Amit Elor wins round one of the 68 kg best-of-three championship series at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pa.

USAW2024 U.S. Olympic Team TrialsWomenInternationalHS-YouthCollegeSarah HildebrandtDominique ParrishHelen MaroulisKayla MiracleAmit ElorKennedy BladesHaley AugelloAudrey JimenezJacarra WinchesterMacey KiltyForrest MolinariAdeline Gray2024 Olympic Games

U.S. phenom Amit Elor qualifies for first Olympic team after winning eight world titles,

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by Cody Goodwin, Special to TheMat.com

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— Amit Elor has been not just a model of consistency, but a near guarantee for domination during her international wrestling career. Now she’ll get the opportunity to shine on wrestling’s biggest stage.

Elor, the 20-year-old phenom, won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling on Saturday, sweeping her best-of-three finals series over Forrest Molinari at 68 kilograms. She won both matches, 6-0 and 2-1, to make her first Olympic team.

Over the last four years, the California native has become one of USA Wrestling’s top women’s wrestlers. Elor’s racked up the international hardware across various age levels, and the dominance she’s shown along the way has been staggering.

Consider her résumé, arranged by year:

  • 2021: Cadet and Junior world champ

  • 2022: Junior, U23 and Senior World champ

  • 2023: Junior, U23 and Senior World champ

That’s eight different world titles in three years. But wait! There’s more!

Over all eight world championship competitions, Elor has compiled a 29-0 record, with 17 technical falls, 7 pins, and she’s outscored her 29 opponents by a staggering 251-9. No, that's not a typo.

On the Senior level, she’s been especially impressive, winning back-to-back world titles the last two years. The numbers from those events: 8-0 overall record, a 60-6 scoring differential, with three technical falls and a pin, and five shutouts.

These cartoonish numbers are just more proof that Elor is one of the leaders of the next wave of women’s wrestlers ready to take USA Wrestling to the next level — and there is no bigger stage than the Olympics.

Here’s a weight-by-weight rundown of what happened in Session IV on Saturday:

50 kg

Back-to-back, for those who didn’t get the message. Sarah Hildebrandt is now a two-time Olympian after sweeping young Audrey Jimenez, two matches to none, in Saturday’s best-of-three finals. Hildebrandt won both matches by identical 10-0 scores. A year ago, she swept Jimenez to make the 2023 Senior world team, which Hildebrandt turned into a world bronze medal. She won bronze in Tokyo three years ago, too, and hopes to return from Paris with a gold medal this summer.

53 kg

Dominique Parrish took out 2012 Olympian Haley Augello, two matches to none, to become a first-time Olympian. In match one, Parrish scored a takedown late in the first period for a 2-1 victory. In the second, she scored takedowns in both periods for a 5-2 win. Parrish won a world title in 2022. This summer, she’ll take aim at Olympic gold.

57 kg

History for Helen Maroulis, now the first American woman wrestler ever to become a three-time Olympian. Seems like a fitting accomplishment, given that she was the first American woman wrestler to win Olympic gold back in 2016. She added a bronze medal in 2020, and will now get a shot at a third Olympic medal this summer. She earned it, too, sweeping Jacarra Winchester, a 2020 Olympian herself, in the best-of-three series on Saturday, first by fall, then by 6-0 decision.

62 kg

That’s two-time Olympian Kayla Miracle, after she swept the best-of-three finals over Macey Kilty on Saturday. Miracle rallied from down 4-1 to win the first match, 8-5, then scored a key two-point exposure as a counter to a Kilty shot in the second period of the second match to win 4-1. She’s won two world silvers since she fell short in Tokyo. She’ll be a threat to medal in Paris.

68 kg

A workmanlike performance from Amit Elor, one of America’s most decorated women’s wrestlers who is now a first-time Olympian. She handled Forrest Molinari, 6-0 and 2-1, to sweep the best-of-three series and punch her ticket to Paris. The two-time Senior world champ, at just 20 years old, will get her first shot at Olympic gold.

76 kg

Has a torch been passed? Kennedy Blades sweeping Adeline Gray for the Olympic team spot sure felt like it. Blades won 11-6 and 8-3 to become a first-time Olympian. In the first match, Blades scored seven unanswered in the second period to win. In the second match, she scored five in a row to turn a 3-2 lead into a trip to Paris this summer — and, like Elor, she’s only 20 years old.

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling | April 19-20, Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pa.

Best-of-Three Championship Series Matchups

Women’s Freestyle
50 kg

Round 1: Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC) tech. fall Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids WC), 10-0

Round 2: Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC) tech. fall Audrey Jimenez (Sunkist Kids WC), 10-0

Sarah Hildebrandt wins series, 2-0

53 kg

Round 1: Dominique Parrish (Beaver Dam RTC/Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Haley Augello (Izzy Style/New York AC), 2-1

Round 2: Dominique Parrish (Beaver Dam RTC/Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Haley Augello (Izzy Style/New York AC), 5-2

Dominique Parrish wins series, 2-0

57 kg

Round 1: Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids WC) fall Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC), 2:41

Round 2: Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC), 6-0

Helen Maroulis wins series, 2-0

62 kg

Round 1: Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids WC), 8-5

Round 2: Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids WC), 4-1

Kayla Miracle wins series, 2-0

68 kg

Round 1: Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury) dec. Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids WC), 6-0

Round 2: Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury) dec. Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids WC), 2-1

Amit Elor wins series, 2-0

76 kg

Round 1: Kennedy Blades (Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Adeline Gray (New York AC), 11-6

Round 2: Kennedy Blades (Sunkist Kids WC) dec. Adeline Gray (New York AC), 8-3

Kennedy Blades wins series, 2-0

You can watch the replays of every round from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wrestling on Peacock. You can see all the results on Trackwrestling.

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