Sebastian Rivera

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]

Sebastian Rivera
Personal information
Full nameSebastian Rivera
Nationality United States
 Puerto Rico
Born (1998-08-27) 27 August 1998
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Sport
Country United States
SportWrestling
Weight class65 kg (143 lb)
Event(s)Freestyle and folkstyle
College teamRutgers Scarlet Knights
Northwestern Wildcats
ClubRutgers Athletic Center
Coached byScott Goodale
Achievements and titles
World finalsSilver (2023)
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Puerto Rico
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Belgrade 65 kg
Pan American Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Acapulco 65 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Buenos Aires 65 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place2022 Rome 65 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Madrid 65 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Representing the Northwestern Wildcats
Bronze medal – third place2019 Pittsburgh125 lb
Representing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Bronze medal – third place2022 Detroit141 lb

Career

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) as well as a two-time Big Ten Conference champion (2019 and 2020), but was not able to compete at the 2020 NCAA championships as they were cancelled 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
Year Tournament Location Result Event
2016 Bill Farrell Memorial International United States New York, New York, United States 7th Freestyle 57 kg
2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International United States Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States 9th Freestyle 57 kg
2021 World Olympic Qualifier Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria 21st Freestyle 65 kg
Pan American Championships Guatemala Guatemala City, Guatemala 5th Freestyle 65 kg
World Championships Norway Oslo, Norway 7th Freestyle 65 kg
2022 Pan American Championships Mexico Acapulco, Mexico 2nd Freestyle 65 kg
Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series Italy Rome, Italy 1st Freestyle 65 kg
Grand Prix of Spain Spain Madrid, Spain 1st Freestyle 65 kg
World Championships Serbia Belgrade, Serbia 5th Freestyle 65 kg

References
  1. "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. 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)
  3. "Sebastian Rivera - Wrestling". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  4. "Sebastian Rivera". Northwestern Wildcats.
  5. "Meet the 2021 NCAA college wrestling All-Americans | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  6. "Rivera Readies for World OG Qualifier". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  7. "Rivera Places at 2021 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  8. Vesper, Erik (October 4, 2021). "Rutgers' Rivera Concludes Run at World Championships". On the Banks. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  9. "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  10. "Rivera Earns Silver at 2022 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  11. "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.
  12. 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)
  13. "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
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