After more than a year away from the mats due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Quebec athletes returned to action at the 2021 Pan American Championships held in Guatemala City, Guatemala held from May 27th to the 30th. Members of the Montreal Wrestling Club and Concordia University were Quebec’s representatives as Jayd Davis (53 kg), Virginie Gascon (55 kg), Linda Morais (59 kg) and Alexia Sherland (68 kg) wrestled in the Women’s division while Vincent De Marinis (70 kg), Sam Barmish (79 kg), Jeremy Poirier (92 kg) and Aly Barghout (125 kg) would compete in the Freestyle Men’s division.

Day 1

The first day of competition for our Quebec athletes would begin on the second day of the tournament with Virginie Gascon, Linda Morais and Amanda Savard wrestling in the Women’s division. The results would be as follows:

Virginie Gascon (55 kg)

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Match 1: Virginie Gascon vs. Anny Guillermina Ramirez Perez (DOM) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 2: Virginie Gascon vs. Jacarra Gwenisha Winchester (USA) Loss by Fall (5-0)

Match 3: Virginie Gascon vs. Dafne Palacios Loyola (CHI) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 4: Virginie Gascon vs. Neidy Lizeth Vasquez (GUA) Victory by Superiority (11-0)

Final Result: Silver Medal

Linda Morais (59 kg)

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Match 1: Linda Morais vs. Maya Gabriella Nelson (USA) Loss by Points (5-5)

Match 2: Linda Morais vs. Karoline Silva De Santana (BRA) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Final Result: Silver Medal

Amanda Savard (65 kg)

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Match 1: Amanda Savard vs. Silvia Esperanza Gonzales (GUA) Victory by Points (4-3)

Match 2: Amanda Savard vs. Diana Luisa Victoria Cruz Arroyo (PER) Loss by Points (3-2)

Match 3: Amanda Savard vs. Jennifer Page Rogers Page (USA) Loss by Superiority (11-0)

Match 4: Amanda Savard vs. Diana Luisa Victoria Cruz Arroyo (PER) Victory by Points (2-1)

Final Result: Bronze Medal

Day 2

The second day of competition for our Quebec athletes finished off the Women’s Wrestling and started with Men’s Freestyle. Jayd Davis, Alexia Sherland, Sam Barmish and Jeremy Poirier would be in action and the results were be as follows:

Jayd Davis (53 kg)

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Match 1: Jayd Davis vs. Anna Marie Heaton (USA) Loss by Fall (6-4)

Match 2: Jayd Davis vs. Yineth Catalina Romero Guataquira (COL) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 3: Jayd Davis vs. Luisa Elizabeth Valverde Melendres (ECU) Loss by Fall (8-0)

Final Result: DNP

Alexia Sherland Savard (68 kg)

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Match 1: Alexia Sherland vs. Tamyra Mariama Stock Mensah (USA) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Match 2: Alexia Sherland vs. Grabriela Pedro Da Rocha (BRA) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Final Result: 5th Place

Sam Barmish (79 kg)

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Match 1: Sam Barmish vs. Thomas Gantt Jr. (USA) Loss by Superiority (11-1)

Match 2: Sam Barmish vs. David Elias Choc Huoc (GUA) Victory by Points (11-6)

Match 3: Sam Barmish vs. Nestor Joaquin Tafur Barrios (COL) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Match 4: Sam Barmish vs. Jorge Ivan Llano (ARG) Victory by Points (6-0)

Final Result: Bronze Medal

Jeremy Poirier (92 kg)

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Match 1: Jeremy Poirier vs. Eric Abdiel Ramos Mojica (PAN) Victory by Forfeit (0-0)

Match 2: Jeremy Poirier vs. Gilberto Segundo Ayala Rodriguez (VEN) Victory by Injury Forfeit (0-0)

Match 3: Jeremy Poirier vs. Angel Asuncion Bautista Lopez (MEX) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 4: Jeremy Poirier vs. Nathan Dyamin Jackson (USA) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Final Result: Silver Medal

Day 3

The final day of competition would feature Vincent De Marinis and Aly Barghout. The results were be as follows:

Vincent De Marinis (70 kg)

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Match 1: Vincent De Marinis vs. Sixto Miguel Auccapina Pedragas (PER) Victory by Points (7-5)

Match 2: Vincent De Marinis vs. Alec William Pantaleo (USA) Loss by Superiority (11-0)

Match 3: Vincent De Marinis vs. Joao Victor Dos Santos Silva (BRA) Victory by Fall (4-0)

Final Result: Bronze Medal

Aly Barghout (125 kg)

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Match 1: Aly Barghout vs. Santiago Restrepo Hernandez (COL) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 2: Aly Barghout vs. Christian Rafael Chajon Garcia (GUA) Victory by Superiority (10-0)

Match 3: Aly Barghout vs. Gable Dan Stevenson (USA) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Match 4: Aly Barghout vs. Catriel Pehuen Muriel (ARG) Victory by Fall (4-0)

Match 5: Aly Barghout vs. Gable Dan Stevenson (USA) Loss by Superiority (10-0)

Final Result: Silver Medal

After a long and tough year for many people, it was good to see some wrestling and to see our Quebec athletes return to competition in such strong manner. With our Quebec athletes taking a slew of medals, Canada secured second place behind the United States in the Team Competition. Despite this lull, it’s my hope that the rest of province will be able to return to training soon and that our other athletes can hit the ground running like our athletes did at the Pan American Championships.

A little technique

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Virgine Gascon

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Sam Barmish celebrates his Bronze Medal win

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Jayd Davis

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