Bommarito gets another gold, Anderson wins silver, Ferriter adds bronze at Beach World Series in France

SAINT-LAURENT-DU-VAR, France – It was a historic day for USA Wrestling’s Beach wrestling program on Saturday on Cousteau Beach in this French Riviera town.

For the first time since the creation of the Beach World Series in 2019, the United States took home three medals from the same Beach World Series event. Team USA scored a gold medal, a silver medal and a bronze medal at Beach World Series Saint-Laurent-du-Var.

2023 World champion Eliana Bommarito (Brighton, Mich. (Michigan Revolution WC) captured the gold medal at Over 70 kg, dominating all five matches, including a 44 second pin in the finals over Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna of Ukraine.

This was Bommarito’s third career Beach World Series gold medal, to go with 2023 golds in Mugla, Turkey and Constanta, Romania. No other U.S. Senior Beach wrestler has won more than one Beach World Series medal.

Bommarito scored three straight takedowns in the semifinals to defeat Stefania Zacheila of Greece, 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. Earlier on Saturday morning, she won her final Group match over Marine Le Cour Grandmaison of France, giving her a 3-0 record to win Group B and advance to the semifinals.

Mariah Anderson (Houston, Texas/Air Force RTC) won a silver medal at 50 kg. She was defeated in the finals by Viktoriia Slobodeniuk of Ukraine, 2-0. Slobodeniuk scored a takedown and a step out for the win. Anderson had lost to Slobodeniuk, 5-2 in the first Group match, then won three straight times to earn the rematch in the finals.

Anderson won her first career medal at the Beach World Series. She is just the fifth U.S. Senior woman to come home with a World Series medal, joining Bommarito, Laura White, Kristal Betanzo and Diana Betanzo with World Series podium finishes.

Anderson earned her spot in the finals with a clutch 2-1 win over Yulia Zasulska of Ukraine in the semifinals. Anderson fell behind 1-0 on a takedown, but tied it up at 1-1 with a takedown of her own in the final minute of the match. As time ran down, Anderson clinched the victory with a step out point.

Earlier in the day, Anderson won her final Group match, stopping Claudia Cabrera of Argentina, 3-0, to place second in Group A and advance to the semifinals.

Kyle Ferriter (Colorado Springs, Colo.) emerged with bronze medal at Over 90 kg, his first career Beach World Series medal. He becomes only the sixth U.S. man to claim a Beach World Series medal, along with Justin Benjamin, Tim Box, Reece Humphrey, Michael Peters and Tyson Beauperthuy.

Ferriter finished with a 2-2 record in a five-athlete round robin. On Saturday, he won his morning match with a 3-0 win over Alessio Vandi of Italy in just 13 seconds. His final match was a 3-0 loss to Vazha Daiauri of Ukraine, who captured the silver medal.

Justin Benjamin (70 kg) and Jamal Morris (90 kg) dropped their final Group matches on Saturday morning and did not advance to the semifinals round. Morris finished sixth and Benjamin was eighth. Mitch Brown, who lost a knockout match on Friday, was ninth at 70 kg.

“That’s the first time we have had three medalists, and that’s another record. We had another gold medal, the fourth consecutive event we have had a gold medalist. We also had a second finalist. Our women’s team placed second, another record in itself. Our men’s team placed fifth, which is respectable as well,” said U.S. coach Tim Box.

BEACH WORLD SERIES SAINT-LAURENT-DU-VAR

At Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France, June 28

Women’s medalists

50 kg

Gold - Viktoriia Slobodeniuk (Ukraine)

Silver - Mariah Anderson (USA)

Bronze - Ana Maria Pirvu (Romania)

60 kg

Gold - Anastasiya Kravchenko (Ukraine)

Silver - Maria Victoria Baez Dilone (Spain)

Bronze - Mihaela Ciric (Slovenia)

70 kg

Gold - Viktoriia Hrytsenko (Ukraine)

Silver - Oksana Herhel (Ukraine)  

Bronze - Dimitra Androutsou (Greece)

Over 70 kg

Gold - Eliana Bommarito (USA)

Silver - Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine)

Bronze - Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine)

U.S. women’s results

50 kg - Mariah Anderson, Houston, Texas (Air Force RTC), silver medal

LOSS Viktoriia Slobodeniuk (Ukraine), 5-2, 2:07

WIN Justin Fanny Vigouroux (France), 3-0, 2:52

WIN Claudia Cabrera (Argentina), 3-0, 2:39

WIN Yulia Zasulska (Ukraine), 2-1

LOSS Viktoriia Slobodeniuk (Ukraine), 2-0

Over 70 kg - Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (Michigan Revolution WC), gold medal

WIN Angelique Gonzalez (France), 3-0, 0:43

WIN Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine), 3-1, 1:04

WIN Marine Le Cour Grandmaison (France), 3-0, 0:28

WIN Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 3-0

WIN Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine), pin 0:44

Women’s Team Standings

1. Ukraine, 95

2. United States, 45

3. Spain, 39

4. France, 37

5. Greece, 27

(of nine nations)

Men’s medalists

70 kg

Gold - Oleksii Boruta (Ukraine)

Silver - Stefan Coman (Romania)

Bronze - Ivan Semenov (Ukraine)

80 kg

Gold - Vasile Diacon (Moldova)

Silver - Christos Christoforidis (Greece)

Bronze - Alberto Martinez Navarro (Spain)

90 kg

Gold - Traian Capatina (Moldova)  

Silver - Ibrahim Yusebov (Azerbaijan)  

Bronze - Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine)

Over 90 kg

Gold - Mamuka Kordzaia (Georgia)

Silver - Vazha Daiauri (Ukraine)

Bronze - Kyle Ferriter (USA)

U.S. men’s results

70 kg: Justin Benjamin, St. Charles, Ill. , 8^th place

WIN Quentin Jean Rene Sticker (France), 3-1, 2:57

LOSS Rashid Babazade (Azerbaijan), 3-0, 2:09

LOSS Ivan Semenov (Ukraine), 3-1, 2:58

70 kg: Mitch Brown, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force RTC), 9^th place

LOSS Carlos Alvarez Iglesias (Spain), pin 2:06

90 kg: Jamal Morris, Miami, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons HS), 6^th place

WIN Kevin Gremm (Germany), 1-0

LOSS Eugeniu Mihalcean (Moldova), pin 0:25

LOSS Demid Karachenko (Ukraine), 3-1, 2:08

LOSS Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine), 3-1, 1:55

Over 90 kg: Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo., bronze medal

LOSS Mamuka Kordzaia (Georgia), 2-1 

WIN Quentin Milliere (France), 3-2, 2:50

WIN Alessio Vandi (Italy), 3-0, 0:13

WIN Vazha Daiauri (Ukraine), 3-0, 1:51

Men’s Team Standings

1. Ukraine, 60

2. Moldova, 50

3. France, 42

4. Azerbaijan, 39

5. United States, 30

(of 12 nations)

UWW Senior Beach World Series Medals from the USA

(Beach World Series held 2019-present)

Men

Justin Benjamin, St. Charles, Ill. (2024 Gold at 70 kg, Acapulco, Mexico)

Tim Box, Oceanside, Calif. (2019 Silver at 70 kg, Odessa, Ukraine)

Reece Humphrey, Princeton, N.J. (2019 Bronze at 70 kg, Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

Michael Peters, Quincy, Ill. (2019 Bronze at 70 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Tyson Beauperthuy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2023 Bronze at 90 kg, Constanta, Romania)

Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2024 Bronze at Over 90 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Women

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich.(2024 Gold at Over 70 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2023 Gold at Over 70 kg, Mugla, Turkey)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2023 Gold at Over 70 kg, Constanta, Romania)

Laura White, Duanesburg, N.Y. (2022 Bronze at 50 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Kristal Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (2019 Silver at 50 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Diana Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (2019 Silver at 70 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Mariah Anderson, Houston, Texas (2024 Silver at 59 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)