2023 World medalists Macey Kilty and Jennifer Page battle at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
World medalists Winchester, Kilty, Page are women’s freestyle headliners at World Team Trials
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
This weekend’s Senior World Team Trials are packed with elite matchups in the women’s freestyle division. 43 athletes are currently registered across the four non-Olympic weight classes with an Olympian, three World medalists, five past World Team members and a host of young talent in the fold.
The stakes are as high as they come for each athlete taking the mats at MECA - CHI Health Center Omaha, with a spot on the U.S. World Team and a trip to the upcoming Senior World Championships in Tirana, Albania, on the line.
The World medalist advantage is in play for this event. Any athlete who won a medal at the 2023 World Championships and is entered at the same weight class in which she medaled receives a bye to the best-of-three championships series. Two athletes have claimed the advantage for Omaha—Jacarra Winchester at 55 kg and Macey Kilty at 65 kg. Fellow 2023 World medalist Jennifer Page was eligible at 59 kg but elected to forego the advantage and enter the 65 kg field instead.
2024 Olympians are not eligible to compete at the Senior World Championships for non-Olympic weight classes. This particularly impacts the 72 kg division with 2023 World champion Amit Elor, now an Olympic gold medalist at 68 kg, out of the mix for Omaha.
In addition to the noted trio of World medalists entered, two women who have represented the U.S. at a Senior World Championships will take another go at the top domestic spot. Abigail Nette, who finished in 10th place at the 2022 World Championships, is a favorite at 59 kg. Kylie Welker, a 10th place finisher at the 2021 World Championships, headlines the 72 kg bracket. Both women are current U.S. National Team members at Olympic weight classes, Nette at 57 kg and Welker at 76 kg.
Other U.S. National Team members registered to compete this weekend include Areana Villaescusa and Felicity Taylor at 55 kg, Claire DiCugno at 65 kg, and Yelena Makoyed at 72 kg.
The pre-seeds have been released for the four women’s freestyle weight classes—Amanda Martinez, Michaela Beck, Page and Makoyed being awarded the No. 1 seeds in the challenge tournament brackets. Deeper breakdowns for each weight class are provided below.
The Senior World Team Trials starts at 10 a.m. (CT) on both days of competition. Saturday will run from the preliminary rounds through the semifinals. The tournament will wrap up with the best-of-three championship series and the remaining consolation rounds on Sunday.
A live stream and archived matches from the event will be available on FloWrestling.com (subscription required). FloWrestling will also host the brackets on FloArena.
Those seeking to attend the event in person can purchase tickets at the venue box office. All-session and single-day tickets are available for adults and youth. Children five and under receive free admission.
For more information about the Senior World Team Trials, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.
2024 Senior World Team Trials | Sept. 14-15, Omaha, Neb.
Quick Links
• Brackets
Event Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 14
10 a.m. – Prelims, quarterfinals, consolations
5 p.m. – Semifinals, consolations
Sunday, Sept. 15
10 a.m. – Consolations, third place matches, championship series round one
2 p.m. – Championship series rounds two and three (if necessary)
*All times listed are local to Omaha, Neb. / U.S. Central Time.
Weight Class Previews
55 kg (15 Entries)
Reigning World finalist and Tokyo Olympian Jacarra Winchester sits in the finals at 55 kg. She is the odds-on favorite to earn the World Team spot with four World Championships appearances at the weight class already under her belt. She has wrestled for a World medal each time she made the team at 55 kg, earning gold in 2019 and silver last year, plus two fifth-place finishes.
The top challengers to Winchester will likely come from one of the top four seeds, Amanda Martinez, Areana Villaescusa, Felicity Taylor and Alisha Howk, all of whom are current or former U.S. National Team members. Martinez recently won a bronze medal at the Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial and was a 2024 U.S. Senior Nationals champion at 57 kg. Villaescusa adds a veteran presence to the weight with a third-place finish from the Olympic Trials highlighting her recent accolades. Taylor is a two-time U23 World Team member and was a NCWWC champion for Iowa last year. Howk competed on four age-group World Teams and is the reigning Pan American champion at 55 kg. She fell to Winchester at Final X in 2023.
The wild card is No. 5 seed Vayle Baker, who won the 2024 U.S. Senior Nationals at 53 kg and is a two-time U17 World Team member.
59 kg (9 Entries)
No athlete sits out to the championship series at 59 kg with 2023 World medalist Jennifer Page bumping up to 65 kg. Three athletes stand out as front runners to claim the World Team spot—No. 1 seed Michaela Beck, No. 2 seed Abigail Nette and No. 3 seed Xochitl Mota-Pettis.
Beck is returning from a neck injury that sidelined her for a good portion of last year. She was a U.S. Open champion and Final X runner-up at this weight class in 2023. Her 2024 campaign has seen two international medal efforts—a silver at the Pan American Championships and a bronze at the Poland Open. She is a two-time age-group World Team member.
Nette held the World Team spot at this weight class in 2022 but has taken a slight step back in terms of results since. She was fourth at the 2023 U.S. Open, won by Beck, and finished in fourth place at the Olympic Trials down at 57 kg. Her lone international outing since the 2022 Worlds was a bronze medal win at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix last January.
Mota-Pettis is one of the more exciting and unpredictable athletes on the women’s freestyle circuit. She hasn’t competed in 2024 outside of the Olympic Trials, where she entered as the top seed in the challenge tournament at 57 kg, but underperformed, placing outside the top five. She posted a stellar 2023 season with three international medals, including a Pan American title, plus a fifth-place effort at the U23 Worlds.
Past U.S. National Team member Bridgette Duty, 2019 U17 World Team member Alex Szkotnicki and two-time U17 World medalist Ronna Gross are dark horse athletes to watch.
65 kg (13 Entries)
2023 World medalists Macey Kilty and Jennifer Page appear on a collision course at 65 kg. Kilty, who made the World finals in Belgrade, Serbia, sits to the championship series. Page, who finished with World bronze at 59 kg last year, must navigate the challenge tournament field as its top seed.
Kilty is a five-time age-group World medalist, two-time Olympic Trials runner-up and recently committed to wrestle at the University of Iowa this season. At age 23, Kilty is expected to be one of the top stars on the Senior level for the U.S. women during the LA 2028 quad.
Page has been a perennial contender on the Senior level for over a decade. She made two U20 World Teams, earning a bronze medal in 2013, is a four-time U.S. Open champion and two-time Pan American champion. Page hasn’t competed extensively at 65 kg but does hold a Pan American gold at the weight class.
Kilty and Page wrestled twice in 2024 with Kilty getting the win on both occasions. It was a 12-1 technical fall for Kilty at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier Wrestle-Off, followed by a much tighter, 9-8, decision in the challenge tournament finals at the Olympic Trials.
Outside the top two contenders, this weight class has some significant depth. Keep an eye on National Team member Claire DiCugno, U23 World Team member Aine Drury, NCWWC champion Ana Luciano, four-time age-group World Team member and two-time U17 World medalist Alara Boyd, U17 World finalist Skylar Hattendorf, and two-time age-group World Team member SaVannah Cosme to push for a finals spot.
72 kg (6 Entries)
Much like 65 kg, the 72 kg field is expected to come down to a pair of proven athletes—Kylie Welker and Yelena Makoyed. Welker was the World Team representative at this weight in 2021 as a 17-year-old, the same year she won a U20 World title. Makoyed has finished as high as No. 2 on the U.S. Senior level ladder in recent years. Both are National Team members at 76 kg this year.
Welker has a strong track record of success even at such a young age. She is a three-time medalist in age-group World competition and is coming on strong at the Senior level this year with a gold medal from the Grand Prix of Spain, plus a fifth-place finish from the stacked Zagreb Open Ranking Series, under her belt. She was a NCWWC champion for Iowa during its inaugural season, defeating Makoyed in the finals by technical fall.
However, Makoyed owns the most recent win over Welker, a 6-3 decision from the Olympic Trials. Makoyed is a three-time NCWWC champion for North Central College and has been consistently impressive on the international scene, medaling at every competition she has entered on the Senior level. In 2024, she already earned a gold medal from the Henri Deglane Grand Prix and a silver medal from the Poland Open.
Four other athletes are currently entered at 72 kg—2022 Pan American champion Skylar Grote, NCWWC finalist Cheyenne Bowman, two-time USA Wrestling Junior Nationals All-American Gretchen Donally and USA Wrestling Women’s Nationals placer Celina Cooke.
No athlete will sit out to the championship series at this weight class.