Julián Araya and Jhostin Varela Unstoppable

at the Central American Games

JALAPA, Guatemala, October 26, 2025.– Costa Rica’s Julián Araya and Jhostin Varela remain unstoppable in the men’s beach volleyball tournament at the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025, after earning their fifth consecutive victory to stay at the top of the standings.

With a perfect 5-0 record, Varela/Araya lead the overall rankings, followed by Nicaragua’s Rubén Mora and Dany López (4-1), the defending champions, and El Salvador’s Christopher and Yoel Guardado, also with a 4-1 mark.

ALBUM FLICKR: DAY 3 MEN

On Monday, Costa Rica will face Belize, while Nicaragua will take on El Salvador in the final matches of the preliminary round. The top team will advance directly to the semifinals.

On Sunday, Varela/Araya handled both of their matches with authority to remain unbeaten. In their first match, they defeated Panama’s José González and Jason Quintero 2-0 (21-15, 21-12). Later, they beat Irvin Reyes and Manuel Serrano of Honduras 2-0 (21-8, 21-16). In the second set, Honduras managed to tie the score at 10 points after Costa Rica slightly lowered their intensity, but Varela and Araya regained control with strong attacking to close the set 21-16 and secure the win.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua’s duo Rubén Mora and Dany López, the reigning champions, also picked up two important victories. They first defeated Brandon Fehr and Edgar Martínez of Belize 2-0 (21-7, 21-15), and later overcame the home team, Edgar Maldonado and José Izaguirre of Guatemala, in an exciting match. In the second set, Guatemala took an 18-16 lead thanks to solid defense and Nicaraguan errors, but a powerful attack from López tied the score. Mora followed with another strong spike to make it 21-20, and a Guatemalan error sealed the win for Nicaragua.

El Salvador’s duo Christopher and Yoel Guardado also had a strong performance, coming from behind to defeat Maldonado/Izaguirre of Guatemala 2-1 (16-21, 21-13, 15-6), improving their record to 4-1. Guatemala controlled the first set with a comfortable lead (13-7), but El Salvador responded with solid defense and sharp attacks to even the match. In the decisive set, El Salvador quickly took control (5-1) and never looked back, closing the match confidently.

Panama’s José González and Jason Quintero closed the preliminary round with a convincing victory over Brandon Fehr and Edgar Martínez of Belize 2-0 (21-10, 21-13), improving their record to 2-4 in fifth position. Belize remains winless.

Standings:  1. Costa Rica Varela/Jhostin (5-0) 2. Nicaragua López/Mora (4-1) 3. El Salvador Guardado C./Guardado Y. (4-1) 4. Guatemala Maldonado/Izaguirre (2-3) 5. Panamá Jason/González (2-4) 6. Honduras Serrano/Reyes (1-4) 7. Belize Martínez/Fehr (0-5)