GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Freshmen Shane Griffith and Real Woods helped lead the United States to a first-place finish at the Junior Pan American Freestyle Championships, Friday, in Guatemala City.
Griffith teched his way to a gold medal finish at 79kg. He posted identical 10-0 wins over Peru's Brisd Jahz Rojas in the quarterfinals and Mexico's Miguel Reynoso in the semifinals. In the finals, Griffith notched a 12-1 technical fall against Canada's Carson Lee.
Woods was the runner-up at 65kg for the United States with a 4-1 record. He opened the tournament with a 12-2 technical fall against Mexico's Francisco Torres. In the quarterfinals, he shut out Canada's Jacob Alexander, 10-0. Woods posted another technical fall in the semifinals, 12-1, over Ecuador's Oscar Calvopina. In the finals, he dropped a 6-4 decision to Cuba's Cristian Solenzal Lopez, who also won a Greco title this week.
The men's freestyle team won eight gold medals to complete the sweep for the U.S., which also won the Greco and women's team titles in Guatemala City. The Red, White and Blue dominated the competition, finishing 32-2 in the tournament for 240 points. Canada was second with 120 points and Mexico took third at 113.