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2025 Final X

Blades, Hays to meet at 68 kg in women’s freestyle at 2025 Final X in Newark, N.J.

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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling

2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades and 2024 U23 World Team member Brooklyn Hays will meet for the Team USA spot at 68 kg in the women’s freestyle division at 2025 Final X on Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center.


The only meeting between the two came in the semifinals of the 2023 U20 Women’s Nationals, with Blades winning by 10-0 technical fall. Blades converted two single legs and three gut-wrenches to end the match in 27 seconds. This match came at 76 kg, up eight kilograms from where the athletes will compete at Final X.


Coming off a stellar run to the 76 kg silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Blades made the decision to drop to 68 kg post-Paris, which is more in line with her natural weight. In 2025, Blades has earned international gold medals at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event and the Pan American Championships. She qualified for Final X by winning the 2025 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., and is a considerable favorite to make her first Senior-level World Team.


The 21-year-old Blades is a four-time age-group World Team member for Team USA. She was a U20 World champion in 2021, plus a U20 World bronze medalist and U23 World silver medalist in 2023.


Hays has upped her game since the 2023 meeting with Blades. The Utah product posted a banner 2024 that included a gold medal at the Senior Pan American Championships, a silver medal at the U23 Pan American Championships, and a fifth-place finish at the U20 World Championships. She recently picked up a gold from the 2025 U23 Pan Ams and won the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament to book her spot at Final X.


Blades wrapped up her first college campaign for the University of Iowa in March. She won the 160-pound NCWWC national title and was named the USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year. Hays was a NCWWC All-American for Augsburg University in 2023 before moving to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center full-time.


What’s at stake? #

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.


Both Blades and Hays appeared at 2023 Final X, which was also held at Prudential Center. Blades dropped a best-of-three series to 2020 Olympic silver medalist and six-time World champion Adeline Gray at 76 kg. Gray pinned Blades in round one and followed with a 7-5 win in round two. Hays earned a 9-8 win over Rose Cassioppi in the true-third match at 72 kg.


Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit #

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.


2023 Final X is the lone Beat the Streets event appearance for both competitors.


Get Tickets #

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at btsny.org. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org. 


Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.


Follow Final X #

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.


Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.


Final X will be held in two sessions on Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 12:30 p.m. (ET), will feature U.S. National Team true-third matches, followed by round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m. (ET), will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.


For more information about Final X, please visit themat.com.

2025 Final X #

June 14, Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. #


Men’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series #

57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Luke Lilledahl (Saint Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg – Vito Arujau (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Joseph McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Evan Wick (San Gabriel, Calif./Askren Wrestling Academy/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Joshua Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Hayden Zillmer (Deerwood, Minn./Gopher WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Trent Hillger (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC)


Women’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Series #

50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC)

55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, Calif./Tiger WC) vs. Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC)

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Valiant WC) vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Aine Drury (Westminster, Calif./New York AC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Tiffin, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brooklyn Hays (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Atherton, Calif./Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Lancaster, Calif./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)


Men’s Freestyle True-Third Matches #

57 kg – Liam Cronin (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Nico Provo (Stratford, Conn./California RTC)

65 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brock Hardy (Brigham City, Utah/Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Ian Parker (Charlottesville, Va./Cavalier WC) vs. Bryce Andonian (Kirtland, Ohio/Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Jarrett Jacques (Columbia, Mo./Tiger Style WC) vs. Joseph Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Boilermaker RTC)

86 kg – Parker Keckeisen (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Panther WC-RTC) vs. Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)


Women’s Freestyle True-Third Matches #

50 kg – Anaya Falcon (Yorba Linda, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kendra Ryan (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)

53 kg – Sage Mortimer (Allendale, Mich./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Sydney Petzinger (Parsippany, N.J./Cardinal WC)

59 kg – Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Humble, Texas/Rise RTC)

62 kg – Alara Boyd (Muncie, Ind./Cardinal WC) vs. SaVannah Cosme (Denver, Colo./Atreus WC)

65 kg – Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bella Mir (Las Vegas, Nev./Cardinal WC)

68 kg – Latifah McBryde (Buffalo, N.Y./Life) vs. Solin Piearcy (San Jose, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Kaylynn Albrecht (Fort Worth, Texas/USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Skylar Grote (Newton, N.J./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

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