USA at the Worlds: Sept. 18-19

USA at the 2019 UWW World Championships

Competing Sept. 18-19

Women’s freestyle wrestling will take place on the fifth and sixth days of the 2019 UWW World Championships, which will be held Sept. 14-22 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The following is a closer look at three Americans, who hope to compete over two days.

Each weight will take place on two days; matches through semifinals on day 1, beginning at 1 a.m. EDT, and placement matches on day 2, repechage bouts beginning at 1 a.m. EDT and placement matches at 10 a.m. EDT.  All matches can be found at Trackwrestling.com.

57 K / 125.5 pounds

Jenna Burkert

Jenna Burkert (right), who competed as a substitute in last year’s Worlds at 55k, will wrestled at 57k this September. (Justin Hoch photo).

Bio: Age 26 (born May 9, 1993); native of Rocky Point, N.Y.; resident of Colorado Springs, Colo.; U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program; attended Northern Michigan RTC

International Experience:competed in two Senior Worlds; overall record 0-2; did not place in 2014, did not place in 2018 (sub for Alli Ragan); also competed in three Junior Worlds; eighth in 2011, did not place in 2012; eighth in 2013.

2019 Final X: defeated Becka Leathers (Titan Mercury WC) best-of-three matches, 4-2, 5-0, at Rutgers.

Projected Top 4 Seeds by UWW:1. Ningning Rong (China), ’18 World gold; 2. Grace Bullen (Norway), ’18 U23 Worlds gold; 3. Odunayo Adekuoroye (Nigeria), ’17 Worlds silver; 4. Emese Barka (Hungary), ’18 World bronze.

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59 K / 130 pounds

Alli Ragan

Alli Ragan (right) was forced to miss last year’s Worlds because of an injury. (Tim Tushla photo)

Bio:Age 27 (born June 16, 1992); native of Carbondale, Ill.; resident of Iowa City, Iowa;  Sunkist Kids WC/Hawkeye WC; 2-time WCWA champ from King U.

International Experience: competed in five Senior Worlds; overall record of 11-6 with two medals; ninth in 2013 (1-1), fifth in 2014 (2-2); dnp in 2015 (1-1), silver medal in 2016 (4-1), and silver in 2017 (3-1); competed in two Junior Worlds, bronze in both 2011 and ‘12; 2013 World Univ. Games (silver).

2019 Final X:defeated Lauren Louive (Hawkeye WC) in best-of-three matches, 10-0, 10-0, in Lincoln, Neb.

Projected Top 4 Seeds by UWW: 1. Yuzuka Inagaki (Japan), ’19 Junior Worlds gold; 2. Linda Morais (Canada), ’16 World bronze; 3. Shoovdor Baatarjav (Mongolia), ’18 World bronze; 4. Xingru Pei (China), ’18 World bronze.

65 K / 143 pounds

Forrest Molinari

Forrest Molinari (left) defeated Maya Nelson at Final X Rutgers for her second World Team berth. (Justin Hoch photo)

Bio:Age 23 (born Sept. 4, 1995); native of Walnut Creek, Calif.; resident of Iowa City, Iowa; Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC; 2015 WCWA champ from King U.

International Experience:competed in one Senior Worlds; finished fifth in 2018 (2-2);  also competed in 2015 Junior Worlds (dnp) and two U23 Worlds (dnp in 2017 and dnp in 2018).

2019 Final X:defeated Maya Nelson (Titan Mercury WC) best-of-three matches, 3-5, 12-2, 4-1, at Rutgers.

Projected Top 4 Seeds by UWW: 1. Forrest Molinari (United States); 2. Aina Temirtassova (Kazakhstan), ’19 Yasar Dogu bronze; 3. Elis Manolova (Azerbaijan), ’18 U23 World silver; 4. Bolortuya Khurelkhuu (Mongolia), ’19 Asian silver.

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76 K / 167.5 pounds

Adeline Gray

Adeline Gray will be shooting for a fifth World title in Kazakhstan. (Tim Tushla photo)

Bio:Age 28 (born Jan. 15, 1991); native of Denver, Colo.; resident of Denver, Colo.; New York AC; attended DeVry/U. of Colo.-Colo. Springs.

International Experience:defending national champion has won four World championships with the other gold medals coming in 2012 (4-0), ’14 (5-0) and ’15 (5-0). She has won six World medals, including a silver in 2011 (4-1) and bronze in 2013 (3-1); also competed in ‘16 Olympics (7th, 1-1 record); Competed in ‘08 (gold), ‘09 (9th), and ‘11 (silver) in Junior Worlds; 2012 University Worlds (silver).

2019 Final X: defeated Precious Bell (Titan Mercury WC) in best-of-three matches, pin (1:04) and 10-0, in Lincoln, Neb.

Projected Top 4 Seeds at UWW: 1. Yasemin Adar (Turkey), ’18 World silver, ’17 World gold; 2. Adeline Gray (United States); 3. Aline Focken (Germany), ’17 World silver; 4. Erica Wiebe (Canada), ’18 World bronze.