Anthony Echemendia

Anthony Luis Echemendía Orduña (born September 10, 1999) is a Cuban freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms.[1] In his native Cuba, Echemendia was a two-time Senior National medalist, a U23 National champion and a five-time age-group National champion (two titles as a junior and three as a cadet).[2]

Anthony Echemendía
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Luis Echemendía Orduña
NationalityCuba Cuban
Born (1999-09-10) September 10, 1999
Cabaiguán, Cuba
Height5’6”1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight141 lb (64 kg)
Sport
CountryCuba
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle
Folkstyle
College teamIowa State Cyclones
Coached byKevin Dresser
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Cuba
Cuban National Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Camagüey 65 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Santiago de Cuba 65 kg

Early life and career in Cuba

Echemendía was born in Cabaigúan in Cuba. He started training gymnastics when he was 4 years old but ended up leaving the sport at the age of 8, following his father and brother's steps to start wrestling instead.[3] He attended and won his first Cadet National Tournament at the age of 12 in 2012 and won two more titles ('13 and '14) before bumping up to the junior division. Despite a runner–up finish at the '15 Junior Nationals, Echemendia racked up the '16 title and in 2017 he placed at the Senior Nationals, won a U23 National title and also claimed his last age–group National championship.[1] In 2018, he reached the finals of the Senior National Tournament and then, while preparing for the Junior Nationals and Pan-American Championships with the Cuban Junior Pan American team in Guatemala, Echemendía defected from Cuba, sneaking away from his coaches and teammates to cross Guatemala, Belize and Mexico and finally get to the United States late in the year.[4]

Folkstyle career

High school

When Echemendía arrived to Tucson, Arizona in late 2018, he was able to attend Sunnyside High School as a senior for one semester with the help of one of his Cuban coaches' friend Fernando Villaescusa. He started competing in folkstyle shortly after the arrival and dominated on his way to a Division II state title at 152 pounds compiling an unbeaten record of 26 wins and no losses.[4] He graduated as a 2018–19 student.[5]

College

After winning the US Freestyle Junior Nationals in 2019, Echemendía received multiple NCAA Division I offers. In September, he announced that he had committed to the Iowa State Cyclones.[6] However, it was later reported that he hadn't signed an NLI and a whirlwind recruitment started after that.[7] He then visited the Ohio State University, the Arizona State University and finally the University of Iowa.[4] He ended up officially committing to the Ohio State Buckeyes.[8][9]

2020-21

Echemendía was defeated by his teammate and four–time OHSAA state champion Dylan D'Emilio at the OSU wrestle-offs on January 9.[10] However, the starting spot went back–and–forth through the regular season.[11] Echemendía held a 4–1 record, with his lone loss coming in hands of the top–ranked Jaydin Eierman from Iowa.[12] In February, Tom Ryan expressed he was leaning towards starting D'Emilio due to an injury Echemendía had suffered in the Eierman match.[13] In March, it was announced that D'Emilio had been chosen as the starter for the post-season.[14]

2021–2022

Echemendía returned to collegiate wrestling and competed for the starter spot at the OSU's wrestle-offs on October 28, losing to eventual winner of the spot Jordan Decatur.[15] He has gone 2–0 in competition since.[16]

Freestyle career

2019

In April, Echemendia competed at the junior level US Open at 65 kilograms. He defeated two opponents on points before injury defaulting out of the tournament.[17] While it is not confirmed why he did so, he affirms that he was kicked out due to legal issues with his ID and that it had nothing to do with his health.[18]

A few weeks later, Echemendía participated and won the AZ freestyle tournament, which qualified him for the USA Wrestling Nationals (Fargo Nationals).[17]

In July, he completely dominated Fargo in both international styles at 145 pounds. In freestyle, he won by technical fall in his first five matches and won by points in the semis and finals, claiming the championship. In Greco-Roman, he teched everyone on his way to the quarterfinals, where he won by points and same in the semifinals. In the finals, he once again teched his opponent to crown himself as a National double-champion. This accomplishment made him a sensation across the United States.[19]

In October, he competed at 65 kilograms and faced three-time MSHSAA champion Josh Saunders at Who's Number One.[20] He stopped Saunders with a 10-0 technical fall.[21]

2020

After more than a year without stepping into the mats, Echemendia wrestled veteran Evan Henderson on November 14, as the co-main event of FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Valencia. This marked Echemendia's debut as a senior in the United States.[22] He lost the match on points.[23]

Echemendia represented the Ohio RTC at 65 kilograms in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup during December 4–5, alongside his teammate Sammy Sasso.[24] In the opening dual against the NJRTC, he faced '17 World Championship runner-up James Green. After riding criteria at 4-4 in a near-upset, he was taken down and exposed multiple times with a lace in the last seconds of the match, the scoring ending up at 4–14. After initial refusal to roll with the laces, Echemendia suffered an injury due to the tightness of the technique and was unable to compete in the next matches.[25][26]

Controversies

Altercation with his wife

On November 10, 2021, it was announced that Echemendía had been arrested due to an altercation with his wife, Lily Echemendía, in which he reportedly grabbed her by the neck with both hands until rendering her unconscious, leading to him being charged with felonious assault.[27]

Personal life

Echemendía's story from Cuba has been featured in multiple documentaries, such as the FloSports' "The Crossing: The Anthony Echemendia Story" and the Big Ten Network's "From Cuba to Columbus: Anthony Echemendia's Journey to the Buckeyes".[28] Since defecting from Cuba in 2018, Echemendía, who is close to his family, has not been able to see them since he cannot return to his home country, and during the release of the FloFilm, he expressed;[29]

"I can only think about my parents’ reaction (to the film) in Cuba… I was crying because I miss my family. I wish I could be celebrating with them, but they’re not here. I am my mom’s little baby. My dad is a tough guy and he almost died from the stress. I slept in my parents’ bed until I turned 16, sleeping between them. Think about how close we are.”

NCAA record

Stats

[16]

References

  1. "Anthony Echemendia". Ohio State Buckeyes. 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  2. "He won six gold medals for Cuba. Now he wants one for the United States". Miami Herald. July 25, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. Cubano, Periódico (2019-07-25). "Luchador cubano quiere ganar medalla olímpica para EE.UU". PERIÓDICO CUBANO (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  4. "#FreestyleFriday: Echemendia defects from Cuba to chase American Dream". Team USA. November 15, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  5. "Wrestling: Anthony Echemendia, national champ from Arizona, signs with Iowa State". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  6. "Cyclones Add Fargo Champion Anthony Echemendia". iawrestle.com. 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  7. Mayhorn, Patrick. "Cuban Connection Drove Anthony Echemendia To Ohio State". Buckeye Sports Bulletin. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  8. "Wrestling Adds Anthony Echemendia". Ohio State Buckeyes. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  9. "Ohio State's 2020-21 Depth Chart And Long-Term Lineup Projection". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  10. "Ohio State Wrestling on Twitter: "Dylan D'Emilio edges out Anthony Echemendia 6-4. WOW. What a scramble". Twitter. January 9, 2021.
  11. "Wrestling: No. 8 Ohio State to square off with top-ranked Iowa and Purdue in tri-meet Sunday". The Lantern. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  12. "Wrestling: No. 8 Ohio State falls to Iowa before bouncing-back against". The Lantern. 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  13. "Wrestling: No. 8 Ohio State to square off with top-ranked Iowa and Purdue in tri-meet Sunday". The Lantern. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  14. "Big Ten Wrestling Pre-Seeds Announced". bigten.org. March 2, 2021.
  15. "Finals Set for Varsity Wrestle-Offs Thursday", ohiostatebuckeyes.com/, 2021-10-27, retrieved 2021-11-16
  16. "Anthony Echemendia (Ohio State) Profile | WrestleStat". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  17. "A Full Timeline Of Anthony Echemendia's Wrestling & Recruitment In America". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  18. "'To Be Honest, I Was Mad': Echemendía Sets The Record Straight On His Age". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  19. Morales, Javier (2019-07-16). "Former Sunnyside Wrestler Anthony Echemendia Wins 145-Pound National Championship". ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  20. "Josh Saunders Will Face Anthony Echemendía In A 65kg Bout At Who's #1". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  21. "Wrestling: Sunnyside's Jesse Ybarra claims Who's Number 1 championship". www.azpreps365.com. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  22. "Full Burroughs vs Zahid Card Set For Nov. 14". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  23. "Burroughs rallies to defeat Valencia in FloWrestling Main event". Team USA. November 14, 2020. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020.
  24. "RTC Cup Lineups | Virginia Tech Wrestling Board". Virginia Tech Wrestling Board. November 18, 2020.
  25. "Spartan Combat RTC and Cliff Keen WC advance to semifinals on FloWrestling's RTC Cup". Team USA. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021.
  26. "Cliff Keen WC, Spartan Combat RTC finish unbeaten on Day 1 of RTC Cup". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  27. "Ohio State Wrestler Anthony Echemendia Arrested for Felonious Assault". Eleven Warriors. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  28. "Watch: From Cuba to Columbus: Anthony Echemendia's Journey to the Buckeyes | Big Ten Wrestling | On the Mat". Yardbarker. 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  29. Morales, Javier (2020-05-09). "Sunnyside Wrestling Champ Anthony Echemendia In FloWrestling Documentary About Defection from Cuba | ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com". allsportstucson.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
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