It was a successful outing for Penn State and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club affiliates at the U23 Pan American Championships as Luke Lilledahl, Levi Haines, and Connor Mirasola all received gold medals at their respective weight classes on Saturday, April 12, in Queretaro, Mexico.
In a total of 10 matches, the Nittany Lions outscored their opponents 62-0 with two pins and six technical falls to help the United States win the men’s freestyle team race, beating Canada by 73 points.
How It Happened
57 kg: Luke Lilledahl
Two-time age-group world champion Luke Lilledahl earned his fourth career Pan American Championships gold medal, going 4-0. Lilledahl outscored his opponents 31-0, with three technical falls and a medical default victory in the finals.
Lilledahl defeated Ricardo Pena Valencia of Mexico in the qualification round in the first period by a score of 10-0, good enough for his first technical fall victory of the tournament. In the quarterfinals, Lilledahl continued his momentum against Danaury Rivalta Bernaldez of Cuba. The Nittany Lion only needed seven seconds in the second period to get his second technical fall and win 11-0. Lilledahl won his semifinal matchup against Jose Falcon Reyes of Venezuela by way of a 10-0 technical fall, propelling the Nittany Lion into the finals. Canada’s Treye Trotman couldn’t wrestle Lilledahl in the finals and was forced to injury default, leaving the Nittany Lion with his fourth career Pan American Championships gold medal at just 20 years old.
79 kg: Levi Haines
Levi Haines dismantled his opponents in the Pan American Championships, pinning two of his opponents and tech falling another one.
In his first matchup, Haines pinned Josue Camargo Molina of Colombia in a blazing 28 seconds. In his quarterfinal match, the Nittany Lion continued to thrive as he pinned Jackson Deen Glasgow of Canada in just over a minute in the first period. Haines defeated Josue Alvarez Sintuj of Guatemala by injury default, landing him in the finals against Alan Vera Gomez of Mexico. Haines went on to defeat Gomez 11-0 in just 2:18 of the first period.
92 kg: Connor Mirasola
Although Mirasola didn’t start for the Penn State wrestling team this season, he had an impressive performance at the Pan American Championships, outscoring his two opponents by a combined score of 20-0 and securing two technical falls.
In his first matchup, Mirasola defeated Joseph De Maio of Canada by way of a 10-0 technical fall in under a minute. His second match was nearly identical as he took down Miguel Lavielle Ramirez of Mexico with a 10-0 technical fall at 1:23 of the first period.
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