Six going for men's freestyle gold at Pan American Championships in Ottawa

Photo of Anthony Ashnault by Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.

OTTAWA, Canada – Six U.S. men’s freestyle athletes have advanced to the gold-medal bouts at their weights in the final day of the Pan American Championships in Ottawa, Canada.

Wrestling for titles on Monday evening are Olympic champions Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Snyder, World Team member Tyler Graff as well as Yianni Diakomihalis, Anthony Ashnault and Tony Nelson.

2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion Burroughs earned a bid to the 74 kg finals, recording at 10-0 tech fall in the first round over Jorge Llano of Argentina, before outlasting four-time World medalist Jeandry Garzon Caballero of Cuba, 3-0, in the semifinals.

For gold tonight, Burroughs will face 2011 World silver medalists Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico. Last year, the two had tight battles in the Pan Am Championships and Pan American Games. Burroughs defeated Gomez both times.

In addition to his World and Olympic medals, Burroughs is a three-time Pan Am Championships gold medalist and three-time Pan Am Games champ.

2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Snyder seeks his third Pan Am Championships title, advancing to the 97 kg finals, where he will take on three-time World medalist Reineris Salas Perez from Cuba.

The last time they met, Snyder won 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

To get to the finals, Snyder went undefeated in his pool, then took out 2019 Pan Am Games silver medalist Jose Diaz Robertii from Venezuela, 9-1.

Reigning Pan Am champion Ashnault collected a 3-0 record this morning in his five-man round-robin.

He opened with back-to-back falls over Ranico Howard of Barbados and Brandon Diaz Ramirez of Mexico, both in the first period. In his third round, Ashnault dominated Cruiz Manning from Canada, 12-2.

In his final bout tonight, Ashnault will face Hugo De Lima Viana De Souza from Brazil. Should he win, he’ll claim the gold.

At 65 kg, Final X runner-up Yianni Diakomihalis wrestled his way to the finals, winning three bouts.

Diakomihalis won the first bout by injury default, but went on to win his next two bouts decisively, defeating Jose Rodriguez Colon of Puerto Rico, 9-2, and Augustin Destribats of Argentina, 7-4.

To win gold, Diakomihalis has to go through 2019 Pan Am Games bronze medalist Mauricio Sanchez Saltos of Ecuador.

Nelson had a solid morning, stringing together three wins, including a 2-2 criteria victory over three-time World Greco medalist Oscar Pino Hinds from Cuba. He also scored a 4-0 win over Zach Merrill to wrap up pool action.

In the semis, Nelson defeated Brandon Aguiano Flores from Mexico with a fall in 1:10.

For gold, Nelson will face 2014 Junior World champion Amarveer Dhesi from Canada.

At 61 kg, Graff, who was fifth at the 2019 Worlds, will wrestle his first match as he is in a two-man bracket. A win will earn Graff the gold medal.

Tonight, he is facing Scott Schiller of Canada, who won bronze at last year’s Pan Am Championships.

Two wrestlers will battle for bonze tonight, including Final X runner-up Alex Dieringer and 2019 National Team member Darian Cruz.

Wrestling at 86 kg in his Pan Am Championships, Dieringer went 2-1 in the morning session. To begin his day, he pinned 2019 Pan Am Games runner-up Pedro Ceballo Fuentes from Venezuela in the first period. He went on to collect a 9-2 decision over Ethan Ramos of Puerto Rico to move onto the semis.

There, Dieringer was edged out by 2019 Pan Am Games champion Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta from Cuba in 2-1 bout.

For bronze, the American will face Carlos Izquierdo Mendez of Colombia, who was fifth at the 2019 World Championships.

Cruz dropped his opening bout to two-time U23 World champion Reineri Andreu Ortega from Cuba, 12-2. Andreu eventually advanced to the finals, pulling Cruz into the bronze medal match.

Tonight, Cruz will face Edwin Segura Guerra of Guatemala for his first Pan Am medal.

The medal matches are set for 5 p.m. ET live on @trackwrestling.com.

2020 PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Ottawa, Canada (March 6-9)

Men’s freestyle results
57 kg: Darian Cruz (Lehigh Valley WC)
LOSS Reineri Andreu Ortega (Cuba), 12-2
vs. Edwin Segura Guerra (Guatemala)

61 kg: Tyler Graff (Titan Mercury WC/NJRTC)
vs. Scott Schiller (Canada)

65 kg: Yianni Diakomihalis (Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC)
WIN Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba), win by injury default
WIN Jose Rodriguez Colon (Puerto Rico), 9-2
WIN Augustin Destribats (Argentina), 7-4
vs. Mauricio Sanchez Saltos (Ecuador)

70 kg: Anthony Ashnault (NJRTC)
WIN Ranico Howard (Barbados), fall 0:21
WIN Brandon Diaz Ramirez (Mexico), fall 2:44
WIN Cruiz Manning (Canada), 12-2
vs. Hugo De Lima Viana De Souza (Brazil)

74 kg: Jordan Burroughs (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC)
WIN Jorge Llano (Argentina), 10-0
WIN Jeandry Garzon Caballero (Cuba), 3-0
vs. Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico)

86 kg: Alex Dieringer (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Pedro Ceballos Fuentes (Venezuela), fall 2:54
WIN Ethan Ramos (Puerto Rico), 9-2
LOSS Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta (Cuba), 2-1
vs. Carlos Izquierdo Mendez (Colombia)

97 kg: Kyle Snyder (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)
WIN Luis Perez Sosa (Dominican Republic), 14-4
WIN Evan Ramos (Puerto Rico), 12-2
WIN Jose Diaz Robertii (Venezuela), 9-1
vs. Reineris Salas Perez (Cuba)

125 kg: Anthony Nelson (Minnesota Storm)
WIN Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba), 2-2
WIN Zach Merrill (Puerto Rico), 4-0
WIN Brandon Augiano Flores (Mexico), fall 1:10
vs. Amarveer Dhesi (Canada)