USA Wrestling and FloWrestling have announced that the 50 kg women’s freestyle best-of-three series between U.S. Open champion Whitney Conder (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Victoria Anthony (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 50 kg in women’s freestyle wrestling has been moved to the 6:00 p.m. session at Final X:Rutgers.

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Final X: Rutgers will be hosted at the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J., on Saturday, June 8.

The 2018 World champion in men’s freestyle, David Taylor (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC), announced on Friday that he would not be competing in Final X: Rutgers at 86 kg due to injury. Taylor suffered a knee injury at the Beat the Streets “Grapple at the Garden” fundraising event in New York City in early May.

Taylor was scheduled to face World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Patrick Downey (Cranbury, N.J./Titan Mercury WC/NJRTC) at Final X: Rutgers, with the winner earning the spot on the U.S. team for the 2019 Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan in September. 

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The Conder vs. Anthony best-of-three series had been scheduled for the 12:00 noon session at Final X: Rutgers. That series will be inserted in the Bout No. 4 slot in the 6:00 p.m. session, which was the slot which the Taylor vs. Downey match had been scheduled.

The 12:00 noon session has been adjusted to reflect the change, and the updated Final X: Rutgers bout schedule is listed below. There will be six championship series during the 12:00 noon session and eight championship series at the 6:00 p.m. session.

In 2018, Conder and Anthony met in the championship series at Final X at Lehigh, with Conder winning the series, two matches to one. Conder won the first bout, 10-4 and Anthony won the second bout 4-2. In the deciding third bout, Conder emerged with an 11-0 victory to make the 2018 U.S. Senior World Team.

Conder defeated Anthony 4-0 at the 2019 Dan Kolov International in Bulgaria, a UWW Ranking Series event, and also defeated Anthony 7-3 at the 2019 German Grand Prix, with both events in February. Conder also beat Anthony, 4-4, in the U.S. Open semifinals in April.

In Final X, the top two wrestlers in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series, with the Final X winners earning spots on the U.S. Senior World Team to compete at the 2019 Senior World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, September 14-22, 2019.

Tickets are still available for both Final X: Rutgers on June 8 and Final X: Lincoln on June 16, but are going fast.

Ticket prices for Final X are:

·        VIP Floor - $100

·        Reserved seating (100 level) - $65

·        General Admission (200 – 300 level) - $40

·        Group (GA only) – Buy 10 or more tickets and get $40 off

At Final X: Rutgers, almost 4,000 tickets have already been sold. VIP seating is sold out, and reserve seating is expected to sell out early this week. General admission seats are still available, but fans are encouraged to secure their tickets right away to make sure that they will be able to attend this exciting event.

To order tickets, go to the tickets tab on the official Final X website at: www.FinalX.tv

Final X is an exciting partnership between USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, and FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content. Exclusive live and on-demand coverage will be provided on FloWrestling, as well as on the FloSports apps on iOS, Roku and Apple TV 4.

FINAL X: RUTGERS At the RAC in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, June 8

Session One – 12:00 noon

Bout 1: Men’s GR 87 kg – U.S. Open champion Joe Rau (Chicago, Ill./Titan Mercury WC/Chicago RTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Ben Provisor (State College, Pa./New York AC/Nittany Lion WC)

Bout 2: Women’s FS 72 kg – U.S. Olympic champion Alyvia Fiske (Napa, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Victoria Francis (Litchfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)

Bout 3: Men’s GR 82 kg – U.S. Open champion Kendrick Sanders (Marquette, Mich./New York AC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion John Stefanowicz (Camp LeJeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps)

Bout 4: Men’s GR 55 kg – U.S. Open champion Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Brady Koontz (Plover, Wis./Ohio RTC)

Bout 5: Men’s GR 67 kg – U.S. Open champion Ellis Coleman (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Jamel Johnson (Camp LeJeune, N.C./U.S. Marine Corps)

Bout 6: Women’s FS 57 kg – U.S. Open champion Becka Leathers (Chapel Hill, N.C./Titan Mercury WC/Tarheel RTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Jenna Burkert (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

Session Two – 6:00 p.m.

Bout 1: Women’s FS 65 kg – U.S. Open champion Forrest Molinari (Iowa City, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Maya Nelson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids/OTC)

Bout 2: Men’s GR 77 kg – U.S. Open champion Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids/OTC) vs. winner at World Team Trials Challenge Tournament Pat Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm)

Bout 3: Women’s FS 68 kg – World bronze medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC/OTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Alexandria Glaude (W. Sacramento, Calif./Titan Mercury WC/McKendree Bearcat WC)

Bout 4: Women’s FS 50 kg –U.S. Open champion Whitney Conder (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Victoria Anthony (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Bout 5: Men’s FS 125 kg – World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski (Raleigh, N.C./Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn./Minnesota RTC)

Bout 6: Men’s FS 65 kg – U.S. Open champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes RTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC)

Bout 7: Men’s FS 79 kg – World champion Kyle Dake (Ithaca, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes RTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Alex Dieringer (Stillwater, Okla./Titan Mercury WC/Cowboy RTC)

Bout 8: Men’s FS 92 kg – World champion J’den Cox (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC/OTC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Bo Nickal (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC)