U17 Greco-Roman team finishes with four golds, three silver, three bronze for team title at Pan-American championships

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The U.S. U17 Greco-Roman team saw all 10 athletes earn medals during the first day of the U17 Pan American Championships. Four athletes secured gold medals, three won silver medals and three earned bronze medals.
Leading the way at the U17 Pan American Championships were gold medalists Henry Aslikyan (45 kg), Lincoln Sledzianowski (48 kg), Vince Bouzakis (71 kg) and Nicholas Sahakian (110 kg).
“The team overcame a lot of aspects in this tournament. The heat, the altitude, long day, ling sits in traffic, the kids overcame a lot to perform well!” said Coach Westley Bockert.
Aslikyan, a gold medalist at the 2022 U15 Pan-American Championships, swept his way through the bracket at 45 kg, only allowing a single point in the final match while winning all four matches by technical fall.
At 48 kg, Sledzianowski, another gold medalist at the 2022 U15 Pan-American Championships, bested his three opponents by two technical falls and one fall in the semifinal match. In his first and third matches, Sledzianowski did not allow his opponents to score a point.
“Lincoln had an especially tough semifinals match, he was losing at the period and came back, showing a lot of that overcome mentality,” said Bockert.
Bouzakis earned a gold medal at 71 kg, defeating his first opponent by fall at 2:28 in the first period. The next three matches would see Bouzakis capturing the win by technical fall.
Nicholas Sahakian, competing at 110 kg, claimed a gold medal at the Pan-American Championships with three technical falls no more than 61 seconds into each match.
“Nick had a really good tournament, he made everyone look much younger than him,” added Bockert.
Silver medalists included Elijah Cortez (55 kg), Adam Waters (80 kg) and Aiden Cooley (92 kg). Cortez battled through the bracket, winning his first two matches to face Mexico’s Rodrigo Aguirre in the final match. Waters, the U17 National Greco-Roman champion at 80 kg, reached the finals after not allowing his opponents to score a single point through the first three rounds. At 92 kg, Aiden Cooley secured a silver medal by winning his first two matches, then falling in a close 1-0 match to Mexico’s Dorian Olguin.
The three athletes that earned bronze medals were Czar Quintanilla (51 kg), Sam Herring (60 kg) and Gabriel Bouyssou (65 kg). Quintanilla was victorious in his first two group matches, falling in the semifinals. He battled back to capture a bronze medal with a 7-6 decision over Colombia’s Simon Castaneda. Herring, the U17 National Greco-Roman champion at 60 kg, claimed a bronze medal storming back following a loss in the semifinals. Bouyssou won his first match of the tournament but fell short in the semifinals, mounting a solid effort to claim a bronze medal.
“I saw a lot of things we worked on in camp come out in our matches. I was proud of each of our kids that lost, they all came back and won their bronze medal matches. They mad the necessary adjustments to win that medal. I am excited to see their futures,” stated Coach Cheney.
The U.S. topped the team rankings by earning 10 medals and 205 team points, narrowly defeating second-place host Mexico with 194 points. Peru came in third place with nine medals and 103 points.
“It was fun to have the girls team come cheer for a while, in the midst of them making weight, and practicing they still stopped by and cheered, it makes the world a little more home when teams come together that way,” added Danny Struck.
The competition in Mexico City continues at 10 a.m. MT on Friday with women’s freestyle. The event can be followed at UWW Arena.
Greco-Roman Results
Team Standings
1st – United States, 205
2nd – Mexico, 194
3rd – Peru, 103
4th – Colombia, 94
5th – Ecuador, 85
6th – Puerto Rico, 75
7th – Brazil, 66
8th – Guatemala, 40
9th – Dominican Republic, 26
10th – Chile, 21
11th – El Salvador, 12
45 kg
Gold – Henry Aslikyan (United States)
Silver – Frederick Bachmann Jr. (Puerto Rico)
Bronze – Ronald Garcia (Ecuador)
48 kg
Gold – Lincoln Sledzianowski (United States)
Silver – Pedro Rodrigues Brazil)
Bronze – Daniel Salinas (Mexico)
51 kg
Gold – Moises Gonzalez (Ecuador)
Silver – Jose Vasquez (Mexico)
Bronze – Czar Quintanilla (United States)
55 kg
Gold – Rodrigo Aguirre (Mexico)
Silver – Elijah Cortez (United States)
Bronze – Cristian Guerra (Dominican Republic)
60 kg
Gold – Clisman Veliz (Ecuador)
Silver – Ivan Montijo (Mexico)
Bronze – Augusto Valle (Chile)
Bronze – Sam Herring (United States)
65 kg
Gold – Nelson Gonzalez (Mexico)
Silver – Joao Macedo (Peru)
Bronze – Gabriel Bouyssou (United States)
Bronze – Lucas Da Silva (Brazil)
71 kg
Gold – Vince Bouzakis (United States)
Silver – Marcopolo Rodriguez (Mexico)
Bronze – Victor Rivera (Puerto Rico)
80 kg
Gold – Alejandro Cruz (Colombia)
Silver – Adam Waters (United States)
Bronze – Mauro Dominguez (Mexico)
92 kg
Gold – Dorian Olguin (Mexico)
Silver – Aiden Cooley (United States)
Bronze – Kevin Sanchez (Colombia)
110 kg
Gold – Nicholas Sahakian (United States)
Silver – Abraham Canul (Mexico)
Bronze – Gustavo Constantino (Brazil)
U.S. Greco-Roman Results
45 kg – Henry Aslikyan (United States), Gold
WIN Luis Fuentes (Mexico), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Christopher Gutierrez (Guatemala), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Ronald Garcia (Ecuador), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Frederick Bachmann Jr. (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 10-1
48 kg – Lincoln Sledzianowski (United States), Gold
WIN Andre Lopez (Peru), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Pedro Rodrigues (Brazil), fall 2:41
WIN Daniel Salinas (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0
51 kg – Czar Quintanilla (United States), Bronze
WIN Renzo Arce (Peru), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Simon Castaneda (Colombia), tech. fall, 9-0
LOSS Moises Gonzalez (Ecuador), tech. fall, 12-4
WIN Simon Castaneda (Colombia), dec., 7-6
55 kg – Elijah Cortez (United States), Silver
WIN Cristian Guerra (Dominican Republic), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Percyvall Zazzali (Peru), tech. fall, 8-0
LOSS Rodrigo Aguirre (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0
60 kg – Sam Herring (United States), Bronze
WIN Benjamin Gutierrez (El Salvador), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Yandro Rivera (Puerto Rico), dec., 6-5
LOSS Clisman Veliz (Ecuador), tech. fall, 17-9
WIN Pedro Torres (Peru), tech. fall, 9-0
65 kg – Gabriel Bouyssou (United States), Bronze
WIN Rafael Morales (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 8-0
LOSS Nelson Gonzalez (Mexico), fall, 3:47
WIN Bagner Belteton (Guatemala), tech. fall, 10-0
71 kg – Vince Bouzakis (United States), Gold
WIN William Chuquillanqui (Peru), fall, 2:28
WIN Victor Rivera (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Pablo Avendano (Colombia), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Marcopolo Rodriguez (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0
80 kg – Adam Waters (United States), Silver
WIN John Corea (Guatemala), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Bryan Flores (Peru), fall, 1:15
WIN Mauro Dominquez (Mexico), tech. fall, 11-0
LOSS Alejandro Cruz (Colombia), dec. 5-2
92 kg – Aiden Cooley (United States), Silver
WIN Kevin Sanchez (Colombia), tech. fall, 14-4
WIN Kenyiro Huaman (Peru), fall, 0:35
LOSS Dorian Olguin (Mexico), dec. 1-0
110 kg – Nicholas Sahakian (United States), Gold
WIN Miguel Diaz (Peru), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Abraham Canul (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Gustavo Constantino (Brazil), tech. fall, 9-0