Gretchen Donally and Yianna Foufas win medals at the 2026 U20 Pan American Beach Wrestling Championships
Share:
by Zack Chavez, USA Wrestling
Gretchen Donally converts an arm drag in her round one match against Puerto Rico at the 2026 U20 Pan American Beach Wrestling Championships
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Gretchen Donally won gold in the +70 kg bracket to headline a list of five competitors for the U.S. at the 2026 U20 Pan American Beach Wrestling Championships Sunday in Rio de Janeiro. Yianna Foufas also made the podium, finishing the day with a bronze medal in the 50 kg women’s division.
Donally earned her second gold medal in three days on Sunday, adding the beach wrestling title to her name after winning the 72 kg women’s freestyle championship on Friday. In her opening match, she scored a fall over Puerto Rico’s Paola Rodriguez Guzman, a bronze medalist at the 2026 U23 Pan American Championships. Donally’s final win came via a medical forfeit by Brazil, closing out her day.
Foufas went 2-2 on the day and won a bronze medal after defeating a bronze medalist from the 2024 U17 World Championships in her final match. Following a win by forfeit in round one, she was defeated in rounds two and three, setting up a major comeback in her final match. In her tournament finale against Mexico’s Gabriela Palacios Hernandez, she delivered a shutout after a pushout and a three-point toss.
Aubree Gutierrez also competed for the women’s contingent and finished fourth overall in the 60 kg bracket, with two wins in five appearances.
Kirick Gurkin (80 kg) and Dominic Porter (+90 kg) represented the U.S. in the men’s division. Gurkin finished the day 1-2, including a 4-1 win over Chile’s Santiago Valenzuela Mendez, a bronze medalist at the 2025 U20 Pan American Beach Wrestling Championships.
The U.S. finished third overall in the women’s team standings and eighth in the men’s team standings.
Archived matches from the event are available to the U.S. audience through FloWrestling. Final brackets and results are hosted on UWW Arena.
1. Puerto Rico, 70
2. Brazil, 55
3. United States, 52
4. Mexico, 36
5. Peru, 35
6. Colombia, 26
7. Guatemala, 15
8. Ecuador, 0
Gold – Heklanys Rivera Quiles (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Giovanna Cincinato Pimenta (Brazil)
Bronze – Yianna Foufas (United States)
4 – Gabriela Palacios Hernandez (Mexico)
5 – Valeria Alvarez Agurto (Ecuador)
Round-robin bracket: Rivera Quiles (4-0), Cincinato Pimenta (3-1), Foufas (2-2), Palacios Hernandez (1-3), Alvarez Agurto (0-4)
Gold – Jania Dunigan (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Rayssa De Souza Alves (Brazil)
Bronze – Meissy Valdez Obando (Guatemala)
4th – Aubree Gutierrez (United States)
5th – Cindell Casusol Casas (Peru)
6th – Ivanna Lopez Rodriguez (Mexico)
7th – Ashley Diaz (Puerto Rico)
8th – Susana Sanchez Carvajal (Colombia)
9th – Ariana Saenz Abanto (Peru)
10th – Mariana Duarte Gomez (Colombia)
11th – Tilly Kakuk (Puerto Rico)
Gold – Jania Dunigan (Puerto Rico) dec. Rayssa De Souza Alves (Brazil), 1-1
Bronze – Meissy Valdez Obando (Guatemala) tech. fall Aubree Gutierrez (United States), 3-0
Gold – Leyla Mallqui Hinostroza (Peru)
Silver – Shantallee Barrios Bonalde (Colombia)
Bronze – Elide Castanon Buendia (Mexico)
Round-robin bracket: Mallqui Hinostroza (2-0), Barrios Bonalde (1-1), Castanon Buendia (0-2)
Gold – Gretchen Donally (United States)
Silver – Paola Rodriguez Guzman (Puerto Rico)
Bronze – Rayne Alves Da Silva (Brazil)
Round-robin bracket: Donally (2-0), Rodriguez Guzman (1-1), Alves Da Silva (0-2)
1. Puerto Rico, 70
2. Brazil, 55
3. United States, 52
4. Mexico, 36
5. Peru, 35
6. Colombia, 26
7. Guatemala, 15
8. Ecuador, 0
Gold – Joab Carrillo Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Gabriel Sanchez Zepeda (Mexico)
Bronze – Anthony Moreno (Ecuador)
4th – Brandon Hernandez Cardona (Guatemala)
5th – Anthony Molina Rubio (Peru)
6th – Leonardo Gutierrez Manihuari (Peru)
7th – Jhon Ramirez Munoz (Colombia)
8th – Juan Diaz Casiano (Puerto Rico)
9th – Isaiah Jackson (Jamaica)
10th – Emmanual Lazcano Ramirez (Chile)
11th – Juan Orozco Perez (Ecuador)
12th – Ruben Manobanda Ortega (Ecuador)
13th – William Pozo Chuquillanqui (Peru)
Gold – Joab Carrillo Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) fall Gabriel Sanchez Zepeda (Mexico), 2:59
Bronze – Anthony Moreno (Ecuador) fall Brandon Hernandez Cardona (Guatemala), 2:15
Gold – Rafael Garcia Morales (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Kevin Aleman Gomez (El Salvador)
Bronze – Eduardo Nunes De Lima Torres (Brazil)
4th – Robert Condor Calle (Peru)
5th – Yesid Urbano Cardona (Colombia)
6th – Kirick Gurkin (United States)
7th – Santiago Valenzuela Mendez (Chile)
8th – Jostyn Salvatierra Baque (Ecuador)
Gold – Rafael Garcia Morales (Puerto Rico) tech. fall Kevin Aleman Gomez (El Salvador), 3-0
Bronze – Anthony Moreno (Ecuador) fall Brandon Hernandez Cardona (Guatemala), 5-1, 2:15
Gold – Allan De Sousa Beserra (Brazil)
Silver – Luis Santiago Vargas (Puerto Rico)
Bronze – Angel Flores Gonzalez (Mexico)
4th – Bryan Campos Flores (Peru)
5th – Sebastian Mejia Munoz (Colombia)
6th – Christhoper Perez Dominguez (Guatemala)
Gold – Allan De Sousa Beserra (Brazil) tech. fall Luis Santiago Vargas (Puerto Rico), 3-1
Bronze – Angel Flores Gonzalez (Mexico) tech. fall Bryan Campos Flores (Peru), 3-1
Gold – Alan Garcia Morales (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Adrian Vasconcelos De Santana (Brazil)
Bronze – Jean Zambrano Longas (Ecuador)
4th – Juan Calderon Molina (Ecuador)
5th – Carlos Cabrales Encarnacion (Mexico)
6th – Mizael Llontop Cruz (Peru)
7th – Dominic Porter (United States)
Gold – Alan Garcia Morales (Puerto Rico) tech. fall Adrian Vasconcelos De Santana (Brazil), 3-1
Bronze – Jean Zambrano Longas (Ecuador) fall Juan Calderon Molina (Ecuador), 0:28
WIN Valeria Alvarez Agurto (Ecuador), forfeit
LOSS Heklanys Rivera Quiles (Puerto Rico), fall, 2:02
LOSS Giovanna Cincinato Pimenta (Brazil), dec., 2-1
WIN Gabriela Palacios Hernandez (Mexico), fall, 1:15
WIN Ashley Diaz (Puerto Rico), fall, 1:11
LOSS Jania Dunigan (Puerto Rico), dec., 1-1
WIN Cindell Casusol Casas (Peru), dec. 1-1
LOSS Rayssa De Souza Alves (Brazil), dec., 2-0
LOSS Meissy Valdez Obando (Guatemala), tech. fall., 3-0
WIN Paola Rodriguez Guzman (Puerto Rico), fall, 1:33
WIN Rayne Alves da Silva (Brazil), med. forfeit
Men’s Beach Wrestling Results
LOSS Kevin Aleman Gomez (El Salvador), fall, 1:32
WIN Santiago Valenzuela Mendez (Chile), tech. fall, 3-2
LOSS Eduardo Nunes De Lima Torres (Brazil), fall, 1:04
LOSS Jean Zambrano Longas (Ecuador), dec., 2-0
LOSS Juan Calderon Molina (Ecuador), dec., 2-0
Bommarito, Ferriter, Cardenas lead six-athlete U.S. team at Beach World Series Batumi in Georgia, June 20-21
Four Stanford wrestlers to compete in the Sardinia Beach Wrestling Championships in Italy on June 14
Bommarito claims ninth career Beach World Series gold with Over 70 kg title in Porec, Croatia
2026 Beach World Series Porec Travel Blog
