Leydecker, Gonzalez score semifinal upsets, Senior women’s freestyle finals set in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – A powerhouse set of Senior women’s freestyle finals are set at the 2025 CLAW U.S. Open Championships with upstarts Everest Leydecker and Brianna Gonzalez earning surprise finals bids during Thursday evening’s semifinal session.

Leydecker, who is a high school junior, was the lone athlete to down a No. 1 seed, doing so with a tight 2-1 decision over 2024 U.S. World Team member Areana Villaescusa at 55 kg. A crafty single leg finish at the end of the first period proved the difference for the 17-year-old from Arizona.

It was Leydecker’s second notable result of day—she defeated two-time age-group World medalist and NCWWC champion Amani Jones in the quarterfinals, 10-0. Leydecker will face reigning U20 World Champion Cristelle Rodriguez for the title tomorrow evening at The Expo at World Market Center.

Gonzalez, a 2024 U20 World Team member and NCWWC All-American, ended her run on Thursday with a 13-2 technical fall over 2024 U23 World champion and NCWWC champion Sage Mortimer at 53 kg. The physicality of Gonzalez paid dividends as she battled Mortimer’s upper body attacks. It was four takedowns, with a shifty four-pointer, and solid defense that pushed Gonzalez to the win.

To make the semis, Gonzalez took out 2023 U.S. Open champion and two-time age-group World medalist, 3-0. Her finals opponent is No. 1 seed Felicity Taylor. Gonzalez and Taylor were past teammates at Iowa.

2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades cruised to the 68 kg finals with a 10-0 technical fall over Noelle Gaffney. Her 2024 Olympic teammate Kayla Miracle matched with a 10-0 technical fall in the 62 kg semifinals against SaVannah Cosme.

Kylie Welker and Yelena Makoyed, both 2024 U23 World champions, booked a match in the 76 kg finals with dominant semifinal wins. The two have an extensive history that includes meeting for a NCWWC title two years ago. Welker was a Senior World bronze medalist at 72 kg last year.

Another featured final comes at 57 kg between top two seeds—Tokyo Olympian and 2019 World champion Jacarra Winchester squares off against 2024 Senior Nationals champion Amanda Martinez.

Nine-of-10 No. 1 seeds advanced to the championship bout including Audrey Jimenez at 50 kg, Michaela Beck at 59 kg, Isabella Mir at 65 kg and Skylar Grote at 72 kg. All four will be pushed by elite contenders in the finals.

All champions in this division qualify for 2025 Final X, which is set for June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Senior women’s freestyle competition resumes on Friday morning with the remaining consolations rounds. The championship finals will start at approximately 6 p.m. (PT). A detailed schedule of events for the 2025 CLAW U.S. Open Championships is available at usawrestlingevents.com.

All the action from Las Vegas will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets and match-by-match results are available through USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.

A complete list of semifinal results and finals pairings in the Senior women’s freestyle division can be found below.