U.S. Greco-Roman team puts three into finals, six still undefeated after first session at Pan American Championships

Ellis Coleman at the 2017 World Championships. Photo by Larry Slater.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The USA went 16-1 in Greco-Roman action in the first session of the 2019 Pan American Championships in Buenos, Aires, Argentina, putting six of seven American wrestlers in position for gold medals.

Advancing to the finals of their respective brackets were Ellis Coleman at 67 kg, G’Angelo Hancock at 97 kg and Adam Coon at 130 kg.

Because Coleman and Hancock are finalists, they have qualified their weights for the 2019 Pan American Games in August, which features the six Olympic weights in each style. Coon’s weight, 130 kg, was already qualified before the week.

At 67 kg, Coleman, a 2012 Olympian and three-time World Team member, went unscored upon, scoring 30 points and winning all three matches by technical fall, 9-0, 11-0, 10-0.

For gold, Coleman will go head-to-head with 2016 Olympic champion and 2015 World champion Ismael Borrero Molina from Cuba.

2016 Junior World bronze medalist Hancock also recorded three tech falls on Thursday. One of his wins included a 9-0 shutout over Cadet and Junior World bronze medalist Kevin Mejia Castillo from Honduras.

For gold, Hancock will wrestle Cuba’s Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan, a 2018 Pan Am bronze medalist.

In his first tournament since winning silver at the Senior World Championships in October, Coon pinned his way to the finals, similar to his medal run in Budapest.

In his opening bout, Coon stuck Diego Almendras Rojas of Chile in the first period and then scored a second-period fall over Angel Pacheco Romero from Cuba in the semifinals.

For gold, Coon will face Luciano Del Rio of Argentina.

Going undefeated in round-robin action was Max Nowry at 55 kg, Ryan Mango at 63 kg and RaVaughn Perkins at 72 kg.

In a three-man bracket, Perkins went 2-0 in the morning session to already claim the gold medal at 72 kg. It’s Perkins’ second-consecutive Pan Am title. He began his run with a pin over Francisco Barrio of Argentina, followed by a tech fall against Kenedy Moraes Pedrosa from Brazil.

Nowry aims for his second gold and third medal overall at the event, putting together a strong session with wins over 2018 Pan American champion Sargis Khachatryan of Brazil, 4-3, and Joshua Medina of Puerto Rico, 9-0.

Should Nowry win his next bout against Marcelo Torres of Argentina, he will win gold. Last year, Nowry finished with silver at the event.

At 63 kg, Mango registered a pair of 9-0 technical falls to start his tournament, defeating 2017 South American Championships runner-up Jose Davila Cabello from Peru and Mauri Vicente Silverio Junior of Brazil.

Should he win his next bout against Andres Montano Arroyo of Ecuador, he will claim his second-straight Pan Am title.

At 60 kg, Dalton Roberts went 2-1 in the morning session at 60 kg and will wrestle for bronze tonight. For a medal, Roberts will face off against three-time age-group Pan American medalist Anthony Palencia Puentes of Venezuela. Should Roberts win, he will qualify the U.S. for the 2019 Pan Am Games at 60 kg.

The finals are set to begin Thursday at 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET) live on Trackwrestling.com.

2019 SENIOR PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 18-21

U.S. Greco-Roman results
55 kg: Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP/Illinois RTC)
WIN Sargis Khachatryan (Brazil), 4-3
WIN Joshua Medina (Puerto Rico), 9-0

60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Fowlerville, Mich./New York AC)
WIN Luis Morales Manchaya (Ecuador), 12-3
LOSS Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba), 8-0
WIN Andres Gonzalez Andrade (Panama), medical forfeit

63 kg: Ryan Mango (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP/California RTC)
WIN Jose Davila Cabello (Peru), 9-0
WIN Mauri Vicente Silverio Junior (Brazil), 9-0

67 kg: Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)
WIN Victor Lopez Miranda (El Salvador), 9-0
WIN Sharon Villegas (Venezuela), 11-0
WIN Cristhian Rivas Castro (Ecuador), 10-0

72 kg: RaVaughn Perkins (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) - GOLD
WIN Francisco Barrio (Argentina), fall
WIN Kenedy Moraes Pedrosa (Brazil), 8-0

97 kg: G’Angelo Hancock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
WIN Manuel Huaman Caillahua (Peru), 8-0
WIN Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras), 9-0
WIN Jose Arias Paredes (Dominican Republic), 11-2

130 kg: Adam Coon (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC/Cliff Keen RTC)
WIN Diego Almendras Rojas (Chile), fall
WIN Angel Pacheco Romero (Cuba), fall