Campbell, Heaton, Nelson, Watters receive women's freestyle draws at Junior Worlds

U.S. Junior World Team member Rachel Watters at Fargo. Photo: John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com.

MACON, France – The final four U.S. women have weighed in and received their draws for the second day of women’s freestyle competition at the 2016 Junior World Championships.


Donning the Red, White and Blue on Friday are McKayla Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio/Ohio National Team), Ronna Heaton (Brookings, S.D./Sunkist Kids), Maya Nelson (Denver, Colo./Sunkist Kids) and Rachel Watters (Ankeny, Iowa/Gator OKCU RTC).


“We came here to wrestle five tough matches,” said U.S. women’s freestyle coach Tricia Saunders. “I don’t think it matters what order we get anybody. We are here to wrestle them all, and beat them all, and that’s the goal.”


Coming off a fifth place finish at the 2015 Cadet World Championships, Campbell will make her Junior debut at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. against 2015 Cadet World bronze medalist Marina Zakshevskaya of Kazakhstan.


2015 Cadet World champion Ronna Heaton will be challenged by 2013 Cadet World silver medalist Laura Charashvili of Belarus in the first round at 55 kg/121 lbs. Heaton stepped in last minute to replace defending Junior World bronze medalist Becka Leathers who withdrew due to illness.


Competing in her first Junior Worlds, Nelson has drawn 2016 Junior Asian bronze medalist Zarina Dauletkeldi of Kazakhstan in her first match at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. Nelson finished in fifth place at the Grand Prix of Spain in July and was third at this year’s U.S. Open.


Watters, who was fifth at the Junior Worlds last year, is set to face the experienced Pauline Lecarpentier of France in her opener at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. Lecarpentier was fifth in the 2014 Cadet World Championships and won senior level bronze medals at the Henri Deglane Challenge and Grand Prix of Paris in 2015.


“None of them are even asking about the draw because they don’t care. We say ‘We’re the bad draw,’ and I think that’s going to happen tomorrow. We’ve got a lot of girls who are really ready to go,” said Saunders.


The women’s freestyle competition will resume tomorrow in France at 4 a.m. (ET) with the qualification rounds and repechage followed by the medal matches at 12 p.m. (ET).


Flowrestling is providing a live stream of the Junior World Championships at flowrestling.org. Viewers must purchase a FloPro membership to watch the competition live. 


For complete brackets and match-by-match results visit unitedworldwrestling.org.

2016 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aug. 30 – Sept. 4 in Macon, France


U.S. women’s freestyle draws for Friday

48 kg/105.5 lbs. – McKayla Campbell, Wauseon, Ohio (Ohio National Team)

Vs. Marina Zakshevskaya (Kazakhstan), 2015 Cadet World bronze medalist


55 kg/121 lbs. – Ronna Heaton, Brookings, S.D. (Sunkist Kids)

Vs. Laura Charashvili (Belarus), 2013 Cadet World silver medalist


63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Maya Nelson, Denver, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)

Vs. Zarina Dauletkeldi (Kazakhstan), 2016 Junior Asian bronze medalist


72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Rachel Watters, Ankeny, Iowa (Gator OKCU RTC)

Vs. Pauline Lecarpentier (France), Fifth in 2014 Cadet World Championships, 2015 Henri Deglane Challenge bronze medalist, 2015 Grand Prix of Paris bronze medalist