Nic Bouzakis Captures Pan-Am Gold

One of the most talented youngsters on the Ohio State wrestling roster captured a big piece of offseason hardware Saturday.

Competing in the freestyle category for Team USA, redshirt freshman Nic Bouzakis won the gold medal at the U20 Pan-Am Wrestling Championships at 61 kilograms, winning all his matches by at least 11 points.

He opened the event with a pin of Canada’s Blayne Helou, then posted 12-1 and 10-0 victories, respectively, to advance to the semifinals in the evening session.

Another 10-0 victory over Brazil’s Joao Da Silva advanced him to the championship match.

That bout turned out to also be an easy victory for Bouzakis, as he rolled through Peru’s Enrique Herrera by a 14-4 final to take the gold.

All told, that’s a 5-0 record with four tech falls and a pin to take the crown for Bouzakis.