UNI wrestling: Wyatt Voelker wins U20 Pan American title

SANTIAGO, Chile --- UNI rising sophomore Wyatt Voelker posted a perfect 4-0 record on Thursday en route to his first U20 Pan American Greco-Roman title in the 87-kilogram weight class.

The 2023 U20 U.S. Open and U.S. World Team Trials champion opened up the five-man field at 87-kilograms with back-to-back shutout victories by superiority (VSU), beginning with an 8-0 win over Dieter Von Helms Valenzuela (Chile). He followed his first round win with a 9-0 VSU over Brazil's Max Franca Magalhaes De Almeida.

After yielding his first points of the competition to Carlos Salazar Gomez (Mexico), Voelker quickly stormed back and secured a victory by fall (VFA) with one minute, 38 seconds remaining in the match. Voelker closed out his impressive day on the mat with an 8-3 win over Brian Ruiz Marin (Venezuela) to secure gold for the United States.

A Manchester, Iowa native, Voelker went 14-4 in his first collegiate season with the Panthers, clinching tournament titles at Grand View, Iowa State and UNI, as well as a title as an unattached wrestler at the Soldier Salute. Rattling off a 13-match win streak to begin his UNI career, he made his collegiate debut against No. 19 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State), finishing the year with two pins and three wins by major decision.

Voelker returns to the international stage next month at the U20 World Championships in Warsaw, Poland, August 14-20.

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