Oregon State wrestler wins gold at Senior Pan American Championships

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – West Linn native and Oregon State wrestler Justin Rademacher won gold for USA wrestling at the Senior Pan American Championships in the men’s freestyle 97 kg category. 

In the first round, the Oregon State sophomore took home an easy 11-0 win over Ricardo Baez (ARG). He received a second-round bye and won again in round three after a forfeit from Juan Iturriza (MEX). In the semis, Rademacher took a 10-0 victory over Nishan Randhawa (CAN) sending him to the finals.

A close battle ended in a 5-4 victory for the American over Arturo Silot of Cuba, a 2024 Olympian and 2023 Pan American Games silver medalist. 

This comes after Rademacher won the 2024 U20 World bronze medal and was a 2024 NCAA qualifier for the Beavers. He also competed on the United States U-20 Freestyle World Team at the 2024 US Open where he came second. 

OSU assistant coach Cory Crooks has been closely training him for competition both in college and on the international stage.

In the lead-up to the Senior Pan American Championships this year, Crooks commented on the event saying, “This is his first time being able to wrestle on the senior level outside of the States. He has really started to believe he can be the best in the world and has a great opportunity to go have fun and compete.” 

At West Linn High School, Rademacher was ranked 7th in the country and was a four-time All-American.

The United States finished the 2025 Senior Pan American Championships with 10 medals, including seven golds, two silvers and one bronze. USA also won the combined team title, for men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman.