Blades, Nwachukwu to go for gold, Beck to wrestle for bronze in women’s freestyle at Zagreb Open Ranking Event

ZAGREB, Croatia – Women’s freestyle action continued in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday morning, as four athletes stepped on the mat for the first time at the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Event. Two athletes will wrestle for gold in the next session, while one will wrestle for bronze.

Competing at 68 kg, 2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades dominated her opponents in the first session, and will wrestle for gold in the afternoon. Blades opened her tournament with a pin in just 35 seconds over Kendra Dacher of France, a two-time U23 World medalist and three-time Senior World Team member.

Blades kept the momentum moving with a pin at 2:51 over Adela Hanzlickova of the Czech Republic, a 2024 Senior World bronze medalist. In her third match of the day, Blades needed just 1:03 to secure a 10-0 win over Noémi Szabados of Hungary, that included four points from her one of her signature throws.

In her final match of the tournament, Blades will face Karolina Pok of Hungary. Pok is a 2024 U23 European Championships bronze medalist.

Adaugo Nwachukwu had a fantastic morning, going 4-0 in group action. Nwachukwu collected wins over Nikoletta Szabo of Hungary, 2023 U23 World silver medalist Individual Neutral Athlete Amina Tandelova, Yasmine Soliman of Hungary and 2024 Olympian and 2018 World silver medalist Bilyana Dudova of Bulgaria.

Michaela Beck, competing at 59 kg, went 1-2 in the first session. Beck opened her tournament with a 5-2 decision over Erika Bognar of Hungary. In her second match, Beck was pinned by seven-time Senior World Team member Alyona Kolesnik of Azerbaijan in the second period. Beck fell in the semifinals to 2024 U17 World bronze medalist Hiunai Hurbanova of Azerbaijan, 6-0. Beck matches up against Mariana Cherdivara of Moldova for bronze.

2024 U23 World Team member Sofia Macaluso fell in two matches at the Zagreb Open. Macaluso was pinned in the second period by Hurbanova of Azerbaijan. In round two, Macaluso dropped a 5-0 decision to Mariana Cherdivara of Moldova.

The action continues at noon EST with the women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman medal matches. For live updates, follow USA Wrestling on X and Threads. The tournament is streaming on FloWrestling, and the full schedule is below. Brackets and results are available on UWW Arena.

At Zagreb, Croatia, February 5-9, 2025

U.S. Women's freestyle results

59 kg – Sofia Macaluso (Otisville, N.Y./West Point WC)

LOSS Hiunai Hurbanova (Azerbaijan), fall 4:16

LOSS Mariana Cherdivara (Moldova), 5-0

59 kg – Michaela Beck (New York, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC), in bronze medal match

WIN Erika Bognar (Hungary), 5-2

LOSS Alyona Kolesnik (Azerbaijan), fall 3:32

LOSS Hiunai Hurbanova (Azerbaijan), 6-0

Vs. Mariana Cherdivara (Moldova)

62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP), in gold medal match

WIN Nikoletta Szabo (Hungary), fall 4:07

WIN Amina Tandelova (AIN), 9-8

WIN Yasmine Soliman (Hungary), forf.

WIN Bilyana Dudova (Bulgaria), 5-3

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Chicago, Ill./Izzy Style Wrestling/Titan Mercury WC), in gold medal match

WIN Kendra Dacher (France), fall 0:35

WIN Adela Hanzlickova (Czech Republic), fall 2:51

WIN Noémi Szabados (Hungary), 10-0

Vs. Karolina Pok (Hungary)

*all times listed local to Zagreb, Croatia, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time

Friday, February 7

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (WFS 59 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 68 kg, GR 63 kg, 67 kg)

12:30 p.m. – Semifinal Rounds (WFS 59 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 68 kg, GR 63 kg, 67 kg)

1:30 p.m. – Repechage (WFS 59 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 68 kg, GR 63 kg, 67 kg)

6:00 p.m. – Finals (WFS 59 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 68 kg, GR 63 kg, 67 kg)

Saturday, February 8

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg, GR 77 kg, 87 kg)

12:30 p.m. – Semifinal Rounds (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg, GR 77 kg, 87 kg)

1:30 p.m. – Repechage (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg, GR 77 kg, 87 kg)

6:00 p.m. – Finals (WFS 53 kg, 57 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg, GR 77 kg, 87 kg)

Sunday, February 9

10:00 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

12:30 p.m. – Semifinal Rounds (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

1:30 p.m. – Repechage (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)

6:00 p.m. – Finals (GR 55 kg, 60 kg, 72 kg 82 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg)