Emma Bruntil selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
by Taylor Miller-Gregorio, USA Wrestling
Photo of Emma Bruntil by Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.
Emma Bruntil (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on Feb. 1, 2022.
Representing the USA at 65 kg in women’s freestyle, Bruntil became just the seventh American woman to win gold at the prestigious Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, over the weekend.
Going 4-0 at the tournament, Bruntil defeated three opponents from Russia, including two Junior World medalists and the reigning U23 World runner-up. In the finals, Bruntil met up with U.S. teammate and 2021 Senior World bronze winner Forrest Molinari, who was on the board first. Bruntil used a takedown in each period to grab a 4-2 victory and the gold.
Bruntil, a 2021 U23 World Team member, joins an elite group of American women to win the Yariguin, including Tela O’Donnell, Iris Smith, Sally Roberts, Marcie VanDusen, Kelsey Campbell and Tamyra Mensah Stock. Helen Maroulis became the eighth woman to win gold at the event the following day.
Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level.
To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Manager of Communications and Social Media Taylor Miller-Gregorio at tmiller@usawrestling.org.