The 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament is May 14-15, in Louisville, Kentucky. Winners compete at Final X — a best-of-three series to determine the U.S. World Team on Saturday, June 19, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The World Team Trials finals are at noon Eastern on Friday, May 15. 

Three Final X matches have been determined.

57 kg: Amanda Martinez vs Helen Maroulis (2025 World champion)
68 kg: Bella Mir vs Kennedy Blades (2025 World bronze)
76 kg: Dymond Guilford vs Kylie Welker (2025 World bronze)

Below is a women’s freestyle preview for the seven remaining weights.

50 Kilograms

Final X: Katie Gomez vs TBD

Like the U.S. Open, this weight is the headliner. Audrey Jimenez is injured after making the 2025 World Team, leaving 50 kg wide open. Erin Golston reached Final X last year and reached the U.S. Open finals this year, falling to Katie Gomez, 5-0, in the finals. She’s the slight favorite, but there’s a tough field waiting behind her. 

Felicity Taylor is a returning Senior World Teamer at 53 kg, but dropped to 50 for the U.S. Open. She fell to Gomez, 3-1, but bounced back for third, defeating National Team member Kendra Ryan, 7-6, in the consolation finals. Both will factor heavily into this weight, and both are capable of reaching the finals. Ryan never won a college national title, but she is wrestling better than ever, falling to Golston in a competitive 7-6 match at the U.S. Open. Taylor is a five-time national collegiate finalist and two-time champ, and she proved she can be effective at a lower weight. 

Three-time age-level World champion Emily Shilson skipped the U.S. Open but looked solid during her gold medal run at the 2025 Bill Farrell Memorial International. Golston is 4-1 against Shilson, with Shilson securing a 10-3 win at the 2021 World Team Trials. Shilson is good from a tie and space, and is tough on top. She’ll be a factor.

Morgan Turner is a two-time age-level champion whose stock soared after winning the U23 National Championships. The prep phenom defeated 2024 U23 World champion Sage Mortimer in a best-of-three shootout and was competitive with Gomez in a 4-3 loss at the U.S. Open. Turner changes levels well, and her re-attacks make her dangerous for anyone. 

Kaelani Shufeldt and Samara Chavez never won college national titles, but they can go with anyone and will be tough first-round draws. Chavez has a big arsenal and can throw from anywhere, and Shufeldt has a punishing style with a folkstyle mentality if she gets on top. 

Mortimer is registered, but it’s unclear if she will be at the World Team Trials after suffering a concussion during the U.S. Open quarterfinals against Ryan. 

Circle this weight and tune in! It won’t disappoint. 

53 Kilograms

Final X: Cristelle Rodriguez vs TBD

Only five entries so far, with Olympic champion Sarah Hildebrandt out for the year with an injury. Elena Ivaldi finished third at the U.S. Open, after falling to Hildebrandt in the first round, then reeled off seven straight wins, including a fall over Jaslynn Gallegos in the consolation finals. 

Gallegos led Ivaldi 7-2 before getting pinned, so she’s a real threat to reach Final X. Sydney Petzinger, her former North Central teammate, could meet Gallegos at some point. Vayle Baker and Isabella Marie Gonzalez round out a field that’s up for grabs. 

55 Kilograms

Final X: Everest Leydecker vs TBD

This is Areana Villaescusa’s spot to win. She was in a medal match at the 2024 Senior World Championships, with 2-1 and 4-1 losses to Leydecker. However, Alex Hedrick will be a tough out after reaching the 57 kg U.S. Open finals, falling to Martinez, 6-4. She has wrestled in Final X before, and could make it again. 

Sara Sterner has one of the best lefty headlocks in the game and can pin anyone, including Leydecker, whom she defeated in the second match of the best-of-three series at the U23 National Championships. Marissa Gallegos is a college national champion who will factor into every tournament she enters. 

Rose Kaplan and Mateah Roehl round out the current field. 

59 Kilograms

Final X: Abby Nette vs TBD

World champion Jacarra Winchester is entered, but she was also entered for the U.S. Open and didn’t compete. If she competes, she will be the top seed, as she is the returning World Teamer at this weight. 

Michaela Beck fell to Nette, 10-0, in the U.S. Open finals, but she’s no stranger to best-of-three series. She reached 2023 Final X and the 2024 World Team Trials finals, falling to Jennifer Page and Winchester, both World medalists. She will likely assume the top seed if Winchester doesn’t show. 

Lexi Janiak and Alex Szkotnicki have had a back-and-forth this year, with Szkotnicki winning two matches over Janiak at the U23 National Championships, and Janiak, a three-time age-level World medalist, winning two matches over Szkotnicki at the U.S. Open. 

This weight is a tangled plate of spaghetti, with Szkotnicki knocking off her McKendree teammate, Cameron Guerin, a five-time college national champion, 5-4, at the U.S. Open, and Guerin downing Janiak, 5-5, in the 2026 NCAA tournament finals. 

Beck defeated Guerin, 7-3, in the U.S. Open semis, but Janiak defeated Beck, 2-1, at last year’s World Team Trials, after Beck defeated Janiak, 6-5, in the U.S. Open semis. 

Got all that?

Adding two-time age-level World medalist Amani Jones, who is moving up from 57 kilograms, makes this weight more compelling. And two-time NAIA finalist and four-time All-American Sarah Savidge makes this a can’t-miss weight. 

62 Kilograms

Final X: Adaugo Nwachukwu vs TBD

Macey Kilty dropped to 62 kilograms after winning two Senior World medals at 65. She lost to Nwachukwu, 10-8, in the U.S. Open finals, a match that turned on a crucial exchange in which Nwachukwu scored a counter takedown and secured turns.

Alara Boyd and Aine Drury will have their say on whether Kilty gets another shot at Nwachukwu. Boyd is a two-time age-level World medalist who has wrestled Nwachukwu close, and Drury fell to Kilty at Final X last year. Claire DiCugno, a 2024 college national champion for King, has a unique defensive style that can give her opponents fits if they aren’t ready. SaVannah Cosme is a consistent performer, wrestling Nwachukwu close at the U23 National Championships. Hanna Errthum rounds out the list of registered participants. 

65 Kilograms

Final X: Kayla Miracle vs TBD

Emma Bruntil is the favorite after reaching the U.S. Open finals and making the 2023 Senior World Team at 68 kg, but she could have her hands full with a quality field. Page was a 2023 World bronze medalist at 59 kg, but she didn’t compete at the U.S. Open. Reese Larramendy, Jamilah McBryde, and Katie Lange are college national champions working to make the jump to a high-level senior career. Alissa Caltagirone finished fifth at the U.S. Open at 68 kg after going 1-2 at the NCAA Championships. High school star Nora Akpan rounds out the field. 

72 Kilograms

Final X: Alexandria Glaude vs TBD

The return of three-time World/Olympic champion Amit Elor is the storyline here, and she will be the favorite. She hasn’t lost a match to an American, so why wouldn’t she be?

She’ll have a steady stream of past Final Xers to deal with, like Joye Levendusky, Precious Wieser, and Skylar Grote, whom she defeated 2-1 in her last competitive match. Jasmine Robinson is fresh off a Pan-Am silver at 68 kg, Kaylynn Albrecht and Latifah McBryde are returning National Teamers who faced off in a thrilling 2023 NAIA final, won by Albrecht, 11-8, on a last-second takedown. Taylor Graveman is a two-time NCAA All-American, and Alexandria Alli will compete for Lehigh in the fall after spending a year with USA Wrestling’s Elite Accelerator Program.