New England Shows Out at Final X B.T.S Showcase

Jun 13, 2023
3 min read

The spotlight was shining on the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey as USA Wrestling and Beat The Streets presented Final X. This event is used to determine the entire USA world roster for men and women’s Freestyle and Greco Roman teams. This is also the second straight year that Final X served as the annual benefit for the Beat The Streets Organization.

Beat The Streets was founded in 2005 with the goal to “develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and strengthen the wrestling culture within New York City” The non-profit now boasts over 150 wrestling programs nationwide, a youth league, and a girls high school league.

Because of this partnership, there were a multitude of high school wrestlers showcasing their talents, three of which came from New England. Imanol Tavares, Ashley Deheney, and Kayla Batres all represented themselves, their states, and the region very proudly at this event.

Imanol Taveras, the 2023 Rhode Island state champion and a graduate of Hope High School in Providence, was the first New England wrestler to take the mat. Taveras quickly took care of business and came away with a 12-0 technical fall over Kerlos Gorgy of New York, achieving the win in 47 seconds.

Next up was Ashley Deheney, she is a rising senior at Central Catholic High School in Massachusetts and a two-time MIAA-All State champion. Her opponent was Alessandra Elliot, a USA Wrestling All-American from New York. Elliot was the first to score and managed to obtain a 3-0 heading into the break. Deheney was the aggressor in the second period, but it was not enough to earn back the lead as she dropped a very close 5-2 decision.

ree — Deheney (right) and her opponent square off in the center of the mat. (Photo Courtesy: Ashley Deheney

“It was awesome being there,” Deheney said. “I got to be around some of the best wrestlers in the country. Really a great experience to wrestle in front of all those people and be around my role models!”

Lastly, Milford, Connecticut’s Kayla Batres wrestled New York’s Leona Gao. Batres went into this match firing away and scored a very early takedown. She quickly locked up a leg lace to produce multiple instances of exposure winning the match 10-0 in 23 seconds.

Watch Kayla's 23 second win here:

“Winning that match made me feel one step closer to my goal,” Batres told The Schwartz Report .

She has an Olympic dream of her own as well. The rising freshman already has a very impressive resume—including 4 national titles and 10 All-American honors to go with a youth New England and a CT-Coed state title.

“It felt great, it was exciting to wrestle on the same mats that all the Oympians had wrestled on; it gave me hope for what the future holds for my wrestling career. My goal is to be an Olympic wrestler.”

Note: Jakob Camacho, a 2018 graduate of Danbury High School in Connecticut was scheduled to wrestle Nick Suriano for 3rd place at 57 kg. However, this bout resulted in a double forfeit.

2023 USA WORLD TEAMS:

MEN’S FREESTYLE:

57 kg: Zane Richards

61 kg: Vito Arujau

65 kg: Nick Lee

70 kg: Zain Retherford

74 kg: Kyle Dake

79 kg: Chance Marsteller

86 kg: David Taylor

92 kg: Zahid Valencia

97kg: Kyle Snyder

125 kg: Gable Steveson