Another year, another continental title for Team USA. And this one was earned on home soil, no less.
Last week in Coralville, Iowa, the US won the Pan-Am Championships for an eighth-straight year (and ninth in ten years). As is custom in this country, few have discussed, or will discuss, this continued run of success even though it is certainly worth noting for a program that is by and large neglected and relegated to afterthought status. But — now that enough time has passed, the greater emphasis is on the future and not on recently-created memories.
Nine of the ten USA Greco-Roman wrestlers on the Pan-Am Championships roster are members of this year’s World Team.
With the exception of Landon Drury at 63 kg (subbed in for Xavier Johnson), every USA competitor at the Pan-Ams holds the distinction of also being a member of the current World Team. As such, the tournament last week in Iowa served, essentially, as a baseline test drive for the World Championships roster. This, too, was an important aspect of the event, especially for those who did not have a lot of, or any, match time this season prior to Coralville. Max Nowry (55 kg, NYAC/IRTC), of course, had been inactive since ’22 leading up to the World Team Trials; neither Joel Adams (77 kg, Beaver Dam RTC) or Timothy Young (97 kg, Army/WCAP) had logged relevant matches before the Trials, either. It was only Melelashvili’s second appearance at 87 kg, as well. Although the vast majority of outcomes at the Pan-Ams were positive for the US, the tournament provided additional meaningful data for each athlete individually — as well as for the Team, collectively — upon which to build now that the actual training phase for the World Championships is on the cusp of fully commencing.
Pan-Am Championships golds for Team USA:
55 kg: Max Nowry (NYAC/IRTC)
63 kg: Landon Drury (NYAC/NTS)
72 kg: Benji Peak (NYAC/Position)
77 kg: Joel Adams (Beaver Dam RTC)
82 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP)
87 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC)
130 kg: Cohlton Schultz (Atreus WC)
The US also enjoyed two other medals as Otto Black (67 kg, NYAC) came away with silver and Young closed out with bronze. It was the first Senior Pan-Ams hardware for both gentlemen.
Weight-by-weight summaries
55 kg — Max Nowry — GOLD
The most dominant American wrestler in the tournament was Nowry. Peak and Bey likewise went undefeated in compressed brackets but with less matches. Peak had two and Bey only one while Nowry stepped onto the platform three times. Nowry defended a reverse-lift attempt from Moises Peralta Gonzalez (ECU) following a phantom passive by reaching his feet with said lift and gaining his own bodylock, from which he acquired a trapped-arm gut and soon ended matters. His next two affairs were VSU triumphs, as well. Nowry at 36 has thus far since his return expressed greater physical strength than before but with also a tinge more confident aggression. This was his 4th career Pan-Ams title and perhaps his cleanest showing in the event, as well.
Nowry (top, blue) was the most dominant USA athlete at the 2026 Pan-Am Championships as he collected his fourth career title from the event after returning to active competition last month at the World Team Trials. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)
60 kg — Dalton Roberts — 8th
When an athlete is not going to make excuses for a loss, maybe you shouldn’t, either. That said, Roberts — who was defeated in the quarterfinal round by Yerony Liria Carreras (DOM) — had four opponents, not one: Liria plus the three officials. “The Swarm” carried a mere 1-0 lead into the break. The echo from the whistle to start Period 2 was probably still audible when the mat ref began signaling for Roberts to pick his head up, which was an obvious precursor to justify an impending passive call. And just :28 into the second period, that call came. Liria could not do anything from top par terre, but what he did manage to accomplish was repeatedly Chinese-fingercuffing Roberts in the hand-fight through much of the period; yet, the officials opted to cite Roberts for passivity a second time, giving Liria another chance from top. The ensuing lift attempt resulted in correct throw points for Liria and, try as he might, Roberts was unable to break through with a score on the feet. Certainly not the type of outcome either Roberts or the US wanted from this event (and it also wasn’t the first time Roberts had been hosed at the Pan-Ams), but it should be observed only as an anomaly and forgotten about in due order. Yes, Roberts had his own chance to score and didn’t. And yes, this match was an aberration and shall fail to diminish the steam Roberts built up for himself at the Trials.
63 kg — Landon Drury — GOLD
Drury was fiercely controlling Jeremy Peralta Gonzalez (ECU) late in their opener when the latter oddly started to take a knee amid static. Drury then bumped Peralta hard twice to force a step-out, after which Peralta launched a literal uppercut that clipped Drury. The result? Not an automatic DQ (which it should have been) but instead a caution-and-two. No matter, Drury prevailed 9-3, went over US ally Marat Garipov (BRA) in the proceeding round, decisioned tough Angel Segura Tellez (MEX) after that, and tied a bow around his first Senior Pan-Ams title by starching Derick Martinez Mateo (PUR). Four matches for Drury in this event came on the heels of him having advanced to the WTT best-of-three two weeks ago. The super-promising prospect continues to impress and could become a formidable obstacle for his field at the U23 Worlds later this year. On another note, there was also a bit of sentimentality involved. Nowry, along with Joe Betterman, was one of Drury’s coaches three years ago, and so it was quite something that both of them emerged victorious at the same Senior international tournament.
67 kg — Otto Black — SILVER
Yet one more impressive outing from Black as he continues to refine the balance between kinetic scorer and patient defender. 67 kg was a conventional championship bracket and Black started off in the quarterfinal by dusting Irving Salazar Cabrera (MEX) before putting a similar thumping on Nilton Soto Garcia (PER) in the semis. Those are secondary details. The primary is how Black challenged ’20 Olympic/’23 World Champion Luis Orta Sanchez (CUB) in the gold-medal round. Orta raced out in front 4-0 following a step-out, passive point, and turn (a solid US challenge stopped the scoring from being 6-0 after an offensive leg foul was found to have been committed by Cuba). That Black was able to curtail Orta from getting the ball rolling from top PT was encouraging. That Black in the second period crash-gutted Orta for two was all the more so. The match was 4-3 as time became a factor and Black was seeking scoring windows but, to his credit, Orta did not fade. Rather, he caught an angle and swooped behind Black to force a step-out and took the match by a score of 5-3. Nevertheless, it was a very strong sample from Black, something that has become increasingly common from him over the past year.
72 kg: Benji Peak — GOLD
Gold indeed was, and should have been, the expectation for “Mr. Fantastic” for two reasons: 1) because Peak entered the event as clearly the most skilled in a compressed round-robin bracket; 2) a US athlete had won the 72 kg bracket at the Pan-Ams each year since the weight class debuted at the Pan-Ams (’18) except for ’24. Dating back further to when non-Olympic weights were first introduced in ’14, the US came away with gold at 71 kg in three out of those four years prior to the weight changing to 72. Peak’s tournament was a short one, of course. Two matches and that was that. He was given a bit of a test in Round 2 courtesy of Emerson Filipe Ordonez (HON), but it’s not as though the situation were in doubt.
77 kg: Joel Adams — GOLD
Arguably one of the most encouraging yet undercover showings from Team USA belonged to Adams. Although Cuba’s Yovsanys Pena Flores was absent from the bracket, 77 still presented a pair of formidable foes. Two guys who are experienced, tough, and know how to pester Americans. And, Adams faced both of them. In the quarterfinal, Adams got past Joilson De Brito Ramos (BRA), who has logged his share of moments at the expense of US personnel; in the semifinal, Adams took a nice gutsy decision over David Choc Huoc (GUA) 4-1. The final was a different deal, as Adams had little to no issue jolting Oscar Barrio Roches (HON) via VSU. This was an important first-step performance for Adams as he now begins focusing on the actual immersive nature of training for the Worlds. The US is going to have him locked-in on nothing but Greco, basically, for the next half-year. What that might add onto his considerable abilities and improve how he matches-up internationally could be fun to watch.
Ultra-athletic Joel Adams blasts Oscar Barrios Rochez (HON) in the 77 kg final at the 2026 Pan-Am Championships in Coralville, IA. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)
82 kg: Kamal Bey — GOLD
It could not get much better for Bey, who landed in Iowa as only one of two athletes in his bracket. He was like one half of a main event. The tournament did the right thing in that regard. They could have simply run the one 82 kg match at some point during the day and got it over with. Instead, they gave Bey and Diego Macias Torres (MEX) a primetime slot alongside the other finals. Macias Torres is a very solid competitor but he was outgunned, as was the anticipation. Bey did what he does to pocket a 9-1 VSU and in the process earned his third Pan-Am Championships gold.
87 kg: Beka Melelashvili — GOLD
Star of the show for Team USA. Melelashvili — fresh off of surviving a three-round battle against Payton Jacobson at the Trials — faced three opponents in this event through four matches. Yet, it was really only one opponent about whom most associated with the program even cared: two-time U23 World medalist Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (CUB). The pair faced off twice in Iowa. As far as the scoreboards were concerned, both matches were close. But in reality, Melelashvili was not in serious danger of losing either bout. Their first meeting, which occurred in Round 1 of pool play, Melelashvili prevailed via criteria 1-1. However, in one instance, he had countered a drag takedown attempt from Cuba and covered for an apparent two; but, what with it being the Pan-Ams and all, where the officiating is almost always absolutely horrid, the refs white-paddled the sequence. No matter, as, Gregorich (who is indeed a very fluid OTF competitor) was unable to threaten Melelashvili through the remainder. Two more lopsided wins later, the duo clashed in the 87 final.
Again, the scoreboard was deceiving. When it was all said and done, Melelashvili triumphed 8-6. What actually happened? Melelashvili had surged to a 7-0 first-period lead after three consecutive guts and was gunning for a fourth when Gregorich stepped over to grab exposure points. That made the margin 7-2. Late in Period 2, Gregorich was credited with four from a reverse-grip headlock — this despite Melelashvili obviously avoiding coming even remotely close to exposing and actually landing behind Gregorich and covering for what should (or could) have been two. Instead, the officials conferred and, somehow, decided to award Cuba four points to make the score 8-6 (with Melelashvili receiving a point for having reversed position). It was, in a sense, mind-numbing. In another, it was extremely encouraging. Two matches against a highly-skilled top-level foe, both of which included questionable calls, and Melelashvili still won both of them and looked like the better wrestler whilst doing so. The US went 3-1 versus Cuba in individual matches at the Pan-Ams and Beka was an enormous reason why.
97 kg: Timothy Young — BRONZE
Solid stuff from Young, who had only once previously suited up for a Senior international tournament. The continental events do not offer the same types of looks as European or Asian events do. The Pan-Ams style of Greco operates according to its own rhythm, has its own fusion (some of which is influenced by the disjointed officiating that plagues these competitions). Still, Young needs to compile feels against guys who are not from the United States and this was a step in that direction. He collected a nice, appropriate 7-2 nod over Pool Ambrocio Greifo (PER) due mainly to a pair of gutwrenches in Period 2, which is what you want to see from a 97. Young was then on the opposite side of that feeling in the semifinal after falling to ’23 World champ Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan (CUB). That was in its own way just fine, too. Rosillo has been a top 97 for over a half-decade, Young needs a little time to catch-up, and, just as importantly, he bounced back by recording another 7-2 decision, this time for 3rd place at the expense of Jhonny Arias Berdugo (COL). What Young requires is what he is about to receive: an immersive four-plus months worth of training that is augmented by more and more opportunities to test himself against foreigners. This performance was the catalyst for that process to begin.
130 kg: Cohlton Schultz — GOLD
Schultz became the first USA heavyweight since Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen) in ’19 to win a Pan-Am Championships gold — but that achievement was the secondary story. The big news was that Schultz defeated multi-time World medalist Oscar Pino Hinds (CUB) in the final to do it. Schultz had faced Pino Hines (who for roundabout 10 years served as four-time Olympic champ Mijain Lopez’s understudy) previously but went winless. That changed last week in Coralville as Schultz claimed top honors following a 1-1 criteria decision. The American had other wins besides Hinds. Schultz also downed Guilherme Evangelista Dias (BRA) and Tyrece Thompson (JAM), both via VSU. Still, the main item was the victory in the final, which gave him his first over the powerful Pino Hinds and the US’ third over Cuba.
What’s Next
World Championships training for the US has, by now, begun to unfold in earnest. This past weekend, those World Team members from 55 kg (Nowry) through 72 (Peak) jetted off to Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the wrestlers from 77 kg (Adams) all the way to 130 (Schultz) will train in Budapest. The split is strategic. Uzbekistan is an Asian country (along with hosting a top Greco program) and Asian nations typically boast dynamic, versatile lightweights. In addition, a significant number of the sport’s better lightweight competitors are Asian. Conversely, Hungary offers a stronger representation of how the style plays internationally, plus the majority of elite upper-weights tend to be European. This is all easy to comprehend, yet it is still as much of an innovative wrinkle in the training plan as it is a logical one.
Upon re-entry into the US, there will not be much in the way of downtime for the athletes. Beginning on June 13, camp will open at the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs featuring Georgia, Hungary, and Ukraine. That gathering will conclude on the 27th. Then come July, it will be back to Hungary for the final “Ranking Series” tournament of the year.
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