Three Virginia Natives Medal at U17 Pan-American Championships
Over the weekend, while most of the attention from the Virginia wrestling world was on the Junior Duals and Girls National Duals, there was a trio of Virginia natives outside of the country making an impact. Carter Shin, Adrian Canales, and Cruz Little all participated in the U17 Pan-American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All three came back with hardware of some differing shades, as well.
On the first day of competition, Chantilly’s two-time state champion, Shin, came away with a gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 51 kg weight class. Shin made it to the finals with a fall in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 tech in the semifinals.
In the gold medal match, Shin used a version of an arm throw for four points, followed by a pair of gut wrenches to make short work of Venezuela’s Luigeth Antunez Rivas. Shin wrapped up a tech in only :38 seconds for the gold medal and the honor of running around the mat carrying the Stars and Stripes.
Two days later, Shin competed in the freestyle tournament but did not place. Coincidentally, it was another Virginia native who claimed the gold at 51 kg - Cruz Little, who was wrestling for the Puerto Rican team. Little had little trouble with his first two opponents, winning each via 10-0 tech. In the semifinals, Little faced Jorge Rios, the opponent who defeated Shin earlier in the tournament. The pair exchanged takedowns before Rios went ahead 4-3 after a pair of points for exposure followed by a Little reversal. A lost challenge by Rios’ corner made the score 4-4 heading into the break.
In the second period, a takedown followed by a failed arm spin attempt from Rios gave Little the 8-4 advantage. Rios ended up tying the bout at eight; however, a pair of takedowns from Little in the final ten seconds gave him the 12-8 win and the gold medal.
Canales came away with a bronze medal at 60 kg in freestyle while representing El Salvador. Canales had a 10-0 tech in the quarterfinals, which set up a semifinal contest against the top rising sophomore in the nation Freddy Bachmann (who was wrestling for Puerto Rico). After a 10-0 loss to Bachmann, Canales dropped into a bronze medal matchup against Venezuela’s Haniel Rodriguez Nolaya.
Leading 1-0 after one period in his bronze medal match, Canales was propelled by three second-period takedowns in an 8-2 victory for the bronze medal.
Congratulations to these Virginia wrestlers for their success on the international stage.