Olympic Trials Preview: World champions Parrish, Winchester headline accomplished 53 kg bracket

2022 World champion Dominique Parrish of Scotts Valley, Calif., has held the top spot at 53 kg for the U.S. women the past two years. She is in pole position to make the Olympic Team after earning the automatic berth to the best-of-three championship series by qualifying the weight class for the Paris Games at the 2024 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier.

In addition to making the last two U.S. World Teams, Parrish holds a strong age-group career that includes three appearances at the U23 World Championships. She was the Pan American champion in 2022 and has captured international medals at prestigious events such as the Yasar Dogu (Turkey) and Dave Schultz Memorial International.

The top contender expected to challenge Parrish is 2019 World champion and Tokyo Olympian Jacarra Winchester, who earned an automatic berth in the challenge tournament semifinals after winning a World silver medal at 55 kg last year.

The Senior-level series between Parrish and Winchester has been predominantly one sided. Winchester holds an imposing 8-0 series lead heading into State College. Their most recent clash in Feb. 2022, at the Bout at the Ballpark event, saw Winchester emerge victorious with a 5-2 win.

Winchester earned her Olympic berth at 53 kg three years ago. She has since moved up in weight to compete at 55 kg for the bulk of this Olympic quadrennial and has looked sharp throughout. The Yasar Dogu (Turkey), Ibrahim Moustafa International (Egypt) and Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial (Hungary) are among her gold medal efforts at recent international events. She was the Dec. 2023 Senior Nationals champion at 62 kg.

It should be noted Winchester hasn’t officially competed at 53 kg since the 2022 Bout at the Ballpark match with Parrish. She does have the option to move up in weight and still retain her bye to the challenge tournament semifinals, a decision we won’t know with complete certainty until the official weigh-in.

An interesting wrinkle to 53 kg is the return of 2016 Olympian Haley Augello to the fold. Augello took over three years off active Senior-level competition following the Pan American Championships in March of 2020, timing that coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She returned last Nov. to compete at the Bill Farrell Memorial International, followed by the Senior Nationals where she placed third to qualify for the Trials. Augello made a Senior World Team in 2017, was a three-time age-group World Team member and earned a U17 World title in 2011.

The other past Senior World Team member in the field is Amy Mason, who has a deep resume under maiden name Fearnside. She was the 53 kg representative at the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Norway, and made two age-group World Teams.

An up-and-coming challenger is 2022 U23 World bronze medalist Alisha Howk, a Final X runner-up to Winchester at 55 kg last year. Howk won the Pan American Championships at 55 kg in Feb. and picked up a silver medal at the Bill Farrell Memorial International last winter. She is a four-time age-group World Team member.

Vayle-Rae Baker won the Senior Nationals in Dec. and made a pair of age-group World teams. Katie Gomez, a Final X runner-up to Parrish in 2022, is a two-time age-group World medalist, including a 2021 U17 World title. Another past Final X runner-up is Felicity Taylor, who won the 2023 National Collegiate Women’s Wresting Championships at 116 pounds. Taylor has two NCWWC titles, one for Iowa and one for McKendree. Another past Senior National Team member is Areana Villaescusa, who was fourth at the Senior Nationals.

College stars are providing serious depth in this bracket. Amani Jones qualified with her 2023 U20 World bronze medal, then won the 2023 NCWWC Nationals for North Central College. Her North Central teammate Sydney Petzinger reached the Trials with a fifth place at the Senior Nationals. NAIA champion Juliana Diaz of Missouri Baptist comes off a strong college season. Brianna Gonzalez, a 2024 NCWWC runner-up for Iowa, won the Last Chance Qualifier.

While weight classes and final athlete registrations are not finalized until the completion of weigh-ins, this cast of 13 wrestlers is the expected 53 kg field for the Olympic Trials.

Fans looking to attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in person can still purchase all session tickets and single session tickets through Ticketmaster.

For those unable to grab a ticket, fear not—all the action from Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast by NBC properties, April 19-20. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions will be televised on USA Network. NBC’s streaming platform Peacock will host live streams of each mat throughout the competition.

Complete brackets and live results for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be hosted on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @usawrestling on the various social media platforms for regular updates throughout the event.

For more information about the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.