Pan American Championship: Team USA’s Alex Facundo Obliterates Mexican Rival to Clinch Gold

Team USA’s relentless pursuit of glory has paid off once again. After two incredible days on the mat at the 2024 Pan American Championships, the country’s wrestlers proved to have more steam in their engines yet again. Penn State’s Alex Facundo is the latest name to join the long list of medal winners at Acapulco, Mexico after a stunning victory over his opponent.

The first two days have been successful, to say the least for the American wrestlers at the Pan Am tournament. As expected Team USA maintained stellar form on the last day of the event and continued to rake in medals without too much deliberation. Only days ago, Facundo was spotted sparring with some of the country’s top wrestling names ahead of joining in on the action in Mexico. And it looks like his teammates had some helpful tips to share with the NLWC athlete.

Pan American Championship continues to bear gifts for the US

In a post by the official account of USA Wrestling on X, Facundo’s feat has been shed light upon with an emphatic announcement. “Facundo earns (gold emoji)  at the Pan-American Championships!“, reads the caption of the post. Facundo bagged a major 11-0 tech fall decision win over Mexican wrestler Jose Cano Lopez in the men’s 79kg weight class. 

With that, Facundo joined several of his national teammates in clinching another gold-hauling performance for the USA at the Pan American Championships. Facundo was in action on Mat B on the fourth and final day of the tournament and his massive win over the Mexcian on the latter’s home soil only confirmed that his earlier performances at the event weren’t freak incidents.

In the men’s 79kg round 1, Facundo took down Canada’s Jasmit Phulka with a breathtaking 10-0 tech fall win. If the morning indeed shows hints of the day, then Facundo’s podium finish was possibly confirmed right then. However, he wasn’t the only one to awe fans on the last day of the Pan Am Championships.

Team USA starting the Olympics journey emphatically

In the men’s 57kg weight class, Iowa Hawkeyes’ celebrity wrestler Spencer Lee took home the gold (while his arch-rival Nick Suriano did the same on Day 1 of the event in the 61kg weight bracket), making the nation proud. On the other hand, the men’s 70kg weight class saw Alec Pantaleo scooping up another gold thanks to an injury default. Nick Lee also managed another gold for Team USA owing his win to a similar scenario in the 65kg final match.

Read more: USA’s Kyle Dake Dominates Pan American Championships to Clinch Gold for the 4th Consecutive Time

The 2016 Olympics fold medalist Kyle Snyder also proved his worth yet again by winning the gold in the 97kg weight class after taking down Cuba’s Arturo Torres, and Michigan’s Mason Parris finished on top of the podium in the 125kg category. With that, Team USA wrapped up another successful Pan American Championship run.