Michaelson, Bommarito win silvers, Anderson a bronze at U20 Beach Worlds; USA women are second

KATERINI-PIERRIA, Greece – The United States won three medals, and the U.S. women’s team placed second as a team at the U20 Beach World Championships on Friday.

Claiming silver medals for Team USA were Lars Michaelson of Washington (men’s 90 kg) and Eliana Bommarito of Michigan (women’s Over 70 kg). Winning a bronze medal was Kaylee Anderson of Virginia (women’s 70 kg).

In the women’s team standings, the United States placed second with 49 points, behind champion Ukraine with 67 points. Serbia was third with 42 points. It was the second team trophy won by Team USA at this year’s age-group Beach Worlds, as the U17 women were the World Team champions.

The USA women have now won a team trophy at both the U17 and U20 levels for two straight years. In 2023, the USA women were in third place in both the U17 Beach Worlds and the U20 Beach Worlds.  

Lars Michaelson won his first four matches of the tournament, before dropping a 4-0 decision to Alexandru Bors of Moldova in the finals. He won Group B with a 3-0 record, stopping Dmytro Postovyi of Ukraine, Yurii Pyhulskyi of Ukraine and Shuichiro Sato of Japan. In the semifinals, he stopped Balazs Lorincz of Romania, 3-1.

It is the second age-group World medal for Lars Michaelson, who also won a 2022 U17 Beach World silver. He becomes the second Michaelson brother to win a U20 Beach World medal, as Thor Michaelson won a 2022 U20 Beach World bronze. Thor was sixth today at 80 kg in the U20 men’s tournament.

Bommarito secured a 3-1 record in her five-athlete round robin. Her only loss came in a 4-0 match against eventual champion Daria Konstantynova of Ukraine in her third match. None of her victories lasted 30 seconds, as she pinned Nadia Sokolovska of Ukraine in 14 seconds, then scored decisions over Styliani Skampardoni of Greece in 26 seconds and Masa Perovic of Serbia in 29 seconds.

She became the first U.S. wrestler to win two career U20 Beach World medals, as she was also a U20 Beach champion in 2023. Bommarito will be competing in the Beach World Series event on Saturday and Sunday. She was a 2023 Beach World champion, based upon points scored in the 2023 Beach World Series. She has also won four career Beach World Series event gold medals.

Anderson defeated U.S. teammate Sadie Evans in bronze medal match, 3-2. It was a rematch of a Group A bout earlier in the day, which was won by Evans, 3-2. The USA had all three of its entries at 70 kg in Group A, with Anderson, Evans and Piper Zatechka wrestling each other.  Evans won the pool, and was defeated by Emilija Jakovljevic of Serbia in the semifinals. Anderson was second in the pool, and fell to Luciana Beda of Moldova in the semifinals.

The USA had three athletes drop bronze-medal matches to finish fourth, Evans, plus Troy Shannon of North Carolina (men 80 kg) and Dominic Porter of Nevada (men Over 90 kg). Both Shannon and Evans placed second in their pool but were able to advance to the semifinals, where they each dropped matches.

The USA men placed fourth in the U20 team standings with 44 points, just missing out on a World trophy. Moldova won the team title with 75 points, with Ukraine in second with 54 points and Romania third with 50 points.

Competition continues on Saturday and Sunday with the Senior-level Beach World Series Katerini-Pierria. The USA will enter strong men’s and women’s teams at the event. The Beach World Series will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.

U17 BEACH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Katerini-Pierria, Greece, September 19-20

U17 Women’s Beach medalists

50 kg

Gold - Ngoc Linh Do (Vietnam)

Silver - Thi Nga Duong (Vietnam)

Bronze - Nicoleta Bajan (Romania)

60 kg

Gold - Halyna Oleksiivska (Ukraine)

Silver - Minori Asano (Japan)

Bronze - Albina Kliefas (Ukraine)

70 kg

Gold - Luciana Beda (Moldova)

Silver - Emilija Jakovljevic (Serbia)

Bronze - Kaylee Anderson (USA)

Over 70 kg

Gold - Daria Konstantynova (Ukraine)

Silver - Eliana Bommarito (USA)

Bronze - Nadiia Sokolovska (Ukraine)

U.S. U20 Women's Beach results

50 kg: Jayden Keller, Saint Catharine, Mo., 5^th place

Knockout – WIN Saria Poliakova (Ukraine), 3-0, 1:07

LOSS Thi Nga Duong (Vietnam), 3-2, 2:55

LOSS Evgenia Lamprou (Greece), 3-2, 2:36

WIN Risa Matsushima (Japan), pin 0:33

50 kg: Sarina Gunn, Woodbridge, Va., 10^th place  

Knockout – LOSS Thi Nga Duong (Vietnam), 3-0, 1:07

60 kg: Maura White, Jefferson, N.J., 9^th place

LOSS Albina Kliefas (Ukraine), 3-0, 1:42

WIN Sofia Perdiki (Greece), pin 0:23

LOSS Milica Seculovic (Serbia), pin 0:18

60 kg: Kennedie Snow, Havelock, N.C., 10^th place

LOSS Halyna Oleksiivska (Ukraine), 3-0, 0:49

LOSS Saki Yoshikawa (Japan), 3-1, 1:21

WIN Lydia Kanellopoulou (Greece), 3-0, 0:49

60 kg: Ciara Riner, Huntington, W.Va., 11^th place

LOSS Ana Maria Rotaru (Romania), 3-0, 2:16

LOSS Minori Asano (Japan), 3-0, 2:29

WIN Georgia Chasampalioti (Greece), 3-0, 0:39

70 kg: Piper Zatechka, Omaha, Neb., 6^th place

LOSS Sadie Evans (USA), pin 0:28

LOSS Kaylee Anderson (USA), 3-2, 0:49

70 kg: Kaylee Anderson, Berryville, Va., bronze medal

WIN Piper Zatechka (USA), 3-2, 0:49

LOSS Sadie Evans (USA), 3-2, 1:17

LOSS Luciana Beda (Moldova), 3-0, 0:50

WIN Sadie Evans (USA), 3-2, 1:29

70 kg: Sadie Evans, Belfair, Wash., 4^th place

WIN Piper Zatechka (USA), pin 0:28

WIN Kaylee Anderson (USA), 3-2, 1:17

LOSS Emilija Jakovljevic (Serbia), 3-0, 2:27

LOSS Kaylee Anderson (USA), 3-2, 1:29

+70 kg: Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich., silver medal

WIN Styliani Skampardoni (Greece), 3-0, 0:26

WIN Masa Perovic (Serbia), 3-0, 0:29

LOSS Daria Konstantynova (Ukraine), 4-0, 0:40

WIN Nadia Sokolovska (Ukraine), pin 0:14

Women’s U20 Team Standings

1. Ukraine, 67

2. United States, 49

3. Serbia, 42

4. Greece, 32

5. Romania, 27

6. Japan, 26

7. Moldova, 25

7. Vietnam, 25

9. France, 0

U17 Men’s Beach medalists

70 kg

Gold - Ion Berghi (Moldova)

Silver - Eduard Lenard (Romania)

Bronze - Daniel Sandu (Romania)

80 kg

Gold - Ion Marcu (Moldova)

Silver - Ion Laurentiu Marcu (Moldova)

Bronze - Gigi Marian Subtirica (Romania)

90 kg

Gold - Alexandru Bors (Moldova)

Silver - Lars Michaelson (USA)

Bronze - Balazs Lorincz (Romania)

Over 90 kg

Gold - Kostiantyn Zadoianchuk (Ukraine)

Silver - Rafail Gkirnis (Greece)

Bronze - Dmytro Ziletskyi (Ukraine)

U.S. U20 Men's Beach results

70 kg: David Coptsias, Fayetteville, N.C., 16^th place

LOSS Maksym Rudenko (Ukraine), 3-1, 1:29

LOSS Presiyan Dimitrov (Bulgaria), 3-0, 2:00

LOSS Ilias Karnavas (Greece), pin 2:21

70 kg: Kane Foley, New Bern, N.C., 13^th place

LOSS Daniel Sandu (Romania), 3-0, 1:06

LOSS Valileios Kesidis (Greece), pin 0:59

LOSS Ionut Triboii (Moldova), 3-2, 1:26

80 kg: Terrell McFarland, Pottsville, Pa., 8^th place

LOSS Ion Marcu (Moldova), 3-1, 1:31

LOSS Thor Michaelson (USA), 3-0, 1:51

WIN Matthew Araya (Japan), 3-0, 1:01

80 kg: Troy Shannon, Fayetteville, N.C., 4^th place

WIN Marat Kurbanov (Ukraine), pin 1:32

WIN Evangelos Papilias (Greece), 3-0, 1:31

LOSS Ion Laurentiu Marcu (Moldova), 3-0, 2:04

LOSS Ion Marcu (Moldova), 3-0, 2:21

LOSS Gigi Subtirica (Romania), pin 0:33

80 kg: Thor Michaelson, Bremerton, Wash., 6^th place

WIN Matthew Araya (Japan), 3-0, 1:03

WIN Terrell McFarland (USA), 3-0, 1:52

LOSS Ion Marcu (Moldova), 4-1, 2:55

90 kg: Lars Michaelson, Bremerton, Wash., silver medal

WIN Dmytro Postovyi (Ukraine), 4-1, 1:11

WIN Yurii Pyhulskyi (Ukraine), 3-1, 1:27

WIN Shuichiro Sato (Japan), 2-0, 3:00

WIN Balazs Lorincz (Romania), 3-1, 1:47

LOSS Alexandru Bors (Moldova), 4-0, 1:37

+90 kg: Dominic Porter, Carson City, Nev., 4^th place

WIN Areion Kolosentas (Greece), pin 1:25

LOSS Rafail Gkirnis (Greece), pin 0:05

LOSS Kostiantyn Zadoianchuk (Ukraine), 3-2, 1:49

LOSS Dymytro Ziletskyi (Ukraine), pin, 0:37

Men’s U20 Beach Standings

1. Moldova, 75

2. Ukraine, 54

3. Romania, 50

4. United States, 44

5. Greece, 40

6. Georgia, 16

7. France, 9

8. Japan, 6

9. Spain, 2

9. Serbia, 2

11. Bulgaria, 0

U20 Beach World Medals from the USA

(Age-Group World Championships held, 2019-present)

Women

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2023 U20 Gold at Over 70 kg)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2024 U20 Silver, Over 70 kg)

Kristal Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (2019 U20 Bronze at 50 kg)

Kaylee Anderson, Berryville, Va. (2024 U20 Bronze, 70 kg)

Men

Lars Michaelson, Bremerton, Wash. (2024 U20 Silver, 90 kg)

Thor Michaelson, Bremerton, Wash. (2022 U20 Bronze, 80 kg)

Senior Beach World Series Event Schedule

(local time is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone)

Saturday, September 21

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Group rounds (all weight divisions)

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. - Group rounds (all weight divisions)

Sunday, September 22

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Group rounds (all weight divisions)

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Elimination rounds and finals (all weight divisions)