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Nebraska Head Coach Mark Manning has his team in great position after Day 1 at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. | Getty Images
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Continuing Nebraska’s incredible freestyle season so far, a pair of current Huskers found the podium at the U23 Pan-American Championships on Thursday in Lima, Peru.
Omar Ayoub won a gold medal at 65 kg for Puerto Rico, while LJ Araujo earned a bronze medal at 74 kg for Brazil.
Both Araujo and Ayoub won Pan-American medals last year at the U20 level — they also each have U20 World bronze medals — so they’re no strangers to international competition.
Here’s how it all happened.
Omar Ayoub
Gold Medal at 65 kg
Last year, Ayoub won a silver medal at U20 Pan-Ams before winning his World bronze — both at 61 kg (just over 134 pounds). This year, Ayoub is up at 65 kg (just over 143 pounds) and looked really impressive this weekend on the way to his U23 gold medal.
Still U20 eligible for Puerto Rico, it’s possible that Ayoub competes at U20 Pan-Ams in July as well. He then could compete at both the U20 and U23 World Championships in August and October, respectively. I don’t know his plans, but it’s a possibility.
Wrestling in two groups of three wrestlers, Ayoub was in Group A with Team USA’s Noah Tolentino, the U23 National Champion last month. Ayoub first faced Peru’s Jose Benites Vasquez, a U20 Pan-Am bronze medalist last year.
After scoring the initial takedown to go up 2-0, Ayoub gave up six unanswered points. In the second period, Ayoub scored a pair of takedowns on low shots to tie the match at 6-6. Ayoub scored the deciding point late when he shot Vasquez out of bounds for a step-out point and the 7-6 decision win.
In his second match, Ayoub faced Tolentino, a senior-to-be at Oregon State who started for the Beavers last year at 149 pounds. Tolentino scored the opening takedown, but Ayoub took a 4-2 lead with a takedown, push-out and a caution point for fleeing the mat. Tolentino ended the first period with a step-out point, cutting Ayoub’s lead to 4-3.
In the second, Ayoub scored a step-out before Tolentino took a 5-5 criteria lead with a takedown. With one minute left, Ayoub re-took the lead with a takedown of his own.
With just 30 seconds left, Tolentino dove in on a low shot then split the legs when Ayoub tried pulling away for a takedown. Tolentino transitioned to a leg lace and turned Ayoub three times — he held on for the 13-7 win over Ayoub.
With the loss, Ayoub went on to face Group B’s winner Zachary Espalin Aguierre of Mexico in the semifinal round — a former four-time Arizona state champion in high school.
In a tight match, Ayoub and Aguierre traded shot-clock points before Ayoub scored the winning takedown late in the second period, holding on for the 3-1 decision.
In the final, Ayoub got his second shot at Tolentino and he left no doubt in this one.
Ayoub scored four takedowns in the first period to go up 8-0 with a number of really slick shots and finishes. He nearly ended the match in the first period with what looked like a feet-to-back four-pointer, but he was called with a singlet pull which wiped the points off the board.
Ayoub did end the match early in the second period when he scored a push out before adding a double-leg takedown for the 11-0 win via technical superiority with 45 seconds remaining.
After spending the first two years of his career at 133 pounds for Nebraska, Ayoub is expected to move up to 141 or 149 this year to compete for those vacant starting spots. In a crowded room full of talent, Ayoub is a legitimate contender to be a starter this season for the Huskers.
LJ Araujo
Bronze Medal at 74 kg
Already a two-time Pan-American medalist at the U20 level, Araujo added his third age-level Continental medal to his collection on Thursday — he earned U20 Pan-Am bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025 — both at 79 kg.
Araujo also won U20 World bronze in 2024 before making the Brazilian U20 World Team again in 2025 but failed to medal.
Despite moving up in age level, Araujo went down in weight. After wrestling at 79 kg (174 pounds) at the U20 level, Araujo is now at 74 kg (163 pounds).
On Thursday, Araujo faced Team USA’s Nico Ruiz in the opening quarterfinal round. Ruiz just won the U23 Freestyle National Championship last month.
After falling behind 5-0 to Ruiz — an All-American for Arizona State — Ayoub got a go-behind in the second period. Ruiz went into a quad-pod defense, but Araujo rolled him through for the four-pointer.
Ruiz then added a pair of takedowns to go up 9-4. Araujo did score a last-second takedown, but it wasn’t enough as he dropped the match 9-7 to Ruiz.
With Ruiz making the final and eventually earning the gold medal, Araujo took on Diego Garcia Albores of Mexico for bronze — Albores lost to Ruiz in the semifinal round.
After giving up a takedown on a crotch-lock counter by Albores, Araujo took over the match. Araujo scored a pair of push-outs before whipping Albores to his back and turning him with a gut wrench four times for the 13-2 win via tech.
The returning starter for Nebraska at 165 pounds, Araujo will compete at the U23 World Championships for Brazil in October and will be looking to bring home a second World medal.
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