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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
December 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for November
1st
ISA BOYS SOCCER
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
2nd
IRON LEGENDS THROWDOWN
ISA HS BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
Events for December
4th
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER
ISA BOYS SOCCER
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
5th
ISA HS BASEBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for December
5th
Events for December
7th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Events for December
9th
40th GRC PLUMERIA ROAD RACE
GUAM RUGBY INTERNATIONAL 7s TOURNAMENT
ISA HS BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
Events for December
10th
TOUR OF GUAM 2023
GUAM RUGBY INTERNATIONAL 7s TOURNAMENT
Events for December
11th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for December
12th
ISA HS BASEBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
12th
Events for December
14th
ISA HS BASEBALL
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER FINALS
Events for December
15th
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
IIAAG GIRLS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for December
16th
3rd GUAM NINJA CHAMPIONSHIP
ISA HS BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
Events for December
16th
Events for December
18th
IIAAG BOYS SOCCER ALL-ISLAND MEETING
Events for December
19th
ISA HS BASEBALL
ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Events for December
19th
Events for December
23rd
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
ISA HS BASEBALL FINALS
Events for December
23rd
Events for December
24th
Events for December
25th
Events for December
27th
Events for December
29th
- 31
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Events for December
30th

Baseball
ROYALS DOWN FRIARS IN STATEMENT GAME

Basketball
3×3 HOOPS REPEAT AS GOLDEN BOYS

Basketball
RAPADAS LEADS WILD COUGAR COMEBACK

Baseball
GUAM HOSTS KIWIS IN U15 BASEBALL

Baseball
ROYALS DOWN FRIARS IN STATEMENT GAME

Basketball
SHARKS FEND OFF DOLPHINS IN GIRLS HOOPS
COMING SOON …
- IIAAG Girls Basketball Playoffs