Irons, Bommarito are unbeaten on day one of Beach World Series Casablanca in Morocco

CASABLANCA, Morocco - Two U.S. wrestlers were unbeaten on the first day of action at Beach World Series Casablanca on the sands of Ain Diab on Saturday.

Securing 2-0 records in their Group competitions were Jabari Irons of Florida (men’s 90 kg) and Eliana Bommarito of Michigan (women’s Over 70 kg).

Irons, a 2022 U.S. Beach Nationals champion, was dominant in his two victories, scoring a pin over Mustapha Selloum of Morocco in 1:46 and securing a 3-1 win over Mathis Mayrand of France in Group A. Irons has one more Group match on Sunday morning against Dato Piruzashvili of Georgia, which will determine if he will advance to Saturday afternoon’s semifinals.

Bommarito, a two-time Beach World champion and one of the most successful Beach wrestlers in history, won her three-athlete Group A with a pair of victories. She opened with a 3-0 win over talented Stefania Zacheila of Greece, the pinned Amy Youin of the Ivory Coast in 1:52. This clinches her a berth in Saturday’s semifinals against an opponent to be determined.

Bommarito has won six separate Beach World Series events since she started on the Beach circuit in 2023. So far this year, she has won a bronze medal at each of the first two World Series stops in Mexico and Croatia.

Securing a 2-1 record on day one was Gus Johnson of Oregon at men’s 70 kg. He was placed in a knockout match to earn his spot in the bracket, and defeated Taha M Alajnaf of Liberia, 3-0. He then was placed in Group A, where he had a 1-1 record so far. Included was a 3-2 win over Ahmed Tariq Mohamed Khadurah of Liberia and a loss to Aliakbar Mohammad Bagher Zaroudi of Iran. Johnson has one more Group A bout on Sunday morning against Ivan Semenov of Ukraine, and still has a chance to qualify for the semifinals.

U.S. wrestlers with 1-1 records in their Group competition were Brian Coll of New York (men’s 70 kg), Kyle Ferriter of Colorado (men’s Over 90 kg) and Erin Kremer of Oregon (women’s Over 70 kg). All three still have a chance to advance to the semifinals based upon the results of their Group bouts on Sunday morning.  Ferriter was a 2024 Beach World bronze medalist at his weight class, and has competed in the first three stops of the World Series so far this year.

Other U.S. athletes in action today were Jacob Bumgardner of Georgia (men’s 90 kg) and Olivia Pizano of Pennsylvania (women’s 70 kg), who lost their bouts on Saturday. Both have one more match in their Group on Sunday morning. Both were 2025 U.S. Beach Nationals champions.

Beach World Series Casablanca is being broadcast live by FloWrestling.

Sessions (local time) on Sunday are 10:00 a.m. with the completion of Group competition and 5:00 p.m. with the elimination round and the finals. Casablanca is five hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone.

BEACH WORLD SERIES CASABLANCA

At Casablanca, Morocco, September 6

U.S. Men’s Results

70 kg: Bryan Coll, Bayville, N.Y.

Group C

LOSS Levan Kelekhsashvili (Georgia), pin, 1:35

WIN Saad Marire (Morocco), 3-0, 0:35

Vs. Guy Lago (Ivory Coast)

70 kg: Gus Johnson, Portland, Ore.

Knockout match

WIN Taha M Alajnaf (Liberia), 3-0, 1:13

Group A

WIN Ahmed Tariq Mohamed Khadurah (Liberia), 3-2, 1:19

LOSS Aliakbar Mohammad Bagher Zaroudi (Iran), pin, 0:28

Vs. Ivan Semenov (Ukraine)

90 kg: Jacob Bumgardner, Bremen, Ga.

Group B

LOSS Sofiane Yoan Ben Boubaker (France), 3-0, 0:48

LOSS Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine), 3-0, 0:53

Vs, Omer Ozyildirim (Turkey)

90 kg: Jabari Irons, Fort Meyers, Fla.  

Group C

WIN Mustapha Selloum (Morocco), pin, 1:46

WIN Mathis Mayrand (France), 3-1, 0:30

Vs. Dato Piruzashvili (Georgia)

+90 kg: Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Group C

LOSS Oleksandr Veresiuk (Ukraine), 1-0, 3:00

WIN Joel Obae Tukai (Kenya), 3-0, 0:24

Vs. Walid Cheikh Lahlou (Morocco)

U.S. Women’s Results

70 kg: Olivia Pizano, Bethlehem, Pa.

Group A

LOSS Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine), pin, 0:14

Vs. Faith Nanjala Wamalwa (Kenya)

+70 kg: Elianna Bommarito, Brighton, Mich.   

Group A

WIN Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 3-0, 0:59

WIN Amy Youin (Ivory Coast), pin, 1:52

Semifinals – opponent to be determined

+70 kg: Erin Kremer, Covington, Ore.

Group B

WIN Hafsa Ech Chabki (Morocco), 3-0, 0:39

LOSS Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine), 3-1, 0:53

Vs. Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine)

Remaining Event Schedule (local time)

(Casablanca is five hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time)

Sunday, September 7

10:00 a.m. – Group Rounds

5:00 p.m. – Elimination Rounds and Finals