Munaretto Wins Second U17 Gold Medal - Men's Freestyle Team Beat Iran for Team Title

It came down to the finals matches on Sunday to determine a team winner in men’s freestyle at the U17 World Championships. Coming into the final session, the American team held a one-point lead over Iran. The United States and Iran had a head-to-head gold medal matchup at 45 kg in a bout that appeared as if it may decide the team race. 

That proved to be the case as Sammy Sanchez (USA) had an incredible comeback to run down Amirabbas Ramezanibaza (Iran). The opening period belonged to the Iranian as he secured a takedown and then transitioned into a leg lace, all while Sanchez was on the shot clock. Once that sequence was finished, Sanchez trailed 5-0 which is how the first period would end.

Undeterred, the second period would be all Sanchez. Early in the final period, Ramezanibaza took an errant shot that was blocked by Sanchez, who spun for a takedown to get on the board. Along the way, the Iranian was called for a caution after a singlet pull, making the match, 5-3 in favor of Ramezanibaza. 

Sanchez quickly took the lead with a single leg and a dump that netted him a pair of two-pointers. During the same action, Sanchez kept Ramezanibaza’s arm for another exposure to flip the script and lead, 9-5. 

The California native was able to prevent Ramezanibaza from scoring from a pair of different front headlock situations during the final :30-plus seconds of the bout to win a U17 world championship. 

Sanchez wasn’t the only American who left Amann, Jordan with gold on Sunday - fellow lightweight Dom Munaretto also struck gold. Munaretto was tasked with facing Faith Christian’s Freddy Bachmann, who was wrestling for Puerto Rico. 

A shot clock point for Bachmann after Munaretto was put on the clock accounted for the only scoring in the opening period. Munaretto got his own shot clock point in the second period to take the lead on criteria. With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Bachmann went for a desperation throw which Munaretto stopped and earned a takedown himself. It made the final score 3-1. 

Munaretto is now a two-time U17 world champion - he won the 45 kg weight class in 2022. He is the fourth American in men’s freestyle to win multiple U17 world championships, joining Kurt McHenry (2016/17), Yianni Diakomihalis (2015/16), and Gable Steveson (2015/16). 

Speaking of Diakomihalis, his younger brother, Elijah earned a bronze medal at 92 kg. The younger Diakomihalis posted an 8-3 win over Aliaksei Khadunou (AIN - Belarus). 

Saturday afternoon saw the United States capture their other gold medal in men’s freestyle as Michael Mocco dominated his way to the 110 kg title. Shortly after the opening whistle, Mocco notched a takedown from a low-leg attack and transitioned into a leg lace for a quick 10-0 tech fall in only :18 seconds on Kyrgyzstan’s Yedige Kassimbek. Mocco outscored his four opponents by a 47-6 margin throughout the tournament. 

Henry Aslikyan (48 kg) and Keanu Dillard (55 kg) were the other medalists for the men’s freestyle squad. The Americans had three gold medalists, three bronze medalists, and three others who fell in bronze medal matches. 

The US women’s freestyle team was led by the 61 kg representative Taina Fernandez who crushed the field on the way to a gold medal. Fernandez pinned three out of her four opponents on her way to a world title. In the gold medal match, she put away Japan’s Sae Noguchi via fall in 3:22. Fernandez’s only non-fall of the tournament was in the opening round when she teched Ozdenur Ozmez (Turkiye) 11-0 shortly after the second period commenced. 

The only other American woman who medaled was Morgan Turner who was a bronze medalist at 46 kg. It was the second consecutive U17 world medal for Turner - last year she was a gold medalist at 43 kg in Istanbul.