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Julián Araya and Jhostin Varela of Costa Rica,
New
Central American Games Champions
JALAPA, Guatemala, October 28, 2025. – Costa Ricans Julián Araya and
Jhostin Varela were crowned the new men’s beach volleyball champions
of the XII Central American Games Guatemala 2025, after an exciting
comeback victory over Nicaragua’s Rubén Mora and Dany López by 2-1
(17-21, 21-17, 15-13) at the Jalapa Sports Complex.
This
is Costa Rica’s second-ever gold medal in men’s beach volleyball at
the Central American Games, in addition to one bronze medal.
Nicaragua, on the other hand, claimed its first-ever silver medal in
this discipline, adding to its two previous golds. Twin brothers
Christopher and Yoel Guardado of El Salvador captured the fourth
bronze medal in their country’s history.
ALBUM FLICKR: DAY 5 MEN
ALBUM FLICKR: AWARDING CEREMONY
The
final began evenly, tied at 5 points, with both teams showing power
and solid defense. The attacks of Rubén and Dany gave Nicaragua a
13-9 lead, mixing deep shots with quick spikes. Despite the
pressure, Costa Rica stayed close thanks to Araya’s defense and
Varela’s intensity. Nicaragua closed the first set 21-17 with a
powerful hit from Mora.
In
the second set, Costa Rica took control early with attacks from
Jhostin and Araya, going up 3-0. Errors from Nicaragua helped the
Ticos extend their lead to 9-4. Varela dominated the net, and
together with Araya, maintained the gap to take the set 21-17. In
the decider, both teams put on a display of defense and
determination. Costa Rica led 6-4, but Nicaragua tied it at 8 with
two kills from López. Araya responded with precision to regain a
10-8 advantage. With the score tied at 13-13, the golden point came
with a block by Jhostin on Rubén Mora, sealing the victory and the
gold medal for Costa Rica.
After the win, Julián Araya said emotionally: “I’m speechless. I
just want to thank our families and our coaches. It was a
heart-stopping match against a very experienced and strong team like
Rubén and Dany. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
Meanwhile, Jhostin Varela expressed: “First, I want to thank God. It
was a very tough final against a strong opponent. We started behind
but managed to turn it around. Thanks to all our coaches and
everyone who helped us achieve this gold medal. In the first set, we
dropped our level a bit, but we were able to recover.”
In
the bronze medal match, Christopher and Yoel Guardado of El Salvador
claimed a commanding 2-0 (21-10, 21-15) victory over Edgar Maldonado
and José Izaguirre of Guatemala. The Salvadorans dominated from the
start with Christopher’s smart attacks and Yoel’s solid defense. In
the second set, Guatemala fought back and led 15-14, but the
Guardado brothers regained control with four consecutive points,
sealing the win with a powerful attack that secured the bronze
medal.
In
the semifinals, Araya and Varela displayed their best form,
defeating Maldonado/Izaguirre of Guatemala 2-0 (21-15, 21-11). With
Jhostin’s solid blocking and Julián’s precise attacks, Costa Rica
controlled both sets convincingly.
Meanwhile, López/Mora of Nicaragua advanced to the final after a
dramatic 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 27-25) win over the Guardado brothers.
In a marathon match, both teams had multiple chances to close the
tiebreak, but it was Nicaragua that capitalized on a final error by
El Salvador to secure its place in the gold medal match.
The
fifth place of the tournament went to Irvin Reyes and Manuel Serrano
of Honduras, who defeated José González and Jason Quintero of Panama
in a close match 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 17-15).
Final Standing: 1. COSTA RICA Julián Araya/Jhostin Varela 2.
NICARAGUA Rubén Mora/Dany López 3. EL SALVADOR Christopher Guardado/Yoel
Guardado 4. GUATEMALA Edgar Maldonado/José Izaguirre 5. HONDURAS
Irvin Reyes/Manuel Serrano 6. PANAMÁ José González/Jason Quintero 7.
BELIZE Brandon Fehr/Edgar Martínez | 
