Black, Rix McElhinney, Jacobson, Attao win gold; U.S. dominates Greco-Roman at Junior Pan American Games

ASUNCION, Paraguay – It was a strong performance from the U.S. Greco-Roman team, which claimed a medal in all six weight classes, including four gold medals, on the first day of wrestling at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games at the Olympic Training Center of the Paraguayan Olympic Park on Wednesday

Claiming individual gold medals for Team USA were Max Black (60 kg), Aydin Rix McElhinney (77 kg), Payton Jacobson (97 kg) and Aden Attao (130 kg).

Black, a member of the 2024 U.S. Senior World Team, scored a 9-0 technical fall over U23 Pan American champion Angel Segura Tellez of Mexico in the finals. Black scored first on a passivity call to go up 1-0, then hit three gut wrenches from par terre to lead 7-0 at the break. Black scored a takedown early in the second period to win the match 9-0. Black hit a full back flip while wearing the U.S. flag during his celebration lap.

Black powered his way into the finals with a pair of technical falls over Patrick Rodriguez Quinto of Ecuador and Cristopher Verastegui Aguilar of Colombia.

Rix McElhinny was in command in a 5-1 decision over 2024 U23 Pan American bronze medalist Darfel Parada Camacaro of Venezuela in the finals. McElhinney scored first on a passivity call, then hit a four-point lift and throw to lead 5-0 at the break. Parada closed it to 5-1 after a passivity against Rix McElhinney but could not turn him. No other points were scored.

Rix McElhinney was dominant in his two preliminary victories, with a 10-0 technical fall over Josue Alvarez Sintuj of Guatemala and a 7-0 win over Nilson Sinisterra Angulo of Colombia.

Jacobson, a 2024 Olympian, scored an impressive 9-0 technical fall over 2025 Senior Pan American silver medalist Diego Macias Torres of Mexico in the finals. Jacobson scored first on a passivity against Macias to lead 1-0, then added a step out point to lead 2-0 at the break. Jacobson hit a four-point move, which was challenged by Mexico, which was denied, making it 7-0. Jacobson closed it out with a body lock takedown for the 9-0 win.

Jacobson scored a pair of decisions on his road to the finals, stopping Brian Ruiz Marin of Venezuela, 5-1 and

Cristian Pelegrino Estalella of Cuba, 3-1. Jacobson, who will compete in the 2025 Senior World Championships in September, attends Northern Michigan.

Attao, a two-time U20 World medalist, won a tough 3-1 decision over 2025 U23 Pan American silver medalist Luis Talavera Luna of Venezuela in the gold-medal match. Talavera led 1-0 on a step out which was the score at the break. Talavera was hit with passivity, making the score 1-1 with criteria to Attao. Attao scored a clutch takedown with 40 seconds left to lead 3-1, the key move in the match.

Attao needed four wins to reach the finals. He opened with three victories in Group A, with a pin over Wesley Barrios Das Dores of Brazil, a 10-0 technical fall over Nicolas Araya Tapia of Chile and an injury default over Juan Herrera De La Rosa of Mexico. He was dominant in the semifinals, beating Jose Nunez Encarnacion of the Dominican Republic by technical fall, 9-0. Attao attends Oregon State.

Claiming bronze medals for Team USA were Brennan Van Hoecke (67 kg) and Keenan Wyatt (97 kg).

Van Hoecke hit a big body lock throw right off the bat to secure a pin of Angelo Café de Oliveira of Brazil in just 21 seconds in his bronze-medal bout. Van Hoecke, who competes for Little Rock, lost a tough 11-11 criteria decision in his opening bout against Yonat Velez Martinez of Cuba.

Wyatt came on strong in the second period for an 11-4 victory over Eblan Gonzalez Valdes of Cuba in the bronze-medal bout.

Wyatt scored first on a passivity against Gonzalez to lead 1-0. Wyatt hit a gut wrench which was not scored for points, then Gonzalez got to his feet and secured a takedown to make it 2-1 for Gonzalez. The USA challenged the scoring and was awarded the turn, giving Wyatt a 3-2 lead. A step out point for Cuba made it 3-3 at the break. Wyatt blocked a throw for two points to lead 5-3, but Cuba challenged and the score was changed to 4-3 for Gonzalez. Wyatt scored a takedown and gut wrench to lead 7-4. Wyatt blocked another throw for four points for the 11-4 final score.

Wyatt, who attends Bellarmine University, was edged by Dorian Trejo Olguin of Mexico, 4-3 in his opening bout.

Using the UWW team scoring system, the United States was dominant with 130 points, with Venezuela in second with 98 points and Mexico in third with 70 points. There were 16 nations which scored team points in the Greco-Roman division.

The competition moves into women’s freestyle on Thursday, and five U.S. athletes will compete.

Brackets and results for the tournament can be found on UWW Arena.

https://arena.uww.org/sport-event/show/1f07c05e-af6d-6b1a-8b85-6f49530ccbe1

Live video from the Junior Pan American Games will be posted on the Pan Am Sports Channel at https://www.panamsportschannel.org/

JUNIOR PAN AMERICAN GAMES

At Asunción, Paraguay, August 20-22

Greco-Roman results

60 kg

Gold - Max Black (USA)

Silver - Angel Segura Tellez (Mexico)

Bronze - Cristopher Verastegui Aguilar (Colombia)

Bronze - Yorkis Carvajal Lerbours (Dominican Republic)

5^th - Patrick Rodriguez Quinto (Ecuador)

5^th - Abel Sanchez Juarez (Peru)

7^th - Jonaiker Martinez Cravo (Venezuela)

8^th - Kevin Periera (Paraguay)  

Gold - Max Black (USA) tech fall Angel Segura Tellez (Mexico), 9-10, 3:23

Bronze - Yorkis Carvajal Lerbours (Dominican Republic) dec. Abel Sanchez Juarez (Peru), 9-5

Bronze - Cristopher Verastegui Aguilar (Colombia) dec. Patrick Rodriguez Quinto (Ecuador), 4-1

67 kg

Gold - Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador)

Silver - Yonat Veliz Martinez (Cuba)

Bronze - Ronaldo Sanchez Ramirez (Colombia)

Bronze - Brennan Van Hoecke (USA)

5^th - Luis Medina Reyes (Venezuela)

5^th - Angelo Café de Oliveira (Brazil)

7^th - Royglen Temple Batista (Panama)

8^th - Lisandro Cabrera Ortiz (Paraguay)

Gold - Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador) dec. Yonat Veliz Martinez (Cuba), 9-7

Bronze – Brennan Van Hoecke (USA) pin Angelo Café de Oliveira (Brazil), 0:21

Bronze - Ronaldo Sanchez Ramirez (Colombia) dec. Luis Medina Reyes (Venezuela), 1-1

77 kg

Gold - Aydin Rix McElhinney (USA)

Silver - Darfel Parada Camacaro (Venezuela)

Bronze - Nilson Sinisterra Angulo (Colombia)

Bronze - Joenni Gomez Taquechel (Cuba)

5^th - Josue Alvarez Sintuj (Guatemala)

5^th - Starlin LaGuerre Laureus (Dominican Republic)

7^th - Raymin Mir Hosseini (Paraguay)

8^th - Dario Cubas Castillo (Peru)

9^th - Oscar Barrios Rochez (Honduras)

Gold - Aydin Rix McElhinney (USA) dec. Darfel Parada Camacaro (Venezuela), 5-1

Bronze - Nilson Sinisterra Angulo (Colombia) tech. fall Josue Alvarez Sintuj (Guatemala), 9-0, 1:53

Bronze - Joenni Gomez Taquechel (Cuba) dec. Starlin LaGuerre Laureus (Dominican Republic), 5-1

87 kg

Gold - Payton Jacobson (USA)

Silver - Diego Macias Torres (Mexico)

Bronze - Kauan Ferreira Gomes (Brazil)

Bronze - Brian Ruiz Marin (Venezuela)

5^th - Manuel Brown (Panama)

5^th - Cristian Pelegrino Estalella (Cuba)

7^th - Luis Figuereo Suero (Dominican Republic)

8^th - Edison Valdez Rodriguez (Paraguay)

Gold - Payton Jacobson (USA) tech fall Diego Macias Torres (Mexico), 9-0, 4:19

Bronze - Brian Ruiz Marin (Venezuela) dec. Cristian Pelegrino Estalella (Cuba), 6-0

Bronze - Kauan Ferreira Gomes (Brazil) tech fall Manuel Brown (Panama), 8-0, 0:43

97 kg

Gold - Juan Diaz Blanco (Venezuela)

Silver - Dorian Trejo Olguin (Mexico)

Bronze - Ricardo Gomez (Argentina)

Bronze - Keenan Wyatt (USA)

5^th - Thalyson Aleixo Macedo (Brazil)

5^th - Ebian Gonzalez Valdes (Cuba)

7^th - Elvis Balbuena Bueno (Dominican Repubic)

8^th - Sadath Ortega Ospino (Panama)

Gold - Juan Diaz Blanco (Venezuela) dec. Dorian Trejo Olguin (Mexico), 5-3

Bronze - Keenan Wyatt (USA) dec. Ebian Gonzalez Valdes (Cuba), 11-4

Bronze - Ricardo Gomez (Argentina) dec. Thalyson Aleixo Macedo (Brazil), 4-1

130 kg

Gold - Aden Attao (USA)

Silver - Luis Talavera Luna (Venezuela)

Bronze - Wesley Barros Das Dores (Brazil)

4^th - Jose Nunez Encarnacion (Dominican Republic)

5^th - Juan Herrera De La Rosa (Mexico)

6^th - Nicolas Araya Tapia (Chile)

7^th - Ayden Williams (Barbados)

Gold - Aden Attao (USA) dec. Luis Talavera Luna (Venezuela), 3-1

Bronze - Wesley Barros Das Dores (Brazil) pin Jose Nunez Encarnacion (Dominican Republic), 2:09

U.S. Greco-Roman results

60 kg: Max Black, Castle Rock, Colo. (New York AC/NMU-NTS), gold medal

WIN Patrick Rodriguez Quinto (Ecuador), tech fall 8-0, 0:38

WIN Cristopher Verastegui Aguilar (Colombia), tech fall, 10-1, 3:58

WIN Angel Segura Tellez (Mexico), tech fall, 9-0, 3:23

67 kg: Brennan Van Hoecke, Fort Myers, Fla. (Arkansas RTC), bronze medal

LOSS Yonat Velez Martinez (Cuba), 11-11

WIN Angelo Café de Oliveira (Brazil) pin 0:21

77 kg: Aydin Rix McElhinney, South Berwick, Maine (Northern Colorado WC), gold medal

WIN Josue Alvarez Sintuj (Guatemala), tech fall 10-0, 1:02

WIN Nilson Sinisterra Angulo (Colombia), 7-0

WIN Darfel Parada Camacaro (Venezuela), 5-1

87 kg: Payton Jacobson, Elkhorn, Wis. (New York AC/NMU-NTS), gold medal

WIN Brian Ruiz Marin (Venezuela), 5-1

WIN Cristian Pelegrino Estalella (Cuba), 3-1

Gold Medal – Diego Macias Torres (Mexico), tech fall, 9-0, 4:19

97 kg: Keenan Wyatt, Gardendale, Ala. (Knights RTC), bronze medal

LOSS Dorian Trejo Olguin (Mexico), 4-3

WIN Eblan Gonzalez Valdes (Cuba), 11-4

130 kg: Aden Attao, Boise, Idaho (Beaver Dam RTC), gold medal

WIN Wesley Barrios Das Dores (Brazil), pin 0:34

WIN Nicolas Araya Tapia (Chile), 10-0, 2:19

WIN Juan Herrera De La Rosa (Mexico), inj. dft.

WIN Jose Nunez Encarnacion (Dominican Republic), tech fall, 9-0, 2:55

WIN Luis Talavera Luna (Venezuela), 3-1

Team Standings

1. United States, 130

2. Venezuela, 98

3. Mexico, 70

4. Cuba, 55

5. Dominican Republic, 53

6. Brazil, 50

7. Colombia, 45

8. Ecuador, 35

9. Paraguay, 26

10. Panama, 24

11. Peru, 16

12. Argentina, 15

13. Guatemala 10

14. Chile, 9

15. Barbados, 8

16. Honduras, 4