Batres denied chance to compete at U23 championships due to eligibility ruling
Batres, who is a senior at Greens Farms Academy in Westport, was set to take the mat to represent Guatemala. But she was ruled ineligible because there wasn’t another Guatemalan girl in the U23 tournament.
“I put in the work, was on weight and was at the scale this morning ready to represent Guatemala,” Batres wrote in an Instagram post. “Unfortunately, I won’t be competing at the U23 world championships due to an eligibility ruling.”
Since Batres is an American and is representing Guatemala, she is considered a transfer or naturalized wrestler by United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
UWW rules state that in 2026 a naturalized wrestler can compete provided that the country enter the same number of national wrestlers per style, per age category and per event.
Another Guatemalan woman scheduled to compete but her visa to enter the United States was not approved, according to Jack Conroy, head coach at South Side Wrestling Club and Greens Farms, who accompanied Batres to Las Vegas.