By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling

CASABLANCA, Morocco – Two-time World champion Eliana Bommarito won a gold medal at Over 70 kg in the women’s division, and Jabari Irons won a silver medal in the men’s 90 kg division on Sunday at the Beach World Series Casablanca. This is the third stop of the five-event UWW Beach World Series in 2025. 

In the finals, Bommarito scored a dominant 3-0 decision over Stefania Zacheila of Greece. Bommarito scored a takedown on a headlock to lead 1-0. She hit an ankle pick for a second takedown and a 2-0 lead. She finished the win with a counter hip toss for the deciding third point. It was Bommarito’s second win over Zacheila in the event, with a 3-0 win in Group competition. 

In the semifinals, Bommarito won a dominant 3-0 match over Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna of Ukraine, scoring three straight points, one-point at a time in only 53 seconds to advance to the finals. 

Bommarito clinched first in Group A on Saturday with a 2-0 record, and did not compete on Sunday morning.   

Bommarito is one of the greatest Beach wrestlers in world history. She has now won seven career Beach World Series individual gold medals. In 2023, she won two gold medals, and in 2024, Bommarito claimed four gold medals. So far in the three 2025 World Series events, she has a gold medal and two bronze medals, and leads the World Series standings at her weight class. 

Irons dropped a 3-0 decision in the finals to Amirhossein Kavousi of Iran. Kavousi scored the first point on a shot that led to a step out, 1-0. Kavousi earned a single leg takedown to extend the lead to 2-0. Kavousi countered an Irons attack with a step out to score his third point. 

Irons won his first four matches of the competition. In the semifinals, Irons defeated Oleksii Yakovchuk of Ukraine, 4-2. Yakovchuk took Irons down first for a 1-0 lead. Yakovchuk grabbed a high single and drove Irons out of the ring for a 2-0 lead.  Yakovchuk scored a point on Irons hitting his elbow on a throw, which the USA challenged and won, giving Irons a point and a 2-1 score. Irons took down Yakovchuk to tie the match at 2-2. Irons snapped Yakovchuk to the sand for a point and a 3-2 win, but Ukraine challenged and lost, giving Irons the 4-2 win. 

On Sunday morning, Irons won Group C with an injury default victory over Dato Piruzashvili of Georgia, finishing 3-0 in Group competition, and advanced to the semifinals. 

Irons, a 2022 U.S. Beach Nationals champion, won his first career Beach World Series medal. Since the Beach World Series was created in 2019, nine U.S. men have won an individual Beach World Series event medal. 

Two U.S. athletes placed fourth after losing in bronze-medal bouts, Kyle Ferriter in men’s Over 90 kg and Olivia Pizano in women’s 70 kg. 

Ferriter, a 2024 Beach World Series bronze medalist, was defeated in the bronze-medal match by Oleksandr Veresiuk of Ukraine, 3-0. Veresiuk scored first with a takedown and a 1-0 lead. Veresiuk added a step out point for a 2-0 lead. Ferriter injured his leg and was knocked to the sand for the final point of the match. Veresiuk also defeated Ferriter 1-0 during Saturday’s Group competition. 

In the semifinals, Ferriter lost to Syeedamirreza Sahraeimahali of Iran, 3-0. Sahraeimahali scored first after converting a high single, 1-0. He scored a takedown on a hip toss to extend the lead to 2-0. Sahraeimahali snapped Ferriter to the sand for the third point. 

Ferriter finished his Group C competition on Sunday morning with a clutch 3-0 victory over Joel Obae Tukai of Kenya, placing him second in Group competition with a 2-1 record. His six classification points were better than the other two Group runners-up, allowing him a chance to advance to the semifinals. It was the third straight Beach World Series event this year in which Ferriter was a semifinalist. 

Ferriter has competed in all three Beach World Series events this year, and finished fourth in all three competitions. 

Pizano lost to Olena Nikitinska of Ukraine by pin in 1:19 in the bronze-medal bout. Nikitinska took Pizano out of bounds for three points, which the USA challenged and was denied. It was a rematch of a Group bout between the two, also won by Nikitinska. 

In the semifinals, Pizano was defeated by Simitra Androutsou of Greece, 1-0. Pizano was put on the shot clock with 1:30 left in the match and failed to score in 30 seconds, giving Androutsou a 1-0 lead. She was unable to score in the final 30 seconds. 

Pizano won her Sunday morning match against Faith Nanjala Wamalwa of Kenya, 2-1. It gave her a 1-1 record to place second in Group A, advancing her to the semifinal round. Pizano won the 2025 U.S. Beach Nationals. 

The USA placed fourth in the team standings in both the men’s division and the women’s division. Ukraine won the women’s team standings and Iran claimed the men’s team standings. 

BEACH WORLD SERIES CASABLANCA

At Casablanca, Morocco, September 6

Women’s results 

50 kg

Gold – Sabah Kaneb (Morocco)

Silver - Alevtyna Liashenko (Ukraine)

Bronze - Claudia Cabrera (Argentina),

Alevtyna Liashenko (Ukraine) pin Claudia Cabrera (Argentina), pin, 1:28

Sabah Kaneb (Morocco) pin Alevtyna Liashenko (Ukraine), 1:23

Sabah Kaneb (Morocco) pin Claudia Cabrera (Argentina), 1:12 

60 kg

Gold –Anastasiya Kravchenko (Ukraine)

Silver - Oksana Moskalova (Ukraine)

Bronze – Nogona Bakayok (Ivory Coast)

4th - Sofiia Kushnir (Ukraine), 0:34

5th - Mihaela Ciric (Slovenia)

6th - Zineb Hassoune (Morocco)

7th - Kavelishimwe Abraham (Namibia)

8th - Ivyone Masibo (Kenya)

Gold –Anastasiya Kravchenko (Ukraine) dec. Oksana Moskalova (Ukraine), 2-0, 3:00

Bronze – Nogona Bakayok (Ivory Coast) pin Sofiia Kushnir (Ukraine), 0:34 

70 kg

Gold – Dimitra Androutsou (Greece)

Silver - Saadia Et Tammar (Morocco)

Bronze –Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine)

4th - Olivia Pizano (USA)

5th - Sara Trbulin (Slovenia)

6th - Faith Nanjala Wamalwa (Kenya)

Gold – Dimitra Androutsou (Greece) dec. Saadia Et Tammar (Morocco), 1-0, 3:00

Bronze –Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine) pin Olivia Pizano (USA), 1:19 

Over 70 kg

Gold – Eliana Bommarito (USA)

Silver - Stefania Zacheila (Greece)

Bronze – Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine)

4th - Liudmyla Pavlovets (Ukraine)

5th - Erin Kremer (USA)

6th - Amy Youin (Ivory Coast)

7th - Hafsa Ech Chabki (Morocco)

Gold – Eliana Bommarito (USA) dec. Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 3-0, 0:41

Bronze – Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine) dec. Liudmyla Pavlovets (Ukraine), 3-0, 2:13 

U.S. Women’s Results 

70 kg: Olivia Pizano, Bethlehem, Pa., 4th place

LOSS Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine), pin, 0:14

WIN Faith Nanjala Wamalwa (Kenya), 2-1, 3:00

LOSS Simitra Androutsou (Greece), 1-0, 3:00

LOSS Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine), pin, 1:19 

+70 kg: Elianna Bommarito, Brighton, Mich., gold medal

WIN Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 3-0, 0:59

WIN Amy Youin (Ivory Coast), pin, 1:52

WIN Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine), 3-0, 0:53

WIN Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 3-0, 0:41 

+70 kg: Erin Kremer, Covington, Ore., 5th place

WIN Hafsa Ech Chabki (Morocco), 3-0, 0:39

LOSS Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine), 3-1, 0:53

LOSS Iryna Pasichnyk (Ukraine), pin, 0:19 

Team Standings

1. Ukraine, 75

2. Morocco, 62

3. Greece, 45

4. United States, 37

5. Ivory Coast, 24

6. Slovenia, 20

7. Argentina, 15

8. Kenya, 15

9. Namibia, 8 

Men’s results

70 kg

Gold – Aliakbar Zaroudi (Iran)

Silver - Ivan Semenov (Ukraine)

Bronze – Levon Kelekhsashvili (Georgia)

4th - Quentin Sticker (France)

5th - Guy Lago (Ivory Coast)

6th - Konstantin Topshinoev (UWW)

7th - Gus Johnson (USA)

8th - Davit Partenadze (Georgia)

9th - Bryan Coll (USA)

10th - Ahmed Khadurah (Liberia)

Gold – Aliakbar Zaroudi (Iran) dec. Ivan Semenov (Ukraine), 3-0, 2:57

Bronze – Levon Kelekhsashvili (Georgia) pin Quentin Sticker (France), 1:13 

80 kg

Gold – Ali Gholami (Iran)

Silver - Christos Christoforidis (Greece),

Bronze – Vasul Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

4th - Hugo Cuenot (France)

5th - Mathayo Mahabila (Kenya)

6th - Nika Kentchadze (Georgia)

7th - Pavel Shishlakov (UWW)

8th - Miljan Rajic (Serbia)

9th - Mohamed El Mekkaoui (Morocco)

10th - Aian Ool Ondar (UWW)

Gold – Ali Gholami (Iran) dec. Christos Christoforidis (Greece), 4-1, 2:21

Bronze – Vasul Aliyev (Azerbaijan) dec. Hugo Cuenot (France), 3-0, 0:48 

90 kg

Gold –Amirhossein Kavousi (Iran)

Silver - Jabari Irons (USA)

Bronze – Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine)

4th - Dato Piruzashvili (Georgia)

5th - Sofiane Boubaker (France)

6th - Ibrahim Yusubov (Azerbaijan)

7th - Mathis Mayrand (France)

8th - Michail Akritidis (Greece)

9th - Jacob Bumgardner (USA)

10th - Omer Ozyildirim (Turkiye)

Gold –Amirhossein Kavousi (Iran) dec. Jabari Irons (USA), 3-0, 1:08

Bronze – Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine) inj. dft. Dato Piruzashvili (Georgia) 

Over 90 kg

Gold - Syeedamirreza Sahraeimahali (Iran)

Silver - Iurri Ivanov (UWW)

Bronze – Oleksandr Veresiuk (Ukraine)

4th - Kyle Ferriter (USA)

5th - Fatih Yasarli (Turkiye)

6th - Mamuka Kordzaia (Georgia)

7th - Vazha Daiauri (Ukraine)

8th - Rafail Gkirnis (Greece)

9th - Walid Cheikh Lahlou (Morocco)

10th - Joel Obae Tukai (Kenya)

Gold - Syeedamirreza Sahraeimahali (Iran) dec. Iurri Ivanov (UWW), 1-1, 3:00

Bronze – Oleksandr Veresiuk (Ukraine) dec. Kyle Ferriter (USA), 3-0, 2:01 

U.S. Men’s Results

70 kg: Bryan Coll, Bayville, N.Y., 9th place

LOSS Levan Kelekhsashvili (Georgia), pin, 1:35

WIN Saad Marire (Morocco), 3-0, 0:35

LOSS Guy Lago (Ivory Coast), 3-0, 1:06 

70 kg: Gus Johnson, Portland, Ore., 7th place

WIN Taha M Alajnaf (Liberia), 3-0, 1:13

WIN Ahmed Tariq Mohamed Khadurah (Liberia), 3-2, 1:19

LOSS Aliakbar Mohammad Bagher Zaroudi (Iran), pin, 0:28

LOSS Ivan Semenov (Ukraine), pin, 1:51 

90 kg: Jacob Bumgardner, Bremen, Ga., 9th place

LOSS Sofiane Yoan Ben Boubaker (France), 3-0, 0:48

LOSS Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine), 3-0, 0:53

WIN Omer Ozyildirim (Turkey), 3-2, 1:09 

90 kg: Jabari Irons, Fort Meyers, Fla., silver medal  

WIN Mustapha Selloum (Morocco), pin, 1:46

WIN Mathis Mayrand (France), 3-1, 0:30

WIN Dato Piruzashvili (Georgia), injury

WIN Oleksii Yakovchuk (Ukraine), 4-2, 1:36

LOSS Amirhossein Kavousi (Iran), 3-0, 1:08 

+90 kg: Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo., 4th place

LOSS Oleksandr Veresiuk (Ukraine), 1-0, 3:00

WIN Joel Obae Tukai (Kenya), 3-0, 0:24

WIN Walid Cheikh Lahlou (Morocco), pin, 1:04

LOSS Syeedamirreza Sahraeimahali (Iran), 3-0, 1:29

LOSS Oleksandr Veresiuk (Ukraine), 3-0, 2:01

Team standings

1. Iran, 100

2. Ukraine, 50

3. Georgia, 45

4. United States, 40

5. France, 34

6. Greece, 32

7. Azerbaijan, 24

8. Turkiye, 12

9. Kenya, 12

10. Ivory Coast, 10

(of 16 nations) 

UWW Senior Beach World Series Medals from the USA

(Beach World Series held 2019-present)

Men

Justin Benjamin, St. Charles, Ill. (2024 Gold at 70 kg, Acapulco, Mexico)

Tim Box, Oceanside, Calif. (2019 Silver at 70 kg, Odessa, Ukraine)

Daniel Cardenas, Arvada, Colo (2024 Silver at 80 kg, Timisoara, Romania)

Justin Benjamin, St. Charles, Ill. (2025 Silver at 70 kg, Monterrey, Mexico)

Jabari Irons, Fort Meyers, Fla., (2024 Silver at 90 kg, Casablanca, Morocco)

Reece Humphrey, Princeton, N.J. (2019 Bronze at 70 kg, Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

Michael Peters, Quincy, Ill. (2019 Bronze at 70 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Tyson Beauperthuy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2023 Bronze at 90 kg, Constanta, Romania)

Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2024 Bronze at Over 90 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Nikolas Stemmet, Yorkville, Ill. (2024 Bronze at Over 90 kg, Timisoara, Romania)

Women

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2023 Gold at Over 70 kg, Mugla, Turkey)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2023 Gold at Over 70 kg, Constanta, Romania)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich.(2024 Gold at Over 70 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton Mich. (2024 Gold at Over 70 kg, Timisoara, Romania)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2024 Gold at Over 70 kg, Katerini-Pierria, Greece)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2024 Gold at Over 70 kg, Porec, Croatia)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2025 Gold at Over 70 kg, Casablanca, Morocco)

Kristal Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (2019 Silver at 50 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Diana Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (2019 Silver at 70 kg, Zagreb, Croatia)

Mariah Anderson, Houston, Texas (2024 Silver at 50 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2025 Bronze at Over 70 kg, Monterrey, Mexico)

Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich. (2025 Bronze at Over 70 kg, Porec, Croatia)

Laura White, Duanesburg, N.Y. (2022 Bronze at 50 kg, Saint Laurent du Var, France)