U.S. Wrestlers Shine on Day One of Beach World Series Casablanca

CASABLANCA, Morocco – Two U.S. wrestlers were unbeaten on the first day of action at Beach World Series Casablanca on the sands of Ain Diab on Saturday.Securing 2-0 records in their Group competitions were Jabari Irons of Florida (men’s 90 kg) and Eliana Bommarito of Michigan (women’s Over 70 kg).

Irons, a 2022 U.S. Beach Nationals champion, was dominant in his two victories, scoring a pin over Mustapha Selloum of Morocco in 1:46 and securing a 3-1 win over Mathis Mayrand of France in Group A.Irons has one more Group match on sunday morning against Dato Piruzashvili of Georgia,which will determine if he will advance to Saturday afternoon’s semifinals.

Bommarito, a two-time Beach World champion and one of the most prosperous Beach wrestlers in history, won her three-athlete Group A with a pair of victories. She opened with a 3-0 win over talented Stefania Zacheila of Greece, the pinned Amy Youin of the Ivory Coast in 1:52. This clinches her a berth in Saturday’s semifinals against an opponent to be steadfast.

Bommarito has won six separate Beach World Series events since she started on the Beach circuit in 2023. So far this year, she has won a bronze medal at each of the first two World Series stops in Mexico and Croatia.

Securing a 2-1 record on day one was Gus Johnson of Oregon at men’s 70 kg. He was placed in a knockout match to earn his spot in the bracket, and defeated Taha M Alajnaf of Liberia, 3-0. He then was placed in Group A, where he had a 1-1 record so far. Included was a 3-2 win over Ahmed Tariq Mohamed Khadurah of Liberia and a loss to Aliakbar Mohammad Bagher Zaroudi of Iran. Johnson has one more Group A bout on Sunday morning against Ivan Semenov of Ukraine, and still has a chance to qualify for the semifinals.

U.S. wrestlers with 1-1 records in their Group competition were Brian Coll of New York (men’s 70 kg), Kyle Ferriter of Colorado (men’s Over 90 kg) and Erin Kremer of Oregon (women’s Over 70 kg).all three still have a chance to advance to the semifinals based upon the results of their Group bouts on sunday.