American Freestyle Wrestlers Dominate Pan-American Championships

Team USA claimed 7 out of 10 gold medals at the 2025 Pan-American Wrestling Championships, which concluded Sunday in Monterrey, Mexico.

Interestingly, the Americans didn’t send their strongest possible lineup. Only Zahid Valencia (86 kg) and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg) could be considered top-tier members of the U.S. national team. Valencia recently stunned the wrestling world by defeating four-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist Kyle Dake at the U.S. Open. Hendrickson also made headlines after overpowering Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson at the NCAA Championships.

Both stars cruised through the Pan-Ams — winning all matches by technical superiority and not conceding a single point. They were joined on the top step of the podium by teammates Jax Forrest (65 kg), Ladarion Lockett (74 kg), Evan Wick (79 kg), Trent Hidlay (92 kg), and Justin Rademacher (97 kg).

The two remaining gold medals went to Mexico:

• Roman Bravo-Young (57 kg)

• Austin Gomez (70 kg)

Both athletes live and train in the United States but now represent Mexico — their ancestral homeland — and were part of Mexico’s team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Argentina’s Agustin Destribats, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian who trains in Dagestan, claimed the remaining gold in the 65 kg weight class.

In the team standings, the U.S. dominated with 230 points (7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze).
Canada followed with 144 points (0 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze), and host Mexico finished third with 139 points (2 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze).