Phipps Captures Gold Medal at U23 Pan American Championships
6/24/2024 9:38:00 AM | Wrestling
RIONEGRO, Colombia – Bucknell wrestling's Kurt Phipps captured the 61 kg gold medal at the U23 Pan American Championships in freestyle wrestling Saturday evening. Phipps, who was representing the United States, defeated Will Betancourt of Puerto Rico in the finals to finish off a 3-0 day at the Coliseo Iván Ramiro Córdoba. The U.S. took gold in nine of the 10 weight classes.
Phipps advanced to the semifinals following a forfeit by Kevin Carrasco Arteaga (Panama) and then defeated Juan Lavat Cortez (Mexico) with a victory by fall. In the finals, Phipps held Betancourt scoreless while securing a 7-0 VPO to secure the gold medal.
Phipps previously defeated Betancourt when he was a member of the Ohio State roster in 2022 at the Purple Raider Open, winning by an 11-4 decision.
Team USA had a combined 31-2 record for the first-ever U23 Pan American Championships, with 25 of the victories being bonus point wins. The U.S. finished with 245 points to capture the tournament team title, coming in 106 points ahead of runner-up Canada. Puerto Rico finished third. 15 nations in total scored points at the tournament.
A native of Irwin, Pa., Phipps was selected to the U.S. team after finishing runner-up at the U23 Men's Freestyle Nationals and being named an All-American earlier in June. The Bison senior went 5-2 at the national tournament, which was hosted in Geneva, Ohio.
Phipps posted a 28-7 record during the 2023-24 collegiate season and was among the final 12 133-pound wrestlers left standing at the NCAA Championships. He reached the tournament's blood round, finishing one win shy of NCAA All-American honors while going 3-2 on wrestling's biggest stage. Phipps is a two-time NCAA qualifier and three-time EIWA placewinner, taking fourth place at the conference tournament last March.
Scoring Key
VFA: Fall
VPO: Win by points without the opponent scoring (ex. 6-0)
VPO1: Win by points with the opponent scoring (ex. 5-1)
VSU: Superiority (Win by at least 10 points without the opponent scoring, i.e. a technical fall)
VSU1: Superiority (Win by at least 10 points win the opponent scoring, i.e. a technical fall)
VIN: Injury default
Players Mentioned
