Talented U.S. Senior Women’s Freestyle World Team set during Final X in Newark
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Senior medalists Maroulis, Blades, Winchester, Kilty, Welker among women’s freestyle Final X champions
NEWARK, N.J. – The 2025 U.S. Senior World Team women’s freestyle was determined at an exciting Final X at the Prudential Center on Saturday. The winners at Final X will compete for the United States at the Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, September 13-21.
The team will be a mix of five experienced stars, along with an influx of five young athletes who qualified for their first Senior World Team.
2016 Olympic champion, three-time Olympic medalist and three-time World champion Helen Maroulis continued her amazing run of excellence by pinning Amanda Martinez in both of their matches at 57 kg. Maroulis scored a first-period pin in 1:51 in the first match, then was able to put away Martinez in 4:43 in bout two.
Maroulis has qualified for her 12th Senior World Team, and with her three Olympic appearances, has now made her 15th career U.S. Senior level team. In her first 14 appearances, Maroulis won 10 medals, with seven at the World Championships and three at the Olympics.
2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades finished off a two-match sweep over Brooklyn Hays at 68 kg. It will be her first Senior World Championships appearance. In the second match, Blades scored the first takedown and went on to a 5-2 win over Hays. In the opening bout, Blades came strong with nine second-period points to defeat Brooklyn Hays, 10-4.
Blades was joined by her 2025 University of Iowa teammates on the Senior World Team, Macey Kilty at 65 kg and Kylie Welker at 76 kg. All three won 2025 NCWWC national titles for the Hawkeyes. Kilty and Welker are both also past Senior medalists, with Kilty having two Senior World medals and Welker with one Senior World medal.
Kilty was totally in control, sweeping her finals series against Aine Drury with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, with both matches ending in the first period. Kilty won a World silver medal in 2023 and a World bronze medal in 2024.
Welker, a 2024 World bronze medalist, defeated 2022 2022 World Team member Dymond Guilford in two straight bouts. Welker opened her offense in the second match, she broke open a 1-1 tie with eight second-period points for a 9-1 win. Her first match was a razor-thin 2-1 victory over Guilford.
2019 World champion, 2023 World silver medalist and 2020 Olympian Jacarra Winchester needed all three matches to defeat 2022 World Team member Abigail Nette at 59 kg. Nette scored a pair of second period takedowns to beat Winchester, 6-4 in the first bout. In the second match, Nette took a 6-1 lead, but a four-point Winchester takedown made it 6-5, then Winchester scored two more takedowns for a 9-7 win. In the deciding third match, it was all Winchester, who secured a 10-0 technical fall. This will be Winchester’s sixth Senior World Team, to go along with her Olympic berth.
The other five 2025 World Team members will be competing in their first Senior World Championships.
Adaugo Nwachukwu needed three matches to defeat two-time World silver medalist and two-time Olympian Kayla Miracle at 62 kg. Nwachukwu had a strong second period to win the first match 14-8. In the second bout, Miracle scored a late step out point to tie it at 3-3 and got another point on a failed challenge for a 4-3 victory. In the deciding third match, after trailing 2-0, Nwachukwu scored eight straight points and went on to an 8-4 win.
The other first time Senior World Team members will be were Audrey Jimenez (50 kg), Felicity Taylor (53 kg), Cristelle Rodriguez (55 kg) and Alexandria Glaude (72 kg).
Jimenez swept her series over veteran Erin Golston. In the second match, Jimenez led 5-0 at the break, then got two takedowns, a turn and a step out to close out a 12-2 technical fall. In the first match, Jimenez scored 10 second-period points for a 10-2 win. Jimenez, who competes for Lehigh University, was second in the 2024 Olympic Trials and the 2023 Final X to Sarah Hildebrandt, who won a 2024 Olympic gold medal.
Taylor had a two-match sweep over Brianna Gonzalez. In the second match, Taylor scored a takedown and two tilts for a 6-4 victory. She edged Gonzalez 2-1 in the first match. Gonzalez currently competes for the University of Iowa, and Taylor was an NCWWC champion for Iowa in 2024.
Rodriguez, a 2024 U20 World champion, swept her series over high school star Everest Leydecker. In the second match, Rodriguez jumped to a 5-1 lead, and went on to win 8-5. In the first bout, Rodriguez jumped to a 9-0 lead, but Leydecker ralled for eight straight points to make it 9-8. Rodriguez closed out the win with a step out and a last second takedown for a 12-8 win. Rodriguez was an NAIA champion for Doane University.
Glaude, a 2025 U.S. Open champion, won her Championship Series by forfeit, when 2024 Olympic champion and two-time Senior World champion Amit Elor did not compete for personal reasons. Glaude, was a U23 World medalist and a star at McKendree University.
FINAL X
At Newark, N.J., June 14
Women’s Freestyle Best-of-Three Championship Series
55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, Calif./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC)
Bout One – Rodriguez dec. Leydecker, 12-8
Bout Two – Rodriguez dec. Leydecker, 8-5
(Rodriguez wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) dec. Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Valiant WC)
Bout One – Nwachukwu dec. Miracle, 14-8
Bout Two – Miracle dec. Nwachukwu, 4-3
Bout Three – Nwachukwu dec. Miracle, 8-4
(Nwachukwu wins series, 2 matches to one, to make the World Team)
53 kg – Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Bout One – Taylor dec. Gonzalez, 2-1
Bout Two – Taylor dec. Gonzalez, 6-4
(Taylor wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
59 kg –Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)
Bout One – Nette dec. Winchester, 6-4
Bout Two – Winchester dec. Nette, 9-7
Bout Three – Winchester tech fall Nette, 11-0, 3:31
(Winchester wins series, 2 matches to one, to make the World Team)
65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Aine Drury (Westminster, Calif./New York AC)
Bout One – Kilty tech fall Drury, 10-0, 2:57
Bout Two – Kilty tech fall Drury, 10-0, 2:07
(Kilty wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Dymond Guilford (Lancaster, Calif./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)
Bout One – Welker dec. Guilford, 2-1
Bout Two – Welker dec. Guilford, 9-1
(Welker wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)
Bout One – Jimenez dec. Golston, 10-2
Bout Two – Jimenez tech fall Golston 12-2, 5:48
(Jimenez wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Tiffin, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Brooklyn Hays (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)
Bout One – Blades dec. Hays, 10-4
Bout Two – Blades dec. Hays, 5-2
(Blades wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Atherton, Calif./Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) won by forfeit
Note: Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) did not compete
(Glaude makes the World Team)
57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) dec. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)
Bout One – Maroulis pin Martinez, 1:51
Bout Two – Maroulis pin Martinez, 4:43
(Maroulis wins series, 2 matches to none, to make the World Team)
