By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

CORALVILLE, Iowa – It was a breakthrough performance for Team USA’s Cohlton Schultz, who was the Colorado and National winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2019, on Thursday evening at Xtream Arena. The four-time Senior World Team member outlasted Cuban great Oscar Pino Hinds on criteria in the final day one bout at the 2026 Senior Pan American Championships.

The 130 kg final ended 1-1, with Schultz holding the criteria advantage. Schultz, a four-time Senior World Team member, scored the first point from passivity after a minute of pummeling in period one. Pino Hinds, a four-time Senior World medalist, did the same in period two. Both men came close to posting a score from top but couldn’t find home. Schultz earned criteria by scoring the first point in the 1-1 contest.

Also taking out a tough Cuban in the gold medal round was 87 kg champion Beka Melelashvili, who earned an 8-6 decision over 2024 Olympian and defending champion Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria. Melelashvili defeated Gregorich Hechavarria twice on the day—a 1-1 decision in pool play before the higher-paced final. Both men are past U23 World medalists and Senior World Team members for their respective nations.

Earning style points with mammoth-sized throws in the championship finals were Kamal Bey at 82 kg and Joel Adams at 77 kg. In his only match of the day, Bey solidified a 9-1 technical fall against Mexico’s Diego Macias Torres courtesy of a body lock toss. Similarly, Adams exploded from the top position with consecutive four- and five-point lifts in a 10-1 win over Oscar Barrios Rochez of Honduras.

Rounding out the list of U.S. champions were Max Nowry at 55 kg and Landon Drury at 63 kg. Both men ran through round robin brackets unscathed to claim gold.

Two-time age-group World medalist Otto Black put forth a valiant effort against Cuba’s Olympic champion Luis Orta Sanchez in the 67 kg finals. Down 4-0 in the second period, Black earned top position and converted a gutwrench to tighten the match to 4-3. He gave up a step out in the waning moments while increasing his output in search of the winning score.

Two-time World Team member Dalton Roberts was the lone American to miss the podium on day one in Coralville. He dropped his opener to Yerony Liria Carreras of Dominican Republic 3-1 and was not pulled into repechage.

For a complete match-by-match breakdown of every Team USA match from Thursday, browse our day one match notes.

Wrestling fans in the U.S. market can watch the 2026 Senior Pan American Championships live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com. Complete brackets and match-by-match results are available on UWW Arena.

The tournament continues on Friday with Greco-Roman group two (72-97 kg) and women’s freestyle group one (50-55-57-62-68-72 kg), with the action starting at 10 a.m. (CT). Entered for the U.S. are Benji Peak and Timothy Young in Greco-Roman, plus Katie Gomez, Everest Leydecker, Amanda Martinez, Adaugo Nwachuwku, Jasmine Robinson and Precious Wieser in women’s freestyle.

Stay tuned to TheMat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the Senior Pan American Championships.

2026 Senior Pan American Championships 

May 7, Coralville, Iowa 

Reference Links 

• Event Hub

• Event Tickets

• Live Stream

• Brackets and Results

Greco-Roman Results 

Team Rankings | Day One 

1. United States, 176

2. Mexico, 93

3. Cuba, 90

4. Brazil, 82

5. Ecuador, 57

6. Peru, 41

7. Venezuela, 39

8. Dominican Republic, 37

9. Chile, 31

10. Puerto Rico, 27

Weight Class Rankings | Group One 

55 kg 

Gold – Max Nowry (United States)

Silver – Isaac Marin Mata (Mexico)

Bronze – Moises Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador)

4th – Yan Landim Ribeiro (Brazil)

Round robin bracket records: Nowry (3-0), Marin Mata (2-1), Peralta Gonzalez (1-2), Landim Ribeiro (0-3)

60 kg 

Gold – Kevin De Armas Rodriguezs (Cuba)

Silver – Clisman Carracedo Veliz (Ecuador)

Bronze – Pedro De Souza Rodrigues (Brazil)

Bronze – Yerony Liria Carreras (Dominican Republic)

5th – Carlos Herrera Barrios (Venezuela)

5th – Abel Sanchez Juarez (Peru)

7th – Alexis Rodriguez Hernandez (Mexico)

8th – Dalton Roberts (United States)

9th – Augusto Vargas Valle (Chile)

10th – Edrick Martinez Mateo (Puerto Rico)

Gold – Kevin De Armas Rodriguezs (Cuba) tech. fall Clisman Carracedo Veliz (Ecuador), 11-0 

Bronze – Pedro De Souza Rodrigues (Brazil) dec. Carlos Herrera Barrios (Venezuela), 5-3

Bronze – Yerony Liria Carreras (Dominican Republic) tech. fall Abel Sanchez Juarez (Peru), 10-1

63 kg 

Gold – Landon Drury (United States)

Silver – Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador)

Bronze – Angel Segura Tellez (Mexico)

4th – Marat Garipov (Brazil)

5th – Derick Martinez Mateo (Puerto Rico)

Round robin bracket records: Drury (4-0), Peralta Gonzalez (3-1), Segura Tellez (2-2), Garipov (1-3), Martinez Mateo (0-4)

67 kg 

Gold – Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba)

Silver – Otto Black (United States)

Bronze – Nilton Soto Garcia (Peru)

Bronze – Julian Horta Acevedo (Colombia)

5th – Irving Salazar Cabrera (Mexico)

5th – Jose Varela Garcia (Guatemala)

7th – Nestor Almanza Truyol (Chile)

8th – Yonaiker Martinez Cravo (Venezuela)

9th – Angelo Cafe De Oliveira (Brazil)

10th – Andres Montano Arroyo (Ecuador)

Gold – Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) dec. Otto Black (United States), 5-3

Bronze – Nilton Soto Garcia (Peru) dec. Irving Salazar Cabrera (Mexico), 5-5

Bronze – Julian Horta Acevedo (Colombia) tech. fall Jose Varela Garcia (Guatemala), 9-0

77 kg 

Gold – Joel Adams (United States)

Silver – Oscar Barrios Rochez (Honduras)

Bronze – Joilson De Brito Ramos Junior (Brazil)

Bronze – Eduardo Bernal Molina (Chile)

5th – David Choc Huoc (Guatemala)

5th – Justin Boyce (Barbados)

7th – Darfel Parada Camacaro (Venezuela)

8th – Dario Cubas Castillo (Peru)

9th – Diego Martinez De Leija (Mexico)

Gold – Joel Adams (United States) tech. fall Oscar Barrios Rochez (Honduras), 10-1

Bronze – Joilson De Brito Ramos Junior (Brazil) dec. David Choc Huoc (Guatemala), 3-1

Bronze – Eduardo Bernal Molina (Chile) tech. fall Justin Boyce (Barbados), 8-0

82 kg 

Gold – Kamal Bey (United States)

Silver – Diego Macias Torres (Mexico)

Gold – Kamal Bey (United States) tech. fall Diego Macias Torres (Mexico), 9-1

87 kg 

Gold – Beka Melelashvili (United States)

Silver – Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba)

Bronze – Luis Avendano Rojas (Venezuela)

4th – Johan Batista (Dominican Republic)

5th – Carlos Espinoza Castro (Peru)

6th – Andre Ramos Pinto (Brazil)

7th – Jose Vargas Rueda (Venezuela)

Gold – Beka Melelashvili (United States) dec. Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba), 8-6

Bronze – Luis Avendano Rojas (Venezuela) inj. def. Johan Batista (Dominican Republic)

130 kg 

Gold – Cohlton Schultz (United States)

Silver – Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba)

Bronze – Guilherme Evangelista Dias (Brazil)

Bronze – James Ford III (Puerto Rico)

5th – Tyrece Thompson (Jamaica)

5th – Jose Nunez Encarnacion (Dominican Republic)

7th – Luis Lopez Vazquez (Mexico)

8th – Gino Avila Dilbert (Honduras)

9th – Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile)

Gold – Cohlton Schultz (United States) dec. Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba), 1-1

Bronze – Guilherme Evangelista Dias (Brazil) fall Tyrece Thompson (Jamaica), 0:28

Bronze – James Ford III (Puerto Rico) fall Jose Nunez Encarnacion (Dominican Republic), 3:33

U.S. Greco-Roman Results | Group One 

55 kg – Max Nowry (Washington, Ill./New York AC), gold medal 

WIN Moises Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador), tech. fall, 10-1

WIN Yan Landim Ribeiro (Brazil), tech. fall, 8-0

WIN Isaac Marin Mata (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0

60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP), 8th place

LOSS Yerony Liria Carreras (Dominican Republic), 3-1

63 kg – Landon Drury (Colorado Springs, Colo./NMU-National Training Center), gold medal 

WIN Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (Ecuador), 9-3

WIN Marat Garipov (Brazil), tech. fall, 9-0

WIN Angel Segura Tellez (Mexico), 3-1

WIN Derick Martinez Mateo (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 8-0

67 kg – Otto Black (Marquette, Mich./New York AC), silver medal 

WIN Irving Salazar Cabrera (Mexico), tech. fall, 8-0

WIN Nilton Soto Garcia (Peru), tech. fall, 10-0

LOSS Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba), 5-3

77 kg – Joel Adams (Omaha, Neb./Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC), gold medal 

WIN Joilson De Brito Ramos Junior (Brazil), 5-2

WIN David Choc Huoc (Guatemala), 4-1

WIN Oscar Barrios Rochez (Honduras), tech. fall, 10-1

82 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP), gold medal 

WIN Diego Macias Torres (Mexico), tech. fall, 9-1

87 kg – Beka Melelashvili (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), gold medal 

WIN Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba), 1-1

WIN Jose Vargas Rueda (Mexico), tech. fall, 9-0

WIN Johan Batista (Dominican Republic), tech. fall, 11-2

WIN Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba), 8-6

130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Tempe, Ariz./Arizona/New York AC), gold medal 

WIN Guilherme Evangelista Dias (Brazil), tech. fall, 8-0

WIN Tyrece Thompson (Jamaica), tech. fall, 8-0

WIN Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba), 1-1