Campbell, Heaton, Nelson and Watters receive draws for women's freestyle Junior World Championships

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TAMPERE, Finland – The four remaining U.S. women’s freestyle wrestlers have received their draws for the 2017 Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Two-time World Team member McKayla Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio/Ohio National Team) drew 2015 Cadet silver medalist Ankush Ankush of India as her first-round opponent at 48 kg/108 lbs.

If she wins, Campbell will match up with the winner of Emanuela Liuzzi of Italy and Marina Zakshevskaya of Kazakhstan.  

Both wrestlers have been successful on the Cadet level. Liuzzi finished fifth at last year’s Cadet World Championships, while Zakshevskaya won silver at the 2015 Cadet World tournament.

Campbell faced Zakshevskaya in the first round last year and fell in a close 6-4 bout.

At 55 kg, 2015 Cadet World champion and 2016 Cadet World silver medalist Ronna Heaton (Brookings, S.D./Sunkist Kids WC) will face Anastasiya Korzh of New Zealand to open her tournament.

Korzh won the Cadet and Junior divisions of the Oceania Championships in 2014. Like Heaton, Korzh competed in both the 2016 Cadet and Junior World championships.

An American win would put Heaton against either 2015 Cadet World champion Viktoriya Vaulina of Russia or 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Elena Brugger of Germany.

Maya Nelson, the only returning U.S. medalist, will face 2017 Junior Asian Championships bronze medalist Ying Zhang of China in the first round at 63 kg/139 lbs.

Should she advance, Nelson (Denver, Colo./Sunkist Kids WC) will take on Reshma Mane of India or Nicole Depa of Canada.

Mane finished with Junior World bronze last year at 67 kg. This year, she was third at the Junior Asian Championships, alongside Zhang. Depa won the 2017 Junior Pan Am Championships.

At 72 kg/159 lbs., three-time Junior World Team member Rachel Watters (Ankeny, Iowa/Aires WC) drew Poland’s Natalia Strzalka in the first round. Strzalka was the Cadet World silver medalist in 2014.

If she wins, she’ll see either Hui-Tsu Chang of Chinese Taipei or Ainagul Abirova of Kazakhstan.

The first session, which includes preliminary rounds through semifinals and repechage, will begin at 10 a.m. local time. The medal matches will take place at 6 p.m. local time.

Tampere, Finland is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time, meaning those wishing to watch live can tune in at 3 a.m. (ET). A live stream of the event, as well as brackets, can be found at Trackwrestling.com.

JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aug. 1-6, 2017

Schedule
Friday, Aug. 4
10 a.m. – Preliminaries and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches

48 kg/106 lbs. – McKayla Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio/Ohio National Team)
vs. Ankush Ankush (India), silver in 2015 Cadet World Championships

55 kg/121 lbs. – Ronna Heaton (Brookings, S.D./Sunkist Kids WC)
vs. Anastasiya Korzh (New Zealand)

63 kg/139 lbs. – Maya Nelson (Denver, Colo./Sunkist Kids WC)
vs. Ying Zhang (China), bronze in 2017 Junior Asian Championships

72 kg/159 lbs. – Rachel Watters (Ankeny, Iowa/Aires WC)
vs. Natalia Strzalka (Poland), silver in 2014 Cadet World Championships