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Maroulis remains No. 1, Ragan up to No. 2 as eight U.S. women featured in UWW January World rankings

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by Richard Immel, Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling

Helen Maroulis with her Olympic gold medal in Rio. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors


Eight U.S. women found a place in the World rankings released by United World Wrestling on Thursday with Olympic champion Helen Maroulis (Huntington Beach, Calif./Sunkist Kids) holding the highest ranking at No. 1 at 53 kg/116 lbs.


Maroulis became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling last August. The year prior she won her first World title in Las Vegas, Nev. at 55 kg/121 lbs. We have yet to see Maroulis compete since the Rio Games.


Sliding in at No. 2 in the 60 kg/132 lbs. rankings is newly crowned World silver medalist Alli Ragan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids). Ragan earned a trip to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where she went 4-1, dropping a tough finals match to China’s Xingru Pei, 6-0. Ragan was not ranked in the previous set of UWW World rankings.


Seven of the eight U.S. women are in the top 10 rankings of their weight class. Elena Pirozhkova (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC) remains No. 6 at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. She was fifth at this weight class at the Rio Olympics. Since then, Pirozhkova won a gold medal at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas in December.


Next up is three-time World Champion Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at No. 7 at 75 kg/165 lbs. Gray was seventh at the 2016 Olympics. Most recently, she won a gold medal at the Bill Farrell International in November.


Coming in at No. 8 at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. is Victoria Anthony (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids), who was the U.S. Open champion at this weight class in December. Also in November, Anthony won a gold medal at the Bill Farrell International, then added a bronze medal at the UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals in Azerbaijan.


2016 U.S. Olympic Trials champion Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC) holds down No. 9 at 69 kg/152 lbs. Mensah won a silver medal at the UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals, and was second behind Pirozhkova at the U.S. Open in December. She is competing in the women’s college ranks this year again for Wayland Baptist University.


Holding down No. 10 at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. is 2016 Olympian Haley Augello (Lockport, Ill./New York AC), who has not competed internationally since her ninth place finish in Rio. She is now competing in college for No. 1 King University.


The other USA ranked wrestler was 2016 World Team member Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), who was 10th at the World Championships in Budapest. Hildebrandt won the Non-Olympic Weight Trials in November to make the team, and also was 10th in the UWW Golden Grand Prix Trials in Azerbaijan.

Click here to read full UWW Story on women’s freestyle World rankings

U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers ranked in the UWW January 2017 rankings

No. 1 at 53 kg – Helen Maroulis, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Sunkist Kids)

No. 2 at 60 kg – Alli Ragan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)

No. 6 at 63 kg – Elena Pirozhkova, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC)

No. 7 at 75 kg – Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)

No. 8 at 48 kg – Victoria Anthony, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)

No. 9 at 69 kg – Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC)

No. 10 at 48 kg – Haley Augello, Lockport, Ill. (New York AC)

No. 15 at 55 kg – Sarah Hildebrandt, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)

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