The Team USA women pose together after a dominant effort at the 2024 U15 Pan American Championships.
Elison, Fernandez repeat, U.S. wins nine women’s freestyle golds, one bronze at U15 Pan American Championships
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Team USA flexed its muscle for the second-straight day at the U15 Pan American Championships in El Salvador with nine women claiming gold medals and all 10 entrants finding a spot on the podium.
The defending champion duo of Epenesa Elison and Taina Fernandez found a home atop the medal stand in back-to-back years. Elison went 4-0 in the 50 kg bracket, scoring three technical falls and a pin without surrendering a point. She took the gold medal match 10-0 over Clara Ramirez Guardia of Peru. Fernandez exuded similar dominance by going four-for-four on technical falls, outscoring the field 44-4 at 62 kg. She iced her tournament with a 12-2 win against Yolayni Rosado Valerio of Dominican Republic.
Two American women pinned each opponent they wrestled on the day. Carolyn Geckler struck with four pins on her way to the 54 kg gold medal, logging just three minutes and one second of mat time. Her finals match was the only one to go past the 30-second mark as she stuck Camila Perez Tejada Prieto of Mexico in 1:36. 66 kg champion Ava Guilmette picked up three pins in times of 0:34, 0:54 and 0:54. She dashed Eyshila Lopes Ribeiro of Brazil to clinch gold.
Five more U.S. athletes won every match with bonus points on the road to gold—36 kg champion Abbie Peterson, 39 kg champion Olivia Hernandez, 42 kg champion Isla Silva, 46 kg champion Paris Soria and 58 kg champion Victoria Carbonaro.
Lanaia Selig, the 33 kg representative for Team USA, went 1-2 in round-robin play to come away with a bronze medal.
All told, the U.S. women gathered a 37-2 combined record with 14 victories by pin, 21 by technical fall and two by forfeit. Of the 37 wins, not a single match went the full four minutes—all were bonus-point victories.
Team USA easily ran away with the team standings at 240 points. Mexico finished in second place with 137 points. Puerto Rico rounded out the top three with 102 points.
The U15 Pan American Championships concludes on Saturday with the men’s freestyle competition. Action begins at 10 a.m. local time, with the finals set for 5 p.m. San Salvador is located two hours behind U.S. Eastern Time.
Brackets for each style and match-by-match results are available on UWW Arena. A live stream of the event can be found on the United World Wrestling Americas YouTube Channel.
2024 U15 Pan American Championships | June 13-15, San Salvador, El Salvador
Women’s Freestyle Results
Team Standings
1. United States, 240
2. Mexico, 137
3. Puerto Rico, 102
4. Ecuador, 69
5. Brazil, 65
6. Panama, 44
7. Peru, 40
8. El Salvador, 37
9. Guatemala, 35
10. Honduras, 33
33 kg
Gold – Shirley Meza Alava (Ecuador)
Silver – Victoria Rivera Diaz (Puerto Rico)
Bronze – Lanaia Selig (United States)
4th – Claudia Flores Flores (Honduras)
Four-woman round robin bracket records: Meza Alava (3-0), Rivera Diaz (2-1), Selig (1-2), Flores Flores (0-3)
36 kg
Gold – Abbie Peterson (United States)
Silver – Rubi Aguilar Montejo (Mexico)
Bronze – Amber Martinez Salinas (Mexico)
4th – Andrea Flores Flores (Honduras)
5th – Corangelys Torres Kuilan (Puerto Rico)
6th – Mishell Moreira Vele (Ecuador)
Gold – Abbie Peterson (United States) tech. fall Rubi Aguilar Montejo (Mexico), 12-2
Bronze – Amber Martinez Salinas (Mexico) fall Andrea Flores Flores (Honduras), 2:31
39 kg
Gold – Olivia Hernandez (United States)
Silver – Katia Ramos Espinosa (Mexico)
Bronze – Citlalli Garcia Alvarez (Mexico)
4th – Aida Ledezma (Panama)
5th – Gabriela Jorge Torres (El Salvador)
Five-woman round robin bracket records: Hernandez (4-0), Ramos Espinosa (3-1), Garcia Alvarez (2-2), Ledezma (1-3), Jorge Torres (0-4)
42 kg
Gold – Isla Silva (United States)
Silver – Xiomara Meza Alava (Ecuador)
Bronze – Edmarie Sierra Moreno (Puerto Rico)
4th – Valery Almendra Espino (Panama)
5th – Alba Berrios Machuca (El Salvador)
6th – Kristel Godinez Perez (Guatemala)
Gold – Isla Silva (United States) tech. fall Xiomara Meza Alava (Ecuador), 11-0
Bronze – Edmarie Sierra Moreno (Puerto Rico) fall Valery Almendra Espino (Panama), 0:40
46 kg
Gold – Paris Soria (United States)
Silver – Julia Freires Cardoso (Brazil)
Bronze – Briseida Adan Pacheco (Mexico)
Bronze – Aleeza Bernal Yerena (Mexico)
5th – Camila Pachas Huaroto (Peru)
5th – Chrisbette Santiago Cedeno (Puerto Rico)
7th – Alejandra Salinas Betancourt (Chile)
8th – Ashly Choc Choc (Guatemala)
Gold – Paris Soria (United States) tech. fall Julia Freires Cardoso (Brazil), 12-2
Bronze – Briseida Adan Pacheco (Mexico) tech. fall Camila Pachas Huaroto (Peru), 12-2
Bronze – Aleeza Bernal Yerena (Mexico) tech. fall Chrisbette Santiago Cedeno (Puerto Rico), 11-0
50 kg
Gold – Epenesa Elison (United States)
Silver – Clara Ramirez Guardia (Peru)
Bronze – Azumi Arenas Cuadras (Mexico)
Bronze – Sofia De Jesus Nussa (Puerto Rico)
5th – Luanny Barbosa De Souza (Brazil)
5th – Geishamar Rivera Lacourt (Puerto Rico)
7th – Yumaira Russell Rodriguez (Panama)
8th – Luciana Manzanares Romero (El Salvador)
9th – Sofia Vasquez Matamala (Chile)
Gold – Epenesa Elison (United States) tech. fall Clara Ramirez Guardia (Peru), 10-0
Bronze – Azumi Arenas Cuadras (Mexico) dec. Luanny Barbosa De Souza (Brazil), 2-1
Bronze – Sofia De Jesus Nussa (Puerto Rico) dec. Geishamar Rivera Lacourt (Puerto Rico), 4-0
54 kg
Gold – Carolyn Geckler (United States)
Silver – Camila Perez Tejada Prieto (Mexico)
Bronze – Fernanda Riffo Catalan (Chile)
Bronze – Corina Santillan Vera (Mexico)
5th – Genesis Gonzalez Calero (Nicaragua)
5th – Anayka Parimango Lopez (Peru)
7th – Marisa Iturrino (Puerto Rico)
8th – Jade Mena Acevedo (Nicaragua)
9th – Milagros Salgado Rios (Panama)
10th – Kemberley Hernandez Duran (El Salvador)
Gold – Carolyn Geckler (United States) fall Camila Perez Tejada Prieto (Mexico), 1:36
Bronze – Fernanda Riffo Catalan (Chile) fall Genesis Gonzalez Calero (Nicaragua), 1:42
Bronze – Corina Santillan Vera (Mexico) dec. Anayka Parimango Lopez (Peru), 6-6
58 kg
Gold – Victoria Carbonaro (United States)
Silver – Ximena Dominguez Revueltas (Mexico)
Bronze – Lorena Caldas De Oliveira Martins (Brazil)
4th – Daliana Cartagena Casiano (Puerto Rico)
5th – Deyshliany Quinones Benitez (Puerto Rico)
6th – Lilian Pacheco Ruiz (El Salvador)
7th – Lia Jimenez Quiel (Panama)
Gold – Victoria Carbonaro (United States) tech. fall Ximena Dominguez Revueltas (Mexico), 11-0
Bronze – Lorena Caldas De Oliveira Martins (Brazil) dec. Daliana Cartagena Casiano (Puerto Rico), 8-4
62 kg
Gold – Taina Fernandez (United States)
Silver – Yolayni Rosado Valerio (Dominican Republic)
Bronze – Sylvia Espinosa Muniz (Mexico)
4th – Alayrah Torres Velez (Puerto Rico)
5th – Angeline Garcia Perez (Guatemala)
6th – Ofir Suazo Gutierrez (Honduras)
Gold – Taina Fernandez (United States) tech. fall Yolayni Rosado Valerio (Dominican Republic), 12-2
Bronze – Sylvia Espinosa Muniz (Mexico) fall Alayrah Torres Velez (Puerto Rico), 0:22
66 kg
Gold – Ava Guilmette (United States)
Silver – Eyshila Lopes Ribeiro (Brazil)
Bronze – Allison Ojeda Quito (Ecuador)
4th – Hannia Casso Lopez (Mexico)
5th – Mabel Ajpop Paz (Guatemala)
Gold – Ava Guilmette (United States) fall Eyshila Lopes Ribeiro (Brazil), 0:54
Bronze – Allison Ojeda Quito (Ecuador) fall Hannia Casso Lopez (Mexico), 2:31
U.S. Women’s Freestyle Results
33 kg – Lanaia Selig (Bonney Lake, Wash./Mat Demon WC), bronze
LOSS Victoria Rivera Diaz (Puerto Rico), 10-2
WIN Claudia Flores Flores (Honduras), fall, 0:32
LOSS Shirley Meza Alava (Ecuador), 6-4
36 kg – Abbie Peterson (Denver, Iowa/Big Game WC), gold
WIN Andrea Flores Flores (Honduras), fall, 0:17
WIN Mishell Moreira Vele (Ecuador), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Amber Martinez Salinas (Mexico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Rubi Aguilar Montejo (Mexico), tech. fall, 12-2
39 kg – Olivia Hernandez (Philomath, Ore./Mat Sense Wrestling), gold
WIN Citlalli Garcia Alvarez (Mexico), fall, 0:48
WIN Aida Ledezma (Panama), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Gabriela Jorge Torres (El Salvador), fall, 0:10
WIN Katia Ramos Espinosa (Mexico), tech. fall, 10-0
42 kg – Isla Silva (Pittsburgh, Pa./Team Pennsylvania), gold
WIN Alba Berrios Machuca (El Salvador), forfeit, 0:25
WIN Edmarie Sierra Moreno (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 12-0
WIN Valery Almendra Espino (Panama), fall, 0:54
WIN Xiomara Meza Alava (Ecuador), tech. fall, 11-0
46 kg – Paris Soria (Riverside, Calif./Sunkist Kids Monster Garage), gold
WIN Camila Pachas Huaroto (Peru), fall, 0:59
WIN Briseida Adan Pacheco (Mexico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Julia Freires Cardoso (Brazil), tech. fall, 12-2
50 kg – Epenesa Elison (Downey, Calif./Sunkist Kids Monster Garage), gold
WIN Yumaira Russell Rodriguez (Panama), fall, 0:49
WIN Azumi Arenas Cuadras (Mexico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Luanny Barbosa De Souza (Brazil), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Clara Ramirez Guardia (Peru), tech. fall, 10-0
54 kg – Carolyn Geckler (Massillon, Ohio), gold
WIN Genesis Gonzalez Calero (Nicaragua), fall, 0:29
WIN Kemberley Hernandez Duran (El Salvador), fall, 0:28
WIN Fernanda Riffo Catalan (Chile), fall, 0:28
WIN Camila Perez Tejada Prieto (Mexico), fall, 1:36
58 kg – Victoria Carbonaro (Blairstown, N.J.), gold
WIN Lilian Pacheco Ruiz (El Salvador), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Daliana Cartagena Casiano (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Deyshliany Quinones Benitez (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Lorena Caldas De Oliveira Martins (Brazil), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Ximena Dominguez Revueltas (Mexico), tech. fall, 11-0
62 kg – Taina Fernandez (Bowie, Md./Cavalier WC), gold
WIN Alayrah Torres Velez (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Angeline Garcia Perez (Guatemala), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Sylvia Espinosa Muniz (Mexico), tech. fall, 12-2
WIN Yolayni Rosado Valerio (Dominican Republic), tech. fall, 12-2
66 kg – Ava Guilmette (Halfmoon, N.Y./Curby 3 Style WC), gold¬
WIN Hannia Casso Lopez (Mexico), fall, 0:34
WIN Sandra Perez Padilla (Mexico), forfeit
WIN Allison Ojeda Quito (Ecuador), fall, 0:54
WIN Eyshila Lopes Ribeiro (Brazil), fall, 0:54