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By Patrick Lujan
High School wrestling star Jonah Whitt knew he had the skills to take on the world, it was just a matter of time before he could display them.
Whitt became the first Guam athlete to medal in an Olympic-sanctioned event after taking the silver medal in the 54kg (118-lbs.) freestyle wrestling division of the Australia Olympic Youth Festival on January 20th in Sydney.
“I’m just glad I came home with a medal,” the junior from St. Thomas School said.
And so is Guam.
Whitt, who has gone undefeated the last two seasons in Guam’s high school wrestling scene, experienced his first ever international competition
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I really prepared hard. Even during the (high school) wrestling season, I had this tournament in mind. I had high expectations of myself, but at the same time, I had an anxiety. I would’ve been happy with a bronze, but getting to the gold medal match, it definitely exceeded my expectations.”
With this being his first taste of high-level international competition, Whitt easily took care of his first two matches: pinning his Australian opponent in under 30 seconds in his first match and cruising past his Brazilian counterpart 7-0 and 8-0 in the two rounds of his second match.
His third match was the semifinals against a wrestler from New Zealand, where he won 8-2 and 8-5. “It was a little bit more back-and-forth but I still kept the pressure and kept attacking.”
He advanced to the gold medal match against China’s Guangbin Zhang who was visibly bigger than Whitt and had to cut more than 10 pounds at weigh-ins the day before competition while Jonah didn’t cut weight at all. In fact, he weighed in under the limit.
To top it off, it was the first time ever he’d wrestle four matches in one day.
“It was a real test of conditioning but I still felt fine.”
Going into the final match, Whitt said his opponent was ‘very different’ from his first three foes.
“Even though I wanted to be the aggressor, he knew what my plan was and he capitalized on it, he was countering me to expose my back and it gave him three points…and he did it twice.” The Chinese won the first round 6-0.
In the second round, Whitt shot in again early on, only to be countered and suplexed for a five-point thrown. He would lose by that score (5-0) and settle for silver and some serious international experience.
His biggest takeaway? “How I should try and be more than one-dimensional in the sport.”
His preparation for international competition continues as he is set to represent Guam in the Abu Dhabi World Kids Cup for jiu-jitsu April and the Oceania Wrestling Championships to be held on Guam in the same month.
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GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

Basketball
FRIARS TAKE DOWN PANTHERS 74-68

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports