During the last couple of days in April, 1,640 miles away in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, history was made. Yandel Morales (Andover, MA) and Tyler Knox (St. John’s Prep, MA) two talented wrestlers far from their New England homes, made the Puerto Rican World Team.
Yandel Morales (left) and Tyler Knox (right) pose with their gold medals (Photo courtesy: Matt Smith)
The Puerto Rican Wrestling World Team Trials were held at the Coliseo Municipal Fernando Hernandez in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. The event was successful in part thanks to the president of the Puerto Rican Wrestling Federation, Obed Santana, and the support from the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee. Both Knox and Morales found facilities and coaching support from Franklin Lantigua and Arturo Yanes at Club Sparta in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Morales won gold at 51kg in the 17u division, while Knox won it all at 61kg in the 20u division; both only competed in freestyle. Since Knox and Morales did not compete in Puerto Rico’s national tournament back in December of 2022, they had a very tough path from the start. Both of them were placed in brackets with other wrestlers vying for gold, while the Puerto Rican national champions waited for the winners of each bracket
In the 51kg bracket, Morales’ first foe was Ricardo Sanchez; he won, 5-2. After a win there, he was up against Jeremey Santiago, the 2022 15u Pan-Am champion. In a close match, Morales prevailed, 7-4. Up next, he had to square off against Puerto Rico’s national champion, Edrick Martinez, in a best-of-three series. Morales had two very close matches with Martinez. The first was a razor-thin 5-3 match and the second, a not-as-close 14-4 victory. With those two wins, Morales found himself atop of the 51kg podium.
Tyler Knox, the Stanford commit and two-time NHSCA National Champion, weighed in at 61kg and wasn’t discouraged at all by what initially looked like a difficult path in the tournament, as he blanked his first two opponents, Gregory Mech and Ricardo Santos, outscoring both 10-0 with two technical falls. In the finals against the Puerto Rican national champion Rey Ortiz, Knox won the first match via a 10-0 technical superiority and the second another win via fall.
Both New England grapplers qualify to be on the Puerto Rican teams that will head to the Pan-American Championships. Morales and the 17u team travel to Mexico City, Mexico, where the tournament will take place June 22-24, while Knox and the 20u team will be headed to Santiago, Chile; their tourney will be from July 6-9.
If a wrestler wins the Pan-American Championship, they are highly considered to get a sponsor that can support a trip to the World Championships. Alternatively, they can supply the fund themselves or via community support.
Knox and Morales are both also eligible for next year’s senior team wrestle off at 65kg and 57kg. Winning this would qualify them for the 2024 senior Pan-American Championships and thus competing for two Olympic spots.
Both Morales and Knox train at Smitty’s Wrestling Barn in Kingston, New Hampshire.
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