By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

CORALVILLE, Iowa – A near-flawless day for the U.S. women saw Katie Gomez (50 kg), Everest Leydecker (55 kg), Amanda Martinez (57 kg), Adaugo Nwachukwu (62 kg) and Precious Wieser (72 kg) each claim a gold medal at the 2026 Senior Pan American Championships.

Spotlight-worthy wins for Team USA in the Friday evening gold medal round at Xtream Arena came from Gomez, Martinez and Nwachukwu, all of whom are recent U.S. Open champions.

Gomez became the first U.S. woman to strike gold after edging six-time Pan American medalist Jacqueline Mollocana Eleno of Ecuador, 5-3. A timely second-period low single provided the spark for Gomez to take the win. It is Gomez’s second Senior Pan American medal and first gold.

Martinez capped a stellar tournament with a 6-1 win over two-time Olympian Luisa Valverde Melendres of Ecuador. Martinez kept solid positioning and was a timely aggressor throughout the final. She sealed the win with a counter takedown in the final minute. It is the third international medal for Martinez this year. She earned bronze at the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series events in February.

Nwachukwu exacted some revenge during her gold medal run with a pair of sound wins over two-time U20 World medalist Melanie Jimenez Villalba of Mexico—8-1 in the round robin prelims and 3-1 in the gold medal match. The two last wrestled in the quarterfinals of the 2023 U20 World Championships, with Jimenez Villalba winning, 9-7.

Going 2-0 in three-woman round-robin brackets were Leydecker, who is the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2026, and Wieser. Neither gave up a point to the opposition. Leydecker posted technical falls over Amber Wiebe of Canada and Josefina Ramirez Duarte of Mexico. Wieser notched a 43-second pin against Michelle Olea Ruiz of Mexico before ending Ellise Daynes of Canada, 10-0.

Three-time age-group World medalist Jasmine Robinson was edged by Nathali Griman Herrera of Venezuela on criteria, 6-6, in the 68 kg finals and collected a silver medal. It was an otherwise exceptional performance from Robinson, who won four preliminary matches by technical fall to make the finals.

For a complete match-by-match breakdown of every Team USA match from Friday, browse our day two 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 Saturday with women’s freestyle group two (53-59-65-76 kg) and men’s freestyle group one (61-74-86 kg), with the action starting at 10 a.m. (CT). Entered for the U.S. are Cristelle Rodriguez, Abigail Nette, Kayla Miracle and Kylie Welker in women’s freestyle, plus Austin DeSanto, Kannon Webster and Zahid Valencia in men’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 8, Coralville, Iowa 

Reference Links 

• Event Hub

• Event Tickets

• Live Stream

• Brackets and Results

Women’s Freestyle Results 

Team Rankings | Day One 

1. United States, 145

2. Mexico, 86

3. Canada, 72

4. Venezuela, 50

5. Brazil, 46

6. Ecuador, 40

7. Colombia, 32

8. Cuba, 21

9. Chile, 15

10. Peru, 14

Weight Class Rankings | Group One 

50 kg 

Gold – Katie Gomez (United States)

Silver – Jacqueline Mollocana Eleno (Ecuador)

Bronze – Thalia Oliveira De Freitas (Brazil)

Bronze – Madison Parks (Canada)

5th – Nohalis Loyo Jimenez (Venezuela)

5th – Nathaly Herrera Huacre (Peru)

7th – Mercedes Castillo Bernal (Mexico)

8th – Greili Bencosme Carvajal (Cuba)

9th – Dannia Figueroa Duque (Colombia)

Gold – Katie Gomez (United States) dec. Jacqueline Mollocana Eleno (Ecuador), 5-3 

Bronze – Thalia Oliveira De Freitas (Brazil) dec. Nohalis Loyo Jimenez (Venezuela), 7-6 

Bronze – Madison Parks (Canada) dec. Nathaly Herrera Huacre (Peru), 8-0 

55 kg 

Gold – Everest Leydecker (United States)

Silver – Josefina Ramirez Duarte (Mexico)

Bronze – Amber Wiebe (Canada)

Round robin bracket records: Leydecker (2-0), Ramirez Duarte (1-1), Wiebe (0-2)

57 kg 

Gold – Amanda Martinez (United States)

Silver – Luisa Valverde Melendres (Ecuador)

Bronze – Bertha Rojas Chavez (Mexico)

Bronze – Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia (Cuba)

5th – Yocleidy Ramirez Santana (Dominican Republic)

5th – Giullia Penalber (Brazil)

7th – Tatiana Hurtado Lerma (Colombia)

8th – Camila Amarilla (Argentina)

9th – Nadia Trujillano La Rosa (Peru)

10th – Karla Godinez Gonzalez (Canada)

Gold – Amanda Martinez (United States) dec. Luisa Valverde Melendres (Ecuador), 6-1

Bronze – Bertha Rojas Chavez (Mexico) dec. Yocleidy Ramirez Santana (Dominican Republic), 5-2 

Bronze – Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia (Cuba) dec. Giullia Penalber (Brazil), 4-0 

62 kg 

Gold – Adaugo Nwachukwu (United States)

Silver – Melanie Jimenez Villalba (Mexico)

Bronze – Astrid Montero Chirinos (Venezuela)

4th – Lais Nunes (Brazil)

5th – Annika Fines (Canada)

6th – Rebecca Williams (Barbados)

7th – Paula Montoya Garcia (Colombia)

Gold – Adaugo Nwachukwu (United States) dec. Melanie Jimenez Villalba (Mexico), 3-1

Bronze – Astrid Montero Chirinos (Venezuela) dec. Lais Nunes (Brazil), 2-1

68 kg 

Gold – Nathali Griman Herrera (Venezuela)

Silver – Jasmine Robinson (United States)

Bronze – Virginia Jimenez Fernandez (Chile)

4th – Maria Ceballos Cuenu (Colombia)

5th – Aleah Nickel (Canada)

6th – Eduarda Rodrigues Batista (Brazil)

7th – Ambar Garnica Flores (Mexico)

Gold – Nathali Griman Herrera (Venezuela) dec. Jasmine Robinson (United States), 6-6

Bronze – Virginia Jimenez Fernandez (Chile) dec. Maria Ceballos Cuenu (Colombia), 9-0 

72 kg 

Gold – Precious Wieser (United States)

Silver – Ellise Daynes (Canada)

Bronze – Michelle Olea Ruiz (Mexico)

Round robin bracket records: Wieser (2-0), Daynes (1-1), Olea Ruiz (0-2)

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Results | Group One 

50 kg – Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC), gold medal 

WIN Thalia Oliveira De Freitas (Brazil), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Nohalis Loyo Jimenez (Venezuela), 6-2

WIN Jacqueline Mollocana Eleno (Ecuador), 5-3

55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC), gold medal 

WIN Amber Wiebe (Canada), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Josefina Ramirez Duarte (Mexico), tech. fall, 11-0

57 kg – Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal 

WIN Yocleidy Ramirez Santana (Dominican Republic), fall, 2:51

WIN Bertha Rojas Chavez (Mexico), 10-5

WIN Luisa Valverde Melendres (Ecuador), 6-1

62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP), gold medal 

WIN Melanie Jimenez Villalba (Mexico), 8-1

WIN Rebecca Williams (Barbados), fall, 0:23

WIN Lais Nunes (Brazil), 9-0

WIN Melanie Jimenez Villalba (Mexico), 3-1

68 kg – Jasmine Robinson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP), silver medal 

WIN Eduarda Rodrigues Batista (Brazil), tech. fall, 11-1

WIN Aleah Nickel (Canada), tech. fall, 12-1

WIN Maria Ceballos Cuenu (Colombia), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Virginia Jimenez Fernandez (Chile), tech. fall 11-0

LOSS Nathali Griman Herrera (Venezuela), 6-6

72 kg – Precious Wieser (Maplewood, Minn./Titan Mercury WC), gold medal 

WIN Michelle Olea Ruiz (Mexico), fall, 0:43

WIN Ellise Daynes (Canada), tech. fall, 10-0