Sebastian Rivera (born 27 August 1998) is a Stateside Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler who competes internationally at 65 kilograms.[1] In 2022, he claimed silver at the Pan American Championships, and gold at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and the Grand Prix of Spain.[2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sebastian Rivera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  United States Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 August 1998 Toms River, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 65 kg (143 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Rutgers Scarlet Knights Northwestern Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Rutgers Athletic Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Scott Goodale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World finals |  (2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career edit
Raised in New Jersey, Rivera started wrestling at a young age, winning prestigious tournaments in high school such as Super 32 and the New Jersey state championship as a senior out of Christian Brothers Academy.[3] Entering Northwestern University in 2016, Rivera became a two-time All-American (2018 and 2019) and a two-time Big Ten Conference champion (2019 and 2020), but was not able to compete at the 2020 NCAA championships as they were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic (granting him a new year of eligibility).[4]
Transferring to Rutgers University as a graduate student, Rivera claimed All-American honors once again in March 2021.[5] Afterwards, he started representing Puerto Rico in freestyle competition, competing at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament (22nd), Pan American Championships (5th), World Championships (7th) and Puerto Rican Nationals (1st).[6][7][8][9] Back to folkstyle season, Rivera once again became an All-American in 2022, concluding his career as a college athlete.[3]
In May 2022, Rivera claimed a silver medal at the Pan American Championships after making the finals.[10] In June and July respectively, he became the prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series champion and the Grand Prix of Spain champion.[11][12] He lost his bronze medal match in the 65 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[13]
Major results edit
| Year | Tournament | Location | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, United States
|
7th | Freestyle 57 kg |
| 2017 | Dave Schultz Memorial International | Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
|
9th | Freestyle 57 kg |
| 2021 | World Olympic Qualifier |  Sofia, Bulgaria
|
21st | Freestyle 65 kg |
| Pan American Championships |  Guatemala City, Guatemala
|
5th | Freestyle 65 kg | |
| World Championships |  Oslo, Norway
|
7th | Freestyle 65 kg | |
| 2022 | Pan American Championships |  Acapulco, Mexico
|
2nd | Freestyle 65 kg |
| Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series |  Rome, Italy
|
1st | Freestyle 65 kg | |
| Grand Prix of Spain |  Madrid, Spain
|
1st | Freestyle 65 kg | |
| World Championships |  Belgrade, Serbia
|
5th | Freestyle 65 kg |
References edit
- ^ "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ VOCERO, Giovanny Vega, EL. "Puerto Rico lleva siete atletas al Gran Premio de lucha olímpica en España". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved July 19, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Sebastian Rivera – Wrestling". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Sebastian Rivera". Northwestern Wildcats.
- ^ "Meet the 2021 NCAA college wrestling All-Americans | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Rivera Readies for World OG Qualifier". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Rivera Places at 2021 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ Vesper, Erik (October 4, 2021). "Rutgers' Rivera Concludes Run at World Championships". On the Banks. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Rivera Earns Silver at 2022 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Importante oro en la lucha olímpica en el torneo Matteo Pellicone en Italia". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ VOCERO, Giovanny Vega, EL. "La escuadra boricua de lucha olímpica se une a un campamento internacional en España". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved July 20, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.