Amanda Martinez pictured at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pa.
Martinez scores bronze for U.S. women at Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Amanda Martinez picked up the lone medal for the U.S. women’s freestyle team at the Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial in Budapest, Hungary. She posted a 3-1 record at 55 kg to finish with bronze.
Martinez was the first medal match up match on Saturday evening at Budapest’s BOK Sport Hall, capitalizing on a four-takedown second period to sail past 2023 World bronze medalist, current European silver medalist and expected Paris Olympian Mariana Dragutan of Moldova, 11-2.
The first period was tight, ending in a 2-2 criteria lead for Martinez. Dragutan scored the first points of the contest with a neck wrench counter off a deep Martinez double leg. Martinez stole the momentum of the match by finishing a double leg with 15 seconds left in the period. Dragutan kept going back to her neck wrench attempts in the second frame, but Martinez proved too strong to be caught twice. Four takedowns and a step out later, Martinez had the bronze.
Earlier in the day, Martinez advanced from Group B with a pair of impressive wins. She opened with a first period fall over Roza Szenttamasi of Hungary, who was a 2022 U20 World bronze medalist and eventual silver medalist in Budapest. Martinez followed with a dynamic 12-2 technical fall against four-time age-group World medalist and two-time Asian bronze medalist Marina Sedneva of Kazakhstan to solidify herself atop her pool.
In the semifinal round, Martinez faced the Group A runner-up and eventual champion Jowita Wrzesien of Poland and was pinned at the 2:09 mark. Wrzesien was a World bronze medalist in 2022 and a Tokyo Olympian.
Martinez was the 2023 Senior Nationals champion last December in Fort Worth, Texas, and has been on the U.S. Senior National Team the past two seasons at 57 kg. She was a two-time NCWWC finalist for North Central College.
Two-time World silver medalist and Olympian Kayla Miracle and 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Audrey Jimenez were the other two U.S. women in action at this event. Neither was able to make a run to a medal.
The first day of Greco-Roman wrestling concluded with U.S. representatives Adam Coon and Dalton Roberts, both of whom won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in late April, dropping their opening contests and being eliminated from medal contention.
The Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial will resume on Sunday at 10 a.m. local time with the remaining Greco-Roman weights (55-67-72-77-82-87-97 kg). Budapest, Hungary, is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.
The event is streaming live to the U.S. audience on FloWrestling.com. Updated brackets and results are available on UWW Arena.
This is the last UWW Ranking Series event of the season, giving athletes a final chance to up their ranking prior to the Olympic Games. For a complete breakdown of how the ranking points are awarded, visit UWW.org.
UWW Ranking Series: Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial | June 8, Budapest Hungary
Women’s Freestyle Results
Team Standings
1. Ukraine, 96
2. Poland, 85
3. Hungary, 70
4. India, 68
5. Turkey, 64
6. Kazakhstan, 63
7. Canada, 62
8. China, 50
9. Mongolia, 50
10. Ecuador, 31
55 kg
Gold – Jowita Wrzesien (Poland)
Silver – Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary)
Bronze – Amanda Martinez (United States)
4th – Mariana Dragutan (Moldova)
5th – Ekaterina Verbina (Individual Neutral Athlete)
6th – Emma Tissina (Kazakhstan)
7th – Marina Sedneva (Kazakhstan)
Gold – Jowita Wrzesien (Poland) dec. Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary), 5-2
Bronze – Amanda Martinez (United States) dec. Mariana Dragutan (Moldova), 11-2
62 kg
Gold – Ana Godinez Gonzalez (Canada)
Silver – Iryna Koliadenko (Ukraine)
Bronze – Orkhon Purevdorj (Mongolia)
Bronze – Grace Bullen (Norway)
5th – Alina Kasabieva (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Lais Nunes (Brazil)
7th – Esther Kolawole (Nigeria)
8th – Bilyana Dudova (Bulgaria)
9th – Kayla Miracle (United States)
10th – Siwar Bouseta (Tunisia)
Gold – Ana Godinez Gonzalez (Canada) forfeit Iryna Koliadenko (Ukraine)
Bronze – Orkhon Purevdorj (Mongolia) dec. Alina Kasabieva (Individual Neutral Athlete), 8-2
Bronze – Grace Bullen (Norway) fall Lais Nunes (Brazil), 4:27
65 kg
Gold – Iryna Bodnar (Ukraine)
Silver – Nesrin Bas (Turkey)
Bronze – Miki Rowbottom (Canada)
4th – Eniko Elekes (Hungary)
5th – Dinara Kudaeva (Individual Neutral Athlete)
6th – Irina Kazyulina (Kazakhstan)
Gold – Iryna Bodnar (Ukraine) dec. Nesrin Bas (Turkey), 10-4
Bronze – Miki Rowbottom (Canada) forfeit Eniko Elekes (Hungary)
68 kg
Gold – Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (Turkey)
Silver – Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez (Venezuela)
Bronze – Wiktoria Choluj (Poland)
Bronze – Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia)
5th – Kseniia Burakova (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Firuza Esenbaeva (Uzbekistan)
7th – Manola Skobelska (Ukraine)
8th – Tayla Ford (New Zealand)
Gold – Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (Turkey) dec. Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez (Venezuela), 2-0
Bronze – Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) dec. Kseniia Burakova (Individual Neutral Athlete), 7-2
Bronze – Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia) dec. Firuza Esenbaeva (Uzbekistan), 13-4
76 kg
Gold – Tatiana Renteria (Colombia)
Silver – Reetika Reetika (India)
Bronze – Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador)
4th – Justina Di Stasio (Canada)
5th – Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia)
Five athlete round-robin records: Renteria (3-1), Reetika (3-1), Reasco Valdez (2-2), Di Stasio (2-2), Sghaier (0-4)
Greco-Roman Results
60 kg
Gold – Pridon Abuladze (Georgia)
Silver – Mehdi Mohsen Nejad (Iran)
Bronze – Dahyun Kim (Korea)
Bronze – Amirreza Dehbozorgi (Iran)
5th – Jamal Valizadeh (UWW)
5th – Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria)
7th – Aidos Sultngali (Kazakhstan)
8th – Dalton Roberts (United States)
Gold – Pridon Abuladze (Georgia) dec. Mehdi Mohsen Nejad (Iran), 6-5
Bronze – Dahyun Kim (Korea) tech. fall Jamal Valizadeh (UWW), 9-1
Bronze – Amirreza Dehbozorgi (Iran) dec. Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria), 7-0
63 kg
Gold – Murad Mammadov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Victor Ciobanu (Romania)
Bronze – Raiber Rodriguez Orozco (Venezuela)
Bronze – Meysam Dalkhani (Iran)
5th – Razvan Arnaut (Romania)
5th – Levente Toth (Hungary)
7th – Kevin De Armas Rodriguezs (Cuba)
8th – Yeongwoo Jeong (Korea)
9th – Enes BASAR Basar (Turkey)
Gold – Murad Mammadov (Azerbaijan) tech. fall Victor Ciobanu (Romania), 10-0
Bronze – Raiber Rodriguez Orozco (Venezuela) tech. fall Razvan Arnaut (Romania), 12-4
Bronze – Meysam Dalkhani (Iran) tech. fall Levente Toth (Hungary), 11-0
130 kg
Gold – Fardin Hedayati (Iran)
Silver – Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia)
Bronze – Darius Vitek (Hungary)
Bronze – Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania)
5th – Seungchan Lee (Korea)
5th – Riza Kayaalp (Turkey)
7th – Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt)
8th – Amine Guennichi (Tunisia)
9th – Alimkhan Syzdykov (Kazakhstan)
10th – Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile)
Gold – Fardin Hedayati (Iran) dec. Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia), 5-0
Bronze – Darius Vitek (Hungary) tech. fall Seungchan Lee (Korea), 9-1
Bronze – Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) forfeit Riza Kayaalp (Turkey)
U.S. Women’s Freestyle Results
55 kg – Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC), bronze
WIN Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary), fall, 1:32
WIN Marina Sedneva (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 12-2
LOSS Jowita Wrzesien (Poland), fall, 2:09
WIN Mariana Dragutan (Moldova), 11-2
62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids WC), 9th
LOSS Orkhon Purevdorj (Mongolia), 14-10
U.S. Greco-Roman Results
60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), 8th
LOSS Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria), 6-3
130 kg – Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/New York AC), 11th
LOSS Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt), 3-1