MONTERREY, MEXICO — Canadian wrestlers captured an impressive 14 medals at the 2025 Senior Pan-American (Pan-Am) Championships, May 8-11 in Monterrey, Mexico. The team, which consisted of 20 members, competing in women’s wrestling and men’s freestyle, won three gold, five silver and six bronze.
Women’s Results
The three gold medals all came in women’s wrestling from Surrey, British Columbia’s Ana and Karla Godinez Gonzalez and Montreal’s Laurence Beauregard.
Ana Godinez Gonzalez, who trains out of Burnaby Mountain WC, was in a round robin with five other competitors at 62kg. She began her competition with an 11-0 win over Melanie Jimenez of Mexico. Next, she dispatched Leonela Gruezo of Ecuador 10-0. That advanced her to the semifinal where she met American Savannah Cosme. Godinez Gonzalez had another strong showing winning by fall to punch her ticket to the finals. In the finals, she matched up with Astrid Montero of Venezuela, where she earned another fall to claim the gold.
As for Karla Godinez Gonzalez, she won her medal at 55kg. She was in a round robin with three other competitors. The Burnaby Mountain WC member opened the event with a 10-0 win over Andrea Avelino of Mexico. She continued to dominate in her second-round match, picking up an 11-0 win over Geisa Raphael of Brazil. In the final, she faced American Louisa Schwab, who had also beaten the other two competitors in the weight class. Godinez Gonzalez finished the tournament without conceding a point winning the gold 10-0.
“It has been a while since I wrestled internationally and just in general,” said Ana Godinez Gonzalez, when asked about winning her third senior Pan-Am Championship. “It felt great to just get back on the mats. Winning on the same day as Karla was also great, I knew she would win!”
“Winning this Pan-Am Championship felt good,” added Karla Godinez Gonzalez. “I felt that I did what I had been working on, so I am proud of that. I am also so happy for Ana. She had a tight match in the finals, and I got a little nervous. I get more nervous watching her than competing myself, so when she won, I was so happy because it meant we had both won gold.”
Beauregard, from the Montreal Wrestling Club, has found success at the senior Pan-Ams in the past. She entered the event with three gold medals (2019, 2022 and 2024) on her resume. She competed in the 59kg weight class which featured three competitors battling in a round robin format. Beauregard earned a 6-3 win in her opening match against American Abigail Nette. In her second match, she faced Alma Valencia of Mexico and won by superiority 12-1. With that, she earned her fourth gold medal at the competition.
“It feels really great to win a fourth Pan-Am Championship,” said Beauregard. “This is always a fun tournament to compete at, there are lots of challenges and it shows what things I need to work on in the next couple of weeks before nationals. I feel like this sets up the rest of my season on a good note and I want to keep it rolling.”
Canada also added a trio of silver medals from Komoka, Ontario’s Madi Parks at 50kg, Ajax, Ontario’s Nyla Burgess at 72kg and Calgary’s Miki Rowbottom at 65kg.
Other women’s results included: St. Catharines, Ontario’s Mia Friesen who finished fifth at 57kg, St. Catharines’ Vanessa Keefe who was sixth at 68kg, Stoney Creek, Ontario’s Serena Di Benedetto finishing fifth at 53kg and Edmonton’s Vianne Rouleau finishing eighth at 76kg.
The Canadian women also finished second overall in the team competition.
Men’s Results
On the men’s side, Canada came away with two silver medals and six bronze medals.
The two silver medals were won by Saskatoon’s Andrew Johnson, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario’s Richard DesChatelets. For Johnson, from Saskatoon Wrestling Club, he was in a round robin at 92kg with four other competitors. He dropped his first match to American Trent Hidlay, who would go on to be perfect in the round robin and win the gold. Johnson won his second match 10-2 over Edwin Morales of Puerto Rico. Then, he defeated Miguel Lavielle of Mexico 10-0. He picked up a forfeit win in his final match against Panama’s Eduardo Vega, meaning he finished the round robin at 3-1 to claim the silver.
“This feels great!” said Johnson after his medal win. “This is my first senior Pan-Am medal, and I am glad to be taking home some hardware. I’ve got the Nationals up next at the end of the month in Edmonton and I am hoping to put on another good show!”
The other silver for Canada came at 125kg where DesChatelets, Brock Wrestling Club, was in a traditional bracket. He opened with an 11-0 win over Mexico’s Rizieri Chavez in the quarterfinal. He then defeated Gino Avila of Honduras in the semifinal to earn a spot in the gold medal match. However, he would be stopped by American Wyatt Hendrickson, who defeated DesChatelets by fall for the gold.
The six bronze medals went to: St. Catharines, Ontario’s Garette Saunders at 61kg; Komoka, Ontario’s Adam Thomson at 74kg; Anmore, British Columbia’s Peiman Biabani at 65kg; Burnaby, British Columbia’s Jacob Alexander Torres at 70kg; Abbotsford, British Columbia’s Jasmit Phulka at 79kg; and Abbotsford’s Nishan Randhawa at 97kg.
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta’s Tara Goring finished fifth 86kg; Longueil, Quebec’s Chris Merlo finished ninth at 57kg.
The Canadian men also finished second overall in the team competition.
For complete results visit the official tournament page: UWW Event Hub.
About Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL)
Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is the national sport governing body for Olympic style wrestling in Canada. Among its responsibilities, the association selects and prepares Canada’s teams that participate in international competitions including Continental Championships, World Championships and major multi-sport Games (i.e. Olympic Games). WCL works with provincial and territorial partners to deliver world-class programs and services to athletes, coaches, and officials to achieve podium success and grow the sport.
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