LIMA, PERU • Cadence Diduch dominated the 65kg field on her way to the gold medal at the Pan-Am Championships. In four matches, Diduch did not concede any points, outscoring her opponents 36-0, enroute to three technical superiorities and one fall.
The Freeport native and current Iowa wrestler opened her Round Robin tournament with a 10-0 blanking of Chile’s Martina Godoy. In the second round Diduch received a Bye, and in the third round, she would get back to business, this time a second 10-0 technical superiority at the expense of Mackenzie Cayer of Canada.
Now in the semifinals, Diduch would face off against Mexico’s Valeria Perez, and after going up 6-0, Diduch ended the match with a fall. In the finals, Diduch would once again face Canada’s Mackenzie Cayer, and the result would be the same, another 10-0 technical superiority. Diduch would have her hand raised in the end, and she would stand atop the Pan-Am podium while she received her gold medal.
Diduch earned one of the six US golds, while the US also collected three more silvers and one bronze on their way to the team title.
• TC LIFONTI / LEAD WRITER FOR ILLINOIS MATMEN / tclifonti.com
