U.S. dominates U20 Pan American Championships men’s freestyle with eight champs and team title

LIMA, Peru – The United States dominated the men’s freestyle competition at the U20 Pan American Championships on Saturday, winning eight gold medals, two bronze medals and claiming the team championships by a whopping 77 points.

Team USA finished the day with an impressive 31-2 record, with 27 bonus point wins, including 25 technical falls and two pins.

All five of the 2025 U.S. U20 World Team members competing in Lima won individual gold medals: Luke Stanich (65 kg), William Henckel (79 kg), Connor Mirasola (92 kg), Justin Rademacher (97 kg) and Cole Mirasola (125 kg).

Stanich, who attends Lehigh, won the Golden Boot as the Outstanding Wrestler in the men’s freestyle division, winning all four of his matches by technical fall and outscoring his opponents, 40-0. In the championship finals, Stanich secured a 10-0 technical fall over Yandro Soto Rivera of Puerto Rico,10-0 in 4:01. His other three technical falls were all in the first period, with the quickest ending in 48 seconds.

The Mirasola brothers, who attend Penn State, both won three matches in a round-robin competition. Every match by the Mirasola brothers ended as a 10-0 technical fall, and all of their matches were finished in the first period. Connor’s fastest technical fall came in 32 seconds, while Cole’s fastest technical fall was in 51 seconds.

Rademacher, who attends Oregon State, won four matches in a five-athlete round robin. He secured two technical falls, a pin and an injury default win. Rademacher was a 2024 U20 World bronze medalist. Earlier this season, he also won a gold medal at the Senior Pan American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.

Henckel, who will be a freshman at Penn State, won his first two matches by technical fall. In the finals, Henckel secured a 9-0 decision over Leandro Araujo of Brazil.

The other three U.S. champions were Kyler Larkin (61 kg), William Denny (74 kg) and Adam Waters (86 kg).

Larkin, who will be a freshman at Arizona State, won his first two matches by technical fall. In the finals, he stopped Omar Ayoub of Puerto Rico, 7-4.

Denny, who will be a freshman at NC State, won three bonus point matches, a pin and two technical falls. He finished off his gold-medal match with an 11-0 technical fall over Kevin Aleman Gomez of El Salvador.

Waters, who has committed to Ohio State, won four times, with three technical falls and an injury default win. Waters stopped Max Franca Magalhaes de Almeida of Brazil, 15-4 in 1:58 in the finals.

The two U.S. bronze medalists were Antonio Mills (57 kg) and Jaxon Joy (70 kg). Both lost close matches in the semifinals, but powered back with wins in the bronze-medal round. Mills scored an 11-0 technical fall in his bronze-medal match over Ethan Rivera of Puerto Rico. Joy secured a 10-0 technical fall over Josuel Medina Ocasio of Puerto Rico to claim his bronze medal.

The United States won the tournament with 230 points, followed by runner-up Canada with 153 points and third-place Brazil with 128 points.

The United States swept all three team titles in Lima, with the U.S. Greco-Roman Team winning the U20 Pan American title on Thursday and the U.S. women’s freestyle team winning the U20 Pan American title on Friday.

U20 PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Lima, Peru, June 10-13

Men’s Freestyle results

57 kg

Gold - Caio Duarte Aron (Brazil)

Silver - Irie Jackson (Jamaica)

Bronze - Antonio Mills (USA)

Bronze - Abel Sanchez Juarez (Peru)

5^th - Ethan Rivera (Puerto Rico)

5^th - Hugo Lopez Y Lopez (Guatemala)  

7^th - Jose Andrade Gonzalez (Panama)

8^th - Ricardo Pena Valencia (Mexico)

9^th - Javier Tonita Charriez (Canada)

61 kg

Gold - Kyler Larkin (USA)

Silver - Omar Ayoub (Puerto Rico)

Bronze - Karson Brown (Canada)

Bronze - Luiz Angelo Silva (Brazil)

5^th - Angel Yong Cabrera (Ecuador)

5^th - Julio Condori Pumar (Peru)

7^th - Sabdier Palacios Ulloa (Panama)

8^th - Ricardo Gonzalez San Martin (Chile)

9^th - David Martinez Gambino (Mexico)

10^th - Alex Vega Tun (Guatemala)

65 kg

Gold - Luke Stanich (USA)  

Silver - Yandro Soto Rivera (Puerto Rico)

Bronze - Diego Peraza Aguilar (Mexico)

Bronze - Khalin Radev (Canada)

5^th - Erick Vera Olave (Ecuador)

5^th - Tony Mock Yanguez (Panama)

7^th - Angel Ramirez Guardia (Peru)

8^th - Benjamin Zuckerman (Brazil)

9^th - Vicente Chacon Maturana (Chile)

70 kg

Gold - Kade Brown (Canada)

Silver - Jazziel Balam Canul (Mexico)

Bronze - Jaxon Joy (USA)

Bronze - Anthony Molino Rubio (Peru)

5^th - Josuel Medina Ocasio (Puerto Rico)

5^th - Tristan Forsman Mendez (Costa Rica)

7^th - Brandon Hernandez Cardona (Guatemala)

8^th - Masquiel Cordoma Chala (Panama)

74 kg

Gold - William Denny (USA)

Silver - Kevin Aleman Gomez (El Salvador)

Bronze - Joao Reis Goncalves Silva (Brazil)

Bronze - Nicholas Hooper (Canada)

5^th - Sixto Garcia Mina (Ecuador)

5^th - Victor Soto Rivera (Puerto Rico)

7^th - Diego Hernandez Perez (Guatemala)

8^th - Robert Condor Calle (Peru)

9^th - Jorge Garcia Garcia (Mexico)

79 kg

Gold - William Henckel (USA)

Silver - Leandro Araujo (Brazil)

Bronze - Vincent Echavarry (Puerto Rico)

Bronze - Axel Nava Guzman (Mexico)

5^th - Dario Cubas Castillo (Peru)

5^th - Juan Villotta De La Cruz (Colombia)

7^th - Angel Catalan Martinez (Guatemala)

8^th - Santiago Valenzuela Mendez (Chile)

9^th - Bryce Rooney (Canada)

86 kg

Gold - Adam Waters (USA)

Silver - Max Franca Magalhaes de Almeida (Brazil)

Bronze - Rohit Bal (Canada)

4^th - Christopher Sanchez (Puerto Rico)

5^th - Bryan Campos Flores (Peru)

6^th - Angel Flores Gonzalez (Mexico)

92 kg

Gold - Connor Mirasola (USA)

Silver - Michealjeet Singh Grewal (Canada)

Bronze - Jean Zambrano Longas (Ecuador)

4^th - Kenyiro Gonzales Huaman (Peru)

97 kg

Gold - Justin Lee Rademacher (USA)

Silver - Tejvir Singh Dhinsa (Canada)

Bronze - Kyle Santana Oliveira (Brazil)

4^th - Angel de Jesus Ramirez Navarro (Mexico)

5^th - Sadath Ortega Ospino (Panama)

125 kg

Gold - Cole Mirasola (USA)

Silver - Chanjot Singh Kang (Canada)

Bronze - Leonardo Guerrero Aviles (Mexico)

4^th - Pedro Fernandes De Morais (Brazil)

U.S. men’s freestyle results

57 kg: Antonio Mills, Atlanta, Ga. (Roundtree Wrestling Academy), bronze medal

WIN Ricardo Pena Valencia (Mexico), tech fall 11-0, 3:00

LOSS Caio Duarte Aron (Brazil), 8-4

WIN Ethan Rivera (Puerto Rico), tech fall 11-0, 5:15

61 kg: Kyler Larkin, Gilbert, Ariz. (Valiant WC), gold medal

WIN Angel Yong Cabrera (Ecuador), tech fall 10-0, 1:15

WIN Karson Brown (Canada), tech fall, 12-2, 3:31

WIN Omar Ayoub (Puerto Rico), 7-4

65 kg: Luke Stanich, Succasunna, N.J. (Lehigh Valley WC), gold medal

WIN Erick Vera Olave (Ecuador), tech fall, 10-0, 0:48

WIN Angel Ramirez Guardia (Peru), tech fall 10-0, 1:10

WIN Diego Peraza Aguilar (Mexico), tech fall 10-0, 1:09

WIN Yandro Soto Rivera (Puerto Rico), tech fall, 10-0, 4:01

70 kg: Jaxon Joy, Wadsworth, Ohio (Spartan Combat RTC/TMWC), bronze medal

WIN Brandon Hernandez Cardona (Guatemala), tech fall, 10-0, 1:53

LOSS Kade Brown (Canada), 2-2

WIN Josuel Medina Ocasio (Puerto Rico), tech fall 10-0, 0:43

74 kg: William Denny, Manhattan, Ill. (Victory Elite Wrestling), gold medal

WIN Victor Soto Rivera (Puerto Rico), 2:04

WIN Nicolas Hooper (Canada), tech fall 12-2, 3:14

WIN Kevin Aleman Gomez (El Salvador), tech fall 11-0, 1:04

79 kg: William Henckel, Southbury, Conn. (Blairstown WC), gold medal

WIN Dario Cubas Castillo (Peru), tech fall, 10-0, 1:36

WIN Vincent Echavarry (Puerto Rico), tech fall 10-0, 0:48

WIN Leandro Araujo (Brazil), 9-0

86 kg: Adam Waters, Stowe, Pa. (Steller Trained Wrestling), gold medal

WIN Max Franca Magalhaes de Almeida (Brazil), tech fall, 10-0, 1:40

WIN Angel Flores Gonzalez (Mexico), tech fall 10-0, 0:45

WIN Christopher Sanchez (Puerto Rico), inj. dft, 0:01

WIN Max Franca Magalhaes de Almeida (Brazil), tech fall 15-4, 1:58

92 kg: Connor Mirasola, Jackson, Wis. (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC), gold medal

WIN Kenyiro Gonzales Huaman (Peru), tech fall 10-0, 0:32

WIN Jean Zambrano Longas (Ecuador), tech fall, 10-0, 1:13

WIN Michaeljeet Singh Grewal (Canada), tech fall 10-0, 2:14

97 kg: Justin Rademacher, West Linn, Ore. (Beaver Dam RTC), gold medal

WIN Kyle Santana Oliveira (Brazil), tech fall, 10-0, 0:33

WIN Tejvir Singh Dhinsa (Canada), pin 2:53

WIN Angel Ramirez Navarro (Mexico), tech fall, 10-0, 0:59

WIN Sabath Ortega Ospino (Panama), inj. dft, 0:01

125 kg: Cole Mirasola, Jackson, Wis. (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC), gold medal

WIN Pedro Fernandes de Morais (Brazil), tech fall 10-0, 1:14

WIN Chanjot Singh Kang (Canada), tech fall 10-0, 1:21

WIN Leonardo Guerrero Aviles (Mexico), tech fall, 10-0, 0:51

Men’s freestyle team standings

1. United States, 230

2. Canada, 153

3. Brazil, 128

4. Mexico, 100

5. Puerto Rico, 97

6. Peru, 86

7. Ecuador, 45

8. Panama, 42

9. Guatemala, 36

10. El Salvador, 20

10. Jamaica, 20

12. Chile, 16

13. Colombia, 10

13. Costa Rica, 10