-Roman team to Peru, May 3-4

Ben Provisor at the 2018 U.S. Open. Photo by: Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
USA Wrestling and Greco-Roman National Team coach Matt Lindland have announced the Greco-Roman lineup for the 2018 Pan American Championships, will compete May 3-4 in Lima, Peru.

Leading the American squad are a trio of Olympians and a 2017 Junior World champion.
Olympians representing Team USA include two-time Olympian Ben Provisor (State College, Pa. /New York AC/Nittany Lion WC), 2016 Olympian Robby Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo. /New York AC) and 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP).
Provisor competed for the U.S. at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Last year, he made his first Senior World Team and wrestled for the Red, White and Blue in Paris, France. Fresh off winning his third U.S. Open title last weekend in Las Vegas, Provisor will make his second-consecutive trip to the Pan Am Championships. In his last appearance, he took gold at 85 kg. With the new UWW weights in play, Provisor will compete at 87 kg/192 lbs. this week.
Smith has long been the face of the U.S. Greco program as he enters his fifth Pan American Championship, wrestling at 130 kg/286 lbs. In each of his four previous appearances, Smith has brought home a medal. His last gold medal came in 2015. In addition to that, he has two silvers from 2011 and 2013, and in 2017, he secured bronze.
A four-time U.S. Senior World Team member, Smith is a force to be reckoned with on the international scene. In the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, he produced fifth-place finishes.

Coleman, a four-time U.S. Open national champion, is heading to his first Pan Ams since 2014, where he finished with silver. He also owns a bronze from the 2010 tournament.

Familiar with international competition, Coleman is a two-time Senior World Team member, representing the U.S. in 2013 and 2017, and is a two-time Junior World bronze winner. This week, he will compete at 67 kg/148 lbs.
The USA squad also features a 2017 Junior World champion in Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Sunkist Kids), who is taking the national and international Senior level by storm as a Junior-eligible athlete. He was the Senior World Team Trials runner-up at 75 kg in 2017 and has won two-straight U.S. Open national titles.
In addition to competing for the U.S. at the Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland, last summer, Bey also earned a spot on the 2017 U23 World Team and traveled to Bydgoszcz, Poland, for the inaugural U23 World Championships.
Wrestling at 77 kg/180 lbs., Bey is competing in his second Pan Ams. This year he aims to make his first podium as he took eighth last year.
Others returning to the Pan American Championships are Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Ryan Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP) at 63 kg/139 lbs. and Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Fla. /Florida Jets) at 82 kg/181 lbs.
A 2013 Pan American gold medalist, Nowry returns to the event since his championship run five years ago. A three-time National Team member, Nowry recently won his first U.S. Open last weekend, taking out 2012 Olympian Sam Hazewinkel in the finals. Nowry is a 2012 University World champion and finished second at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Mango competed at Pan Ams last year, where he got fifth. Just months later, he competed in the CISM World Military Championships in freestyle and claimed a silver medal. This week will mark Mango’s first international competition since the Kolov-Petrov Tournament in late March.
Speiller was the 2016 Pan Am champion at 75 kg and also competed at the 2015 Pan Am Championships. Since the start of 2017, Speiller has competed in four international tournaments and has reached the finals in every outing. Most recently, he won silver at the Bill Farrell International in March.

Mango and Speiller are coming off gold-medal performances at the U.S. Open.
Making their first appearances at the Pan American Championships are Mike Fuenffinger (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP) at 60 kg/132 lbs., RaVaughn Perkins (Colorado Springs, Colo. /New York AC) at 72 kg/159 lbs. and Dan Miller (Jacksonville, N.C. /U.S. Marines) at 97 kg/213 lbs.
Fuenffinger was a two-time Junior World Team member in 2011 and 2012. He has brought a competitive edge to the Senior level. Most recently, he was runner-up at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. Internationally, he won bronze at the 20th Annual Dave Schultz Memorial in November 2017.
While it is only his first Pan Am tournament, Perkins is no stranger to competing against some of the top wrestlers in the world. A 2016 Olympic Team Trials champion, Perkins had compete against some of the best in hopes of qualifying the U.S. for the 2016 Olympic Games. He is a two-time Dave Schultz International Memorial champion, two-time U.S. National Team member and a two-time U.S. Open champion.
Miller, a wrestler for the U.S. Marine Corps, has been active on the international scene the last few years. Most notably, he finished fifth at the 2016 Grand Prix of Zagreb. He is fresh off winning the 2018 U.S. Open title at 97 kg.
Greco-Roman competition will open tournament, May 3-4, followed by women’s freestyle, May 4-5, and men’s freestyle, May 5-6. For all four days, the tournament will begin at 10 a.m. local time with the qualification rounds and repechage. The finals are set for 6 p.m. local time each day. Lima, Peru, is situated one hour behind U.S. Eastern Time.

The tournament will serves two big purposes. First, it is a ranking tournament for the 2018 Senior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where the points go to the individual, not the country. This determines seeding at the 2018 World Championships.

Also it is a qualifier for the 2019 Pan American Games. The top three at each Olympic weight class will qualify their country for the next Pan Am Games. Since this event will have two bronze winners, those two will face off for true-third to qualify their nation. (Note: There are six Olympic weight class in each style)

The competition will take place in the Sports Center of the National Sports Town, located in Av. Del Aire Block 08, District of San Luis.

United World Wrestling will provide a live stream of the event and complete results to those residing in the U.S. through Trackwrestling.com, which is requires a paid subscription. UWW season passes are available for $49.99.
SENIOR PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Lima, Peru, May 3-6

U.S. Greco-Roman Roster
55 kg/121 lbs. – Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Mike Fuenffinger (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP)
63 kg/139 lbs. – Ryan Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP)
67 kg/148 lbs. – Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Army WCAP)
72 kg/159 lbs. – RaVaughn Perkins (Colorado Springs, Colo. /New York AC)
77 kg/170 lbs. – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo. /Sunkist Kids)
82 kg/181 lbs. – Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Fla. /Florida Jets)
87 kg/192 lbs. – Ben Provisor (State College, Pa. /New York AC/Nittany Lion WC)
97 kg/213 lbs. – Dan Miller (Jacksonville, N.C. /U.S. Marines)
130 kg/286 lbs. – Robby Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo. /New York AC)
Coach – Matt Lindland (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Coach – Herb House (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Coach – Brandon Paulson (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Schedule
Thursday, May 3
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. – Greco-Roman Medical Examination & Weigh-in (55, 60, 63, 67, 72, 97, 130 kg)
10:00 a.m. – Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds and Repechage (55, 60, 63, 67, 72, 97, 130 kg)
5:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
6:00 p.m. – Greco-Roman Medal Matches (55, 60, 63, 67, 72, 97, 130 kg)
Friday, May 4
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. – Greco-Roman Medical Examination & Weigh-in (77, 82, 87kg) and Women’s Freestyle Medical Examination & Weigh-in (55, 59, 65 kg)
10:00 a.m. – Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds and Repechage (77, 82, 87kg) and Women’s Freestyle Qualification Rounds and Repechage (55, 59, 65 kg)
6:00 p.m. – Greco-Roman Medal Matches (77, 82, 87kg) and Women’s Freestyle Medal Matches (55, 59, 65 kg)
Saturday, May 5
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. – Women’s Freestyle Medical Examination & Weigh-in (50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76 kg) Men’s Freestyle Medical Examination & Weigh-in (79, 92 kg)
10:00 a.m. –Women’s Freestyle Qualification Rounds and Repechage (50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76 kg) and Men’s Freestyle Qualification Rounds and Repechage (79, 92 kg)
6:00 p.m. – Women Freestyle Medal Matches (50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76 kg) and Men’s Freestyle Medal Matches (79, 92 kg)
Sunday, May 6
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. – Men’s Freestyle Medical Examination & Weigh-in (57, 61, 65, 70, 74, 86, 97, 125 kg)
10:00 a.m. –Men’s Freestyle Qualification Rounds and Repechage (57, 61, 65, 70, 74, 86, 97, 125 kg)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Freestyle Medal Matches (57, 61, 65, 70, 74, 86, 97, 125 kg)