Glenn Garrison gets his arm raised after his bronze medal win at 66 kg at the Pan American Games. Robbert Wijtman photo

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Glenn Garrison (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) won a bronze-medal match at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Pan American Games at CODE II Gymnasium on Thursday night.

Garrison defeated Vicente Huacon of Ecuador in a bronze-medal match, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0. Garrison was able to defend from the bottom position in the par terre to win both the first and third periods to earn the victory. Huacon won the second period on a pushout.

“I was a little disappointed in myself, but I have to look at it positively. I wrestled really open out there,” said Garrison. “It feels good to medal. I wish my teammates also won a medal today. But it feels good to break the ice for the guys wrestling tomorrow.”

Garrison opened with a victory over Ivan Duque of Colombia, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0. Garrison was able to turn Duque for exposure in the par terre after both the second and the third period to secure the victory.

In the semifinals, Garrison was defeated by 2011 World bronze medalist Pedro Isaac Mulens of Cuba, 0-1, 0-2. Garrison was unable to turn Mulens in the par terre after the first period. Mulens was able to expose Garrison for two points in the par terre after the second period.

“The final match against Ecuador was against a tough kid. It wasn’t sexy, but Garrison did enough to win the medal. He should be proud of his bronze medal. We are,” said U.S. coach Steve Fraser.

Two U.S. wrestlers dropped their first matches, and were not eligible for the medal rounds when their opponent was defeated in the semifinals: Cheney Haight (Orem, Utah/New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs. and Timothy Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

Haight lost in his opening bout to Jose Arias of the Dominican Republic, 1-3, 2-0, 2-3. Haight was thrown for a three-point move early in the third period, and was unable to close the gap before time ran out.

“He caught me in that throw,” said Haight. “After that, he didn’t do much. It was hard. He kept backing up and I couldn’t get to his body. He was just trying not to get thrown.”

Haight was eliminated with Arias lost in the semifinals. Haight finished seventh.

“Cheney has to figure out some things,” said Fraser. “He’s a talented guy who wrestles hard and trains hard. Sometimes he doesn’t let it go in the matches. He should be beating those guys. He will figure it out.”

Taylor lost by a first-period injury default to Ramon Garcia of the Dominican Republic at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. When Taylor was turned on a gut wrench during the par terre position at the end of the period, he injured his arm trying to defend. The injury prevented him from completing the match.

“It was a tragic thing. It was a tough dislocation of the elbow. He is a big strong tough guy and he was hurting. We feel bad for Tim Taylor. Hopefully, his recovery will be quick and he can get back in the game soon,” said Fraser.

Taylor was eliminated when Garcia was defeated in the semifinals. Taylor finished eighth.

Cuba won all four gold medals on Thursday: Gustavo Balart (55 kg), Pedro Mulens (66 kg), Pablo Shorey (84 kg) and Mijian Lopez (120 kg).

Three U.S. wrestlers weighed in and will compete on Friday: Joe Betterman (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Ben Provisor (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Pete Gounaridis (Leominster, Mass./Sunkist Kids) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

PAN AMERICAN GAMES
At Guadalajara, Mexico, October 20, 2011

Greco-Roman results

55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold - Gustavo Eddy Balart Marin (Cuba)
Silver - Jorge Cardoza Manrique (Venezuela)
Bronze - Juan Carlos Lopez (Colombia)
Bronze - Francisco Encarnacion (Dominican Republic)
5th - Alberto Ramon Mendieta Fuentes (Nicaragua)
5th - Cristhian Paravencino (Peru)
7th -  Rafael Messias Dos Santos (Brazil)
8th - Ildefonso Arangure (Mexico)

66 kg/132 lbs.
Gold -  Pedro Isaac Mulens Herrera (Cuba)
Silver - Anyelo Alberto Mota Brea (Dominican Republic)
Bronze - Ulises Ivan Barragan Calderon (Mexico)
Bronze -  Glenn Garrison (USA)
5th - Jefrin Benito Mejia Sambula (Honduras)
5th - Vicente Huacon Alvarado (Ecuador)
7th - Ivan de Jesus Duque Arango (Colombia)
8th -  Manuel Torres (Venezuela)
9th - Shawn Daye-Finley (Canada)

84 kg/185 lbs.
Gold - Pablo Enrique Shorey Hernandez (Cuba)
Silver - Cristian Ferney Mosquera (Colombia)
Bronze - Jose Antonio Arias Parades (Dominican Republic)
Bronze – Yorgen Jose Cova Pulido (Venezuela)
5th - Jose Antonio Mendoza Villalpando (Mexico)
5th - Marcelo Santos Martins Gomes (Brazil)
7th - Cheney Haight (USA)
8th - Eric Fuenekes (Canada)

120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold - Mijain Lopez Nunez (Cuba)
Silver - Rafael Barreno Martinez (Venezuela)
Bronze - Ramon Antonio Garcia (Dominican Republic)
Bronze - Victor Alfonso Asprilla Caicedo (Colombia)
5th - Orlando Ramirez Abarca (Mexico) 
5th - Romel Mesias Maza Quezada (Ecuador)
7th - Edgardo Lopez (Puerto Rico)
8th - Timothy Taylor (USA)

U.S. Greco-Roman performance

66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Glenn Garrison, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 3rd
WIN Ivan Duque (Colombia), 0-2, 2-0, 2-0
LOSS Pedro Isaac Mulens (Cuba), 0-1, 0-2
WIN Vicente Huacon (Ecuador), 1-0, 0-1, 1-0

84 kg/185 lbs. – Cheney Haight, Orem, Utah (New York AC), 7th
LOSS Jose Arias (Dominican Republic), 1-3, 2-0, 2-3

120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Tim Taylor, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), 8th
LOSS Ramon Garcia (Dominican Republic), inj. dft. 1st period