Bommarito wins her group, eight others have 1-1 group records at Beach World Series Final in Greece
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Eliana Bommarito strikes a post at the 2026 World Ranking Series Ulaanbaatar Open
KATERINI, Greece — Three-time Beach World champion Eliana Bommarito won two matches to claim Group A in the women’s Over 70 kg weight class on the first day of the 2026 Beach World Series Final on Saturday. This is the fifth and final stop of the Senior Beach World Series for the 2026 season, and is being held at the Aloha Beach Bar on the boardwalk alongside the Aegean Sea.
Bommarito won Group A, a three-athlete pool, with a 3-0 victory over Angelique Gonzalez of France and a pin in eight seconds over Kasandra Villarreal of the United States. She has clinched a berth in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon against an opponent to be determined during the third Group session on Sunday morning. Bommarito has a bye on Sunday morning.
Bommarito is the only U.S. athlete to have won a Beach World Series gold medal, awarded based on achievements in the season-long Beach World Series, with her titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
She has won 10 individual Beach World Series gold medals during her four years on the Beach World Series circuit. She also has two silver medals and one bronze medal, for a U.S.-record 13 career Beach World Series individual medals.
This is Bommarito’s fourth appearance at the Beach World Series this year, with two individual gold medals and a silver medal this season. Bommarito came to Greece ranked No. 1 in the Over 70 kg weight class with 68,000 points, ahead of Stefania Zacheila of Greece, who ranked second with 52,000 points. More points are awarded at the Beach World Series Final than in the other four events.
Eight U.S. wrestlers have 1-1 records in their group competition and enter Sunday with an opportunity to advance to the championship bracket with a win in Sunday morning’s third group session.
Five U.S. women have a 1-1 record in their group: Kenya Mwehu (50 kg), Brianna Holcomb (60 kg), Amber Hunter-Snyder (70 kg), Anastasia Hardin (70 kg) and Maria Hiles (Over 70 kg).
Hunter-Snyder and Hardin had to win a knockout series to advance to the Group stage. Hunter-Snyder swept two knockout matches against Fatme Shaban of Bulgaria, then scored a 2-1 win over Konstantina Christodoulou of Greece in Group B. Hardin won two straight over Christodoula Anastasiadou of Greece in a knockout series, then secured a pin over Masa Perovic of Serbia in Group A.
Hunter-Snyder won a silver medal in the 70 kg division at the U20 Beach World Championships on Friday.
The three U.S. men with 1-1 records in their group are Justin Benjamin (70 kg), Owen Uppinghouse (90 kg) and Gabe Rangel (Over 90 kg).
Benjamin is the only U.S. man to win an individual gold medal at a Beach World Series stop, claiming the 70 kg title at the 2024 Beach World Series Acapulco in Mexico. He also won a silver medal at 70 kg at the 2025 Beach World Series Monterrey in Mexico. Coming into the Beach World Series Final, Benjamin was ranked No. 9 in men’s 70 kg.
Seven U.S. wrestlers have not won a match in their group competition, but all have one more match in their group on Sunday morning.
The United States won four of its six knockout series on Saturday morning.
After this event ends on Sunday, United World Wrestling will name the 2026 UWW Beach World champions and medalists in each weight class based on the results from all five Beach World Series events this year. The previous Beach World Series stops this year were in Da Nang (Vietnam), Porec (Croatia), Batumi (Georgia) and Baku (Azerbaijan).
The tournament ends on Sunday, Sept. 27, with the Group competition concluding at 10:00 a.m. and the elimination rounds and finals at 4:00 p.m. local time. Katerini, Greece, is seven hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time.
The tournament is broadcast live on FloWrestling.com.
Sunday, Sept. 27
10:00 a.m. – Group Rounds
4:00 p.m. – Elimination Rounds and Finals
7:00 p.m. – Closing Celebration
70 kg: Justin Benjamin (St. Charles, Ill./Tar Heel WC)
Group A
WIN Iosif Nikolaidis (Greece), 3-0, 2:33
LOSS Oleksii Boruta (Ukraine), 3-1, 2:56
VS. Valentin Seimetz (Germany)
70 kg: Bryan Coll (Bayville, N.Y./The Dynamic Wrestling Academy)
Group C
LOSS Ilias Kranavas (Greece), 3-0, 1:22
LOSS Quentin Sticker (France), fall, 0:57
VS. Davit Partenadze (Georgia)
70 kg: Wyatt Abele (McConnelsville, Ohio/Southeast Ohio WC)
Knockout
WIN Noah Johansen (Norway), 3-2, 1:39
LOSS Noah Johansen (Norway), 3-0, 0:24
WIN Noah Johansen (Norway), 3-2, 2:05
Group B
LOSS Rubail Ibrahimli (Azerbaijan), fall, 0:36
LOSS Ivan Semenov (Ukraine), fall, 2:42
VS. Levan Kelekhsashvili (Georgia)
80 kg: Wayne LaMont (Coram, N.Y.)
Knockout
WIN Vissarion Fountas (Greece), 3-2, 1:09
WIN Vissarion Fountas (Greece), 3-1, 2:01
Group A
LOSS Christos Christoforidis (Greece), 3-0, 1:44
LOSS Luka Chkhitunidze (Georgia), fall, 0:55
VS. Vusal Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
80 kg: Justin Grant (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Knockout
WIN Zurab Mamuladze (Georgia), 2-1, 3:00
LOSS Zurab Mamuladze (Georgia), 3-2, 2:51
LOSS Zurab Mamuladze (Georgia), 4-2, 2:56
80 kg: Keenan Graef (Overland Park, Kansas)
Group B
LOSS Zurab Mamuladze (Georgia), 3-0, 1:29
LOSS Sahib Dadashov (Azerbaijan), 3-0, 1:33
VS. Diego Makharadze (Georgia)
90 kg: Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy, Ill.)
Group B
LOSS Tornike Tulashvili (Georgia), 3-0, 1:47
WIN Sofiane Ben Boubaker (France), 3-2, 1:30
VS. Mathis Marand (France)
Over 90 kg: Joel Faglier (Augusta, Ga./The Storm Wrestling Center)
Group A
LOSS Giorgi Chikhradze (Georgia), 3-2, 1:42
LOSS Jamal Feyziyev (Azerbaijan), 3-0, 0:23
VS. Mamuka Kordzaia (Georgia)
Over 90 kg: Gabe Rangel (Moline, Ill./Tiger WC)
Group B
WIN Jax Cromwell (USA), fall, 0:46
LOSS Vazha Daiauri (Ukraine), 3-0, 2:28
VS. Tedore Ebanoidze (Georgia)
Over 90 kg: Jax Cromwell (Lone Jack, Mo.)
Group B
LOSS Gabe Rangel (USA), fall, 0:46
LOSS Tedore Ebanoidze (Georgia), 3-0, 0:29
VS. Vazha Daiauri (Ukraine)
50 kg: Kenya Mwehu (Cleveland, Ohio/Beat the Streets Cleveland)
Group B
WIN Reya Stoilova (Bulgaria), 3-1, 2:32
LOSS Ana Maria Rotaru (Romania), fall, 0:32
VS. Viktoriia Slobodeniuk (Ukraine)
50 kg: Molly Root (Dimondale, Mich.)
Group A
LOSS Claudia Cabrera (Argentina), fall, 1:03
VS. Diana Rysova (Ukraine)
60 kg: Brianna Holcomb (Owings, Md.)
Group C
WIN Ava Ebrahimi (USA), 3-0, 2:28
LOSS Sofiia Kushnir (Ukraine), 3-0, 1:20
VS. Anastasiya Kravchenko (Ukraine)
60 kg: Ava Ebrahimi (San Diego, Calif./Poway High School)
Group C
LOSS Brianna Holcomb (USA), 3-0, 2:28
LOSS Anastasiya Kravchenko (Ukraine), fall, 1:16
VS. Sofiia Kushnir (Ukraine)
60 kg: Olivia Root (Dimondale, Mich.)
Knockout
LOSS Alice Gardy (France), fall, 1:54
LOSS Alice Gardy (France), 3-0, 1:21
70 kg: Amber Hunter-Snyder (Bear, Del./Western Maryland WC)
Knockout
WIN Fatme Shaban (Bulgaria), 3-0, 2:30
WIN Fatme Shaban (Bulgaria), 3-1, 2:12
Group B
WIN Konstantina Christodoulou (Greece), 2-1, 3:00
LOSS Halyna Razghonova Oleksiivska (Ukraine), 3-1, 2:40
VS. Sara Trubulin (Slovenia)
70 kg: Anastasia Hardin (Brewster, Kansas)
Knockout
WIN Christodoula Anastasiadou (Greece), 3-0, 0:46
WIN Christodoula Anastasiadou (Greece), 4-0, 1:12
Group A
LOSS Romana Vovchak (Ukraine), 3-0, 0:26
WIN Masa Perovic (Serbia), fall, 2:39
VS. Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine)
Over 70 kg: Eliana Bommarito (East Lansing, Mich./Michigan Revolution)
Group A
WIN Angelique Gonzalez (France), 3-0, 1:19
WIN Kasandra Villarreal (USA), fall, 0:08
Over 70 kg: Maria Hiles (Clarksburg, Md.)
Group B
WIN Agoro Papavasileiou (Greece), 3-2, 1:38
LOSS Daria Konstantynova (Ukraine), fall, 0:08
VS. Stefania Zacheila (Greece)
Over 70 kg: Kasandra Villarreal (Jurupa Valley, Calif.)
Group A
LOSS Eliana Bommarito (USA), fall, 0:08
VS. Angelique Gonzalez (France)
