SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, April 19, 2026.- The U.S. duo of Troy Field and Ryan Wilcox captured the gold medal at the first stop of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Costa Rica, defeating Mexico’s Carlos Andrés Ayala and Inés Antonio Vargas Lares 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) in a tightly contested final decided by the finest of margins.
With this result, Field and Wilcox celebrate their first gold medal as a team on the circuit, avenging their loss in the 2025 NORCECA Tour final in Honduras, where they fell to the same Mexican duo in straight sets.
That recent history added extra intensity to the championship match in La Sabana. On that occasion, Ayala and Vargas prevailed 2-0 (21-17, 21-18), a result that heightened anticipation for this new clash between the two teams.
The road to the title included a dominant semifinal performance by the Americans, who defeated Canada’s Luke de Greeff and Tynan Gannett 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) with authority.
Meanwhile, the Mexican pair had to dig deep in their semifinal, rallying for a 2-1 (22-24, 21-17, 15-11) victory over Costa Rica’s Stanley Grant and Julián Araya in one of the most intense matches of the day.
In the bronze medal match, de Greeff and Gannett claimed third place with a 2-1 (21-23, 21-17, 15-9) win over Grant and Araya in another high-intensity matchup.
The men’s tournament concluded with a highly competitive outlook in the region, with new duos establishing themselves among the circuit’s elite and others reaffirming their status at the start of the 2026 season.
MEN’S FINAL RANKING
1. Field / Wilcox (USA)
2. Carlos Andres / Lares (MEX)
3. de Greeff / Gannett (CAN)
4. Grant / Araya (CRC)
5. Rivera / Rivera (PUR)
6. Dickinson / Owen (USA)
7. R Vargas / GABO (ESA)
8. Estrada / Izaguirre (GUA)
9. Mora / Lopez (NCA)
10. Guardado C. / Guardado Y. (ESA)
11. Brown / Valenciano (CRC)
12. Akerson / Oporta (CRC)
13. Labossiere / Pauls (CAN)
14. LYNEE / Duty (CAY)
15. Bristol / Morton (SKN)
16. Kymani / Rojas (ISV)
RESULTS DAY 3
GOLD: Field/Wilcox (USA) 2-0 Carlos Andrés/Lares (MEX) (22-20/21-19)
BRONZE: de Greeff /Gannett (CAN) 2-1 Grant/Araya (CRC) (21-23/21-17/15-9)
SEMIFINALS: Carlos Andrés / Lares (MEX) 2-1 Grant/Araya (CRC) (22-24/21-17/15-11); Field/Wilcox (USA) 2-0 de de Greeff/Gannett (CAN) (21-13/21-11)
F5: Paniagua/Almanzar (DOM) 2-1 Race/Hunt (USA) (21-19/17-21/15-12)
F7: Molina/Aguilar (CRC) 2-1 Tovar/Vigil (ESA) (21-13/14-21/15-8)
C5/8: Paniagua/Almanzar (DOM) 2-0Molina/Aguilar (CRC) (21-13/21-17); Race/Hunt (USA) 2-1 Tovar/Vigil (ESA) (22-20/16-21/15-10)
F9: Hladyniuk/Robitaille (CAN) 2-0 Alvarado/Gonzalez (GUA) (21-12/21-10)
F13: López/Lolette (NCA) 2-0 Gumbs/Hensley Philip (SKN) (21-9/21-11)
F15: Vernecia/Jordan (ISV) 2-1 Smith-Johnson/A Robinson (CAY) (16-21/21-18/15-13)
English 
Spanish