Team USA wins U15 Pan American Greco-Roman title with eight golds, Martino named Outstanding Wrestler

Photo of Team USA by Bret Peterson.

OAXTEPEC, Mexico – The United States won eight gold medals and ten medals total in Greco-Roman at the U15 Pan American Championships on Friday, winning the team title.
The United States won the team race with 240 total points. Mexico came in second with 185 points, while Brazil finished in third place with 94 points.
Leading the way for Team USA was Matthew Martino of Eagle, Idaho. Wrestling at 48 kg, Martino went 4-0 en route to winning a gold medal. He won all four matches via technical fall, including his finals victory against Mexico’s Cristian Rodriguez Garcia.
The eight U.S. athletes winning individual gold medals were:
• Ignacio Villasenor (38kg) of Longmont, Colo.
• Haakon Peterson (41kg) of Hollandale, Wisc.
• Isaiah Cortez (44kg) of Los Banos, Calif.
• Matthew Martino (48kg) of Eagle, Idaho
• Travis Grace (62kg) of San Martin, Calif.
• Emil Necula (68kg) of Marietta, Ga.
• Terrell McFarland (75kg) of Pottsville, Pa.
• De’Alcapon Veazy (85kg) of Fort Wayne, Ind.
Picking up silver medals were Jackson Heslin (52kg) of Marlborough, Conn. and Phoenix Contos (57kg) of Toledo, Ohio.

In total, Team USA went 29-2 on the day.
The Greco-Roman team is coached by USA Wrestling National Developmental freestyle coach Kevin Jackson. He is joined by Gralan Early of Fort Wayne, Ind. and Salvador Gutierrez of Arvada, Colo. The staff will also coach the men’s freestyle team in Mexico.
“Our kids wrestled with their hearts and souls, they wrestled like Americans,” Jackson said of the team’s championship performance. “They dominated today. I’m very proud of everyone’s effort and I expect them to be even better tomorrow.”
The tournament will continue on Saturday with both women’s freestyle and men’s freestyle wrestling. Fans should note that a change in the schedule was made. Instead of men’s freestyle taking place on Sunday, it will now wrestle the tournament on Saturday along with women’s freestyle action. There will be no wrestling on Sunday.
You can watch all of the wrestling on the United World Wrestling America’s Facebook page by clicking here.
U15 PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Oaxtepec, Mexico October 22
38 kg
Gold – Ignacio Villasenor (USA)
Silver – Luis Sanchez Fuentes (Mexico)
Bronze – Douglas da Silva Dias da Cruz (Brazil)
41 kg
Gold – Haakon Peterson (USA)
Silver – Maik de Souza Almeida (Brazil)
Bronze – Gael Zacarez Ortiz (Mexico)
44 kg
Gold – Isaiah Cortez (USA)
Silver – Cesar Renteria Diaz (Mexico)
Bronze – Simon Morales Castañeda (Colombia)
48 kg
Gold – Matthew Martino (USA)
Silver – Cristian Rodriguez Garcia (Mexico)
Bronze – Luis Hernandez Martinez (Mexico)
52 kg
Gold – Ivan Olivera Montijo (Mexico)
Silver – Jackson Heslin (USA)
Bronze – Toribio Torres Pedro (Peru)
57 kg
Gold – Rafael Garcia (Puerto Rico)
Silver – Phoenix Contos (USA)
Bronze – Rodrigo Aguirre (Mexico)
Bronze – Yorman Caballero Afanador (Colombia)
62 kg
Gold – Travis Grace (USA)
Silver – Jorge Gomez Garcia (Mexico)
Bronze – Nelson Chantaca Gonzalez (Mexico)
Bronze – Osvaldo Yañez Silva (Mexico)
68 kg
Gold – Emil Necula (USA)
Silver – Wilson Dos Santos Soares (Brazil)
Bronze – Dorian Trejo Olguin (Mexico)
Bronze – Jusset Arebalo Torres (Colombia)
75kg
Gold – Terrell McFarland (USA)
Silver – Alejandro Castaño Cruz (Colombia)
Bronze – Ricardo Arroyo Herrera (Mexico)
85 kg
Gold – De’Alcapon Veazy (USA)
Silver – Alejandro Alvarez Matos (Mexico)
Bronze – Fernando Solano Camara (Mexico)


U.S. Greco-Roman bouts
38kg: Ignacio Villasenor, Longmont, Colo., gold medal
WIN Douglas da Silva Dias da Cruz (Brazil)
WIN Luis Sanchez Fuentes (Mexico)
41kg: Haakon Peterson, Hollandale, Wisc., gold medal
WIN Maik de Souza Almeida (Brazil)
WIN Gael Cazarez Ortiz (Mexico)
WIN Santiago Sanchez Arias (Colombia)
44kg: Isaiah Cortez, Los Banos, Calif., gold medal
WIN Simon Morales Castañeda (Colombia)
WIN Cesar Renteria Diaz (Mexico)
48kg: Matthew Martino, Eagle, Idaho, gold medal
WIN Cristian Rodriguez Garcia (Mexico)
WIN Joao Amorim de Moura (Brazil)
WIN Anthony Molina Rubio (Peru)
WIN Cristian Rodriguez Garcia (Mexico)
52kg: Jackson Heslin, Marlborough, Conn., silver medal
WIN Daniel Guevara Pimentel (Mexico)
WIN Gael Valdez Nuñez (Mexico)
WIN Pedro Toribio Torres (Peru)
LOSS Ivan Olivera Montigo (Mexico)
57kg: Phoenix Contos, Toledo, Ohio, silver medal
WIN Johan Garcia Serrano (Mexico)
WIN Rodrigo Aguirre (Mexico)
LOSS Rafael Garcia (Puerto Rico)
62kg: Travis Grace, San Martin, Calif., gold medal
WIN Joao Montesinos Macedo (Peru)
WIN Osvaldo Yañez Silva (Mexico)
WIN Jorge Gomez Garcia (Mexico)
68kg: Emil Necula, Marietta, Ga., gold medal
WIN Marcopolo Garcia Rodriguez (Mexico)
WIN Dorian Trejo Olguin (Mexico)
WIN Wilson dos Santos Soares (Brazil)
75kg: Terrell McFarland, Pottsville, Pa., gold medal
WIN Ricardo Arroyo Herrera (Mexico)
WIN Angel Garcia Nuñez (Mexco)
WIN Alejandro Castaño Cruz (Colombia)
WIN Bryan Campos Flores (Peru)
85kg: De’Alcapon Veazy, Fort Wayne, Ind., gold medal
WIN Fernando Solano Camara (Mexico)
WIN Alejandro Alvarez Matos (Mexico)
WIN Antonio Fernandez Alencastro Martins (Brazil)
Greco-Roman final team standings
1. USA, 240
2. Mexico, 185
3. Brazil, 94
4. Colombia, 83
5. Peru, 65
6. Puerto Rico, 60
7. (tie) Barbados and Chile, 4