Coming off a tie for second place at last year's world championships in Paris, the women's freestyle team here in America should be riding high. But the introduction of same day weigh-ins and 10 weight classes could make the composition of this year's team look drastically different.

That means the upcoming U.S. Open in Las Vegas next weekend will have quite a few things to pique your interest. In that vein, here's some of the best storylines heading into the 2018 Open.

76kg: The Return of Adeline Gray

Gray came into the 2016 Rio Olympic as the favorite to win 75kg, and a gold medal there would have been her third straight crown, having won world titles in 2014 and 2015. But she would go on to lose to Vasilisa Marzaliuk in the quarterfinals.

That match would keep Gray off the podium, and then, due to a combination of injuries and taking time off to get married, Gray would be off the mat for over a year. Since her return, she's won the Dave Schultz, Flatz Open in Austria and Klippan Open in Sweden, as well as going a combined 7-0 in two World Cups.

Gray beat defending world champ Yasemin Adar (TUR) at the Klippan, and also has a win over Adar from the 2014 world championships. It's easy to imagine Gray being on top of the podium once again in October.

Watch the 2018 U.S. Open LIVE on FloWrestling

When: April 25-28 | Where: Las Vegas

The Youth Movement

On the men's side, years of developing the Cadet and Junior pipelines are finally paying dividends. It is the same case on the women's side, where a number of still junior eligible girls will be able to make national or even world teams and provide depth despite the addition of new weights.

At 50kg, keep your eye on Cadet world medalist and U23 trials runner-up Alleida Martinez. Alisha Howk and Ronna Heaton can both make an impact at 53kg; we just saw them wrestle in Fargo last year. Cam Guerin, who recently announced she would be training at the OTC, is one of just a few girls registered at 55kg right now.

Getting to 57kg, Michaela Beck won the Flatz and took fourth at the Farrell. Brenda Reyna was famous for beating Heaton in Fargo in 2016, and was a WCWA All-American this season, she'll be at 59kg. Alex Liles made the Farrell finals at 62kg last month, and she'll be joined by Emma Bruntil of Wyoming Seminary in Vegas at that weight.

62kg: Kayla Miracle vs Mallory Velte

Last year, Kayla Miracle was in a position where she was the second best girl at both 58kg and 60kg. This year, she has the option to move up and completely away from both Helen Maroulis and Alli Ragan. The four-time WCWA champ has had a very strong year, winning the Dave Schultz and Klippan Open, appearing in both World Cups and getting fifth at U23 Worlds. In total, she's made made six age level world teams, with her seventh coming soon if she wrestles in this year's U23 Worlds after winning those trials last month.

For Velte, it took years of hard work, but she finally broke through and made a senior world team last year. She's now done with WCWA, winning her third title in February, and appears ready to drop down to 62kg. She had spent most of this season up at 65kg, with the exception of the Beat the Streets dual in October against Japan. The clash between her and Miracle could probably be the main event of the women's finals.

50kg: Victoria Anthony vs Whitney Conder

At the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, Victoria Anthony and Haley Augello put on a show for the ages in their epic three-part 48kg finals. It became clear that Augello would not be in the weight again after Rio, and Anthony dominated the weight domestically in 2017. She would go on to wrestle for bronze in Paris.

Conder has made three world teams, going 51kg in 2011 and 53kg in 2014 and 2015. So what does she do when same day weigh-ins are introduced? Drop down to 50kg, of course. Conder is one of the stingiest women we have in America, and will present an excellent clash of styles with Anthony. Conder is not afraid to win on shot clock points, counter go behinds, and re-attacks. Anthony meanwhile wants to go inside trip, headlock, and blast double.

Like Anthony in 2016, Conder's battle with Augello in last year's 53kg finals was excellent. While Conder is tremendous defensively, she can put points on the board and battle Anthony in a match that could get to double digits if the pace is high enough.