THEMAT.COM STORY ON PAN AMERICAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (USA WRESTLING)

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Augsburg College wrestler Niko Bogojevic (FY, Superior, Wis.) completed a gold-medal sweep of freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions at the Pan American Junior Championships, held over the weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Bogojevic scored a sweep of his three matches in the 120-kilogram (264.5-pound) division in Greco-Roman competition, including a pin in his opening match. He then swept his three matches in freestyle competition to secure the double-gold, joining American teammate Tyler Lehman (96 kilograms/211.5 pounds) as the only wrestlers to win gold medals in both disciplines in the eight weight classes.

The Pan-American Junior Championships included wrestlers from 10 Western Hemisphere countries/territories in the Greco-Roman division, and 13 countries/territories in the freestyle division. The United States team won both divisions, with 68 points and two individual champions in the Greco-Roman division and 65 points and four individual champions in the freestyle division. In amateur wrestling, FILA Junior competitions are for wrestlers ages 17-20.

In the Greco-Roman competition, Bogojevic opened with a 7-0, second-period pin victory over Ivan Burtovoy of Argentina, then scored two shutout victories -- a 1-0, 2-0 win over Eguardo Lopez of Puerto Rico in the semifinals and a 4-0, 7-0 win over Hugo Cunha of Brazil in the gold-medal match.

In the freestyle competition, Bogojevic again opened with a win over Burtovoy and claimed a 3-0, 3-0 win over Lopez in the semifinals. In the finals, Bogojevic scored a 3-0, 5-0 win over Donovan Dale of Canada.

Bogojevic has had a strong career in amateur wrestling. In May, he won the 120-kilogram Senior Greco-Roman title at the USA Wrestling Northern Plains Regional in Waterloo, Iowa, qualifying to compete at the U.S. World Team Trials in Oklahoma City, Okla., in June. In April, he finished third in Greco-Roman competition at the USA Wrestling FILA Junior Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio. In May, he reached the finals of the USA Wrestling FILA Junior World Team Trials in Franklin, Ind. Earlier in his career, Bogojevic won the USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman national title in 2009 (285 pounds), while also winning the FILA Cadet National Greco-Roman title (275 pounds) in 2008.

A 2010 Wisconsin high school state titlist and holder of Superior High School's career record for victories (135), Bogojevic finished 26-10 in 2010-11, his first collegiate campaign at Augsburg.