Everything you need to know about the senior women's 50kg, 53kg, and 55kg divisions at the 2019 U.S. Open.

50 Kilograms

Last year in Budapest, Whitney Conder represented the United States at 50kg. Due to her not winning a medal, two spots in Final X are up for grabs. This weight features many seasoned veterans along with  some of the brightest up-and-comers this sport has to offer. What makes this weight very interesting is that last year's world team member, Whitney Conder, has not registered for the Open yet. Although she may still register, Conder may be waiting to qualify for Final X at the World Team Trials in Raleigh, North Carolina. Regardless, expect 50kg to be one of the most interesting weights as the ladies battle it out for the first spot in Final X: Rutgers.

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Contenders

• Victoria Anthony (Sunkist Kids WC)

• Haley Augello (Sunkist Kids WC)

• Erin Golston (NYAC)

• Amy Fearnside (TMWC)

• Alleida Martinez (TMWC)

• Emily Shilson (TMWC)

Bringing the excitement to Vegas will be Haley Augello as she is dropping back down to 50kg after losing to Sarah Hildebrandt in Final X last year at 53kg. This creates a very exciting potential matchup between Augello and Victoria Anthony, who also lost at Final X last year. This would be a rematch from the 2016 Olympic Team Trials final where Augello was the victor. Augello went on the qualify the weight for the Olympics and took ninth. Victoria Anthony has started 2019 very strong, as she brought back a bronze medal from the prestigious Ivan Yarygin in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. 

Erin Golston will look to keep her momentum rolling after a good performance at Pan Am Championships last weekend where she finished with the silver medal. Golston was runner-up at the World Team Trials last year, where she lost the best-of-three series to Victoria Anthony in the finals. However, Golston got revenge when she defeated Anthony at the Dan Kolov back in March of this year. 

Another veteran in this field is Amy Fearnside. The four-time WCWA All American proved she has what it takes to make the team after finishing third at the World Team Trials last year. Fearnside also finished fifth at the U23 World Championships in 2017. 

Along with these veterans, some of women's wrestling’s best young talent will try to make some noise this week in the 50kg bracket. Alleida Martinez and Emily Shilson have both won just about everything you can at their age. Martinez, a four-time California state champion, took a shot at the senior stage last year. However, she was defeated in the consolation semis of the World Team Trials last year by Amy Fearnside by fall, as previously mentioned. The two-time cadet world medalist and three-time Fargo champ will be looking to make some noise this weekend. 

The other young star, Emily Shilson, is fresh off a cadet world title in 2018 and will be taking her first stab at the senior stage. Other notable achievements for Shilson include two Cadet Pan Am titles and five Fargo championships.

Watch Shilson win her latest Fargo title below:

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Dark Horses

• Jessica Dehart (Unattached)
• Mckayla Campbell (Campbellsville University)

Dehart, a four-time state champion in Oregon, is looking to put her face on the senior landscape at 50kg. Expect this two-time WCWA All-American to cause some problems in Vegas. Expect Mckayla Campbell, a two-time junior world team member, to also turn some heads.

Predictions

1) Anthony  

2) Augello  

3) Golston  

4) Fearnside

53 Kilograms

Due to Sarah Hildebrandt winning the silver medal at last year’s World Championships, she will sit until Final X. She will await the winner of the World Team Trials tournament held in Raleigh on May 17. Although winning that weekend will not automatically qualify one for Final X, it is still very important as the winner will earn a spot in the finals of the World Team Team Trials tournament. This year’s 53kg open field features many highly credentialed women looking to get their shot at knocking of Hildenbrandt at Final X Lincoln. 

Contenders

• Cody Pfau (TMWC)

• Gracie Figueroa (TMWC)

• Katherine Shai (TMWC)

• Tiare Ikei (Elite Accelerator Program) 

The clear frontrunner at this weight is 2016 US Open Champion Cody Pfau. Although Pfau is yet to crack the senior world team, she has been right there every year. Last year she was the runner-up at the World Team Trials tournament to Haley Augello. She has also been on the U23 world team the past two years, taking seventh last year. Along with a good international career, Pfau had a very good collegiate career at Oklahoma City University where she won three WCWA National Championships. 

Watch Pfau win a college title below:

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At 53kg we see another young star, Gracie Figueroa. Figueroa is a four-time state champion from California and has been on four age-level world teams (three cadet, one junior). She also brought back the bronze medal from the 2016 Cadet World Championships. Figueroa dominated domestically as well, winning five Fargo titles. Aside from the Grand Prix of Spain last July, this weekend will be Figueroa’s first go at the senior stage. 

Katherine Shai made her return to the mat this year at the Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament in January. In 2016 Shai won the Dave Schultz Memorial and took third place at the Olympic Team Trials. In 2014 she placed second at the World Team Trials. Shai also brought home a gold medal from the University World Championships in 2008. This two-time WCWA national champion will be looking to make a strong return to the mat this weekend in Vegas. 

After bringing home the bronze medal from the Cadet World Championships last year, Tiare Ikei will be looking to make some noise on the senior level. She made her senior level debut at the Dave Schultz Memorial in January. Unfortunately, she fell short of the medal stand after losing to Cody Pfau by fall in the consolation semis. Ikei was also a Cadet Pan Am gold medalist and a member of the Youth Olympic Games last year. Ikei is also a two-time Fargo All-American.

Dark Horse

• Stefana Jelacic (Sunkist Kids WC)

Stefana Jelacic was a Cadet Pan Am gold medalist back in 2016 and a Fargo champ in 2017. Jelacic could make for an interesting quarterfinal match, depending on how the bracket is drawn.

Predictions

1) Pfau  

2) Figueroa  

3) Shai  

4) Ikei

55 Kilograms

With many of the sports' top stars heading to Vegas at 55kg, the bracket is looking to be one of the best in the tournament. Last year in Budapest, Jacarra Winchester was the representative for the United States at 55kg. Although Winchester had a very good World Championships, she fell short in the bronze-medal match, meaning a spot in the 55kg match at Final X Rutgers is on the line this weekend. Winchester will be looking to take her spot back in Final X this weekend, but she will have to get through a very tough field to do so.

Contenders

• Jacarra Winchester ( TMWC)

• Becka Leathers (TMWC)

• Alexandra Hedrick (TMWC)

• Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids WC)

• Dominique Parrish (Sunkist Kids WC)

• Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids WC)

After taking fifth at the World Championships last year, Jacarra Winchester is looking to repeat as an Open Champ and earn a spot in Final X. However, it will be anything but easy to do so. Winchester is coming off a bronze-medal finish at the Pan Am Championships, but it was up at 57kg. Winchester's biggest threat is 2017 world silver medalist, Becka Leathers. If these two were to meet, it would be a rematch of last years Final X, where Winchester won the series 2-0. Leathers has everything it takes to knock off Winchester and take her spot back in Final X. 

Coming down to 55kg this year will be Alexandra Hedrick. Last year Hedrick won the U.S. Open and World Team Trials tournament to set up a match with Olympic champion Helen Maroulis at Final X. She fell to Maroulis two matches to none, but she was still able to represent the United States at the Junior World Championships last year. Hedrick is fresh off a Pan Am gold medal last weekend in Argentina and will be looking to carry that momentum into Vegas. 

Dominique Parrish is another highly credentialed wrestler in this bracket. She finished runner-up to Jacarra Winchester at the Open and World Team Trials last year. Parrish has represented the United States the past two years at the U23 World Championships. Parrish has started 2019 off well, taking second at the Dave Schultz Memorial back in January. 

After being on an age-level world team the past two years, Alisha Howk made a smooth transition to the senior stage when she won the Dave Schultz Memorial back in January. Howk defeated Dominique Parrish in the finals by forfeit. Howk was fifth at the Junior World Championships last year and seventh at Cadet Worlds in 2017. She is also a two-time Fargo champion. She will be wrestling up at 55kg this year after taking sixth at the Open down at 53kg last year.

Ronna Heaton started her international career off strong, winning a gold medal at the Cadet World Championships in 2015 and a silver medal in 2016. She has also been on the junior world team the past three years. Last year Heaton wrestled on the senior circuit as well, taking seventh at the U.S. Open down at 53kg. Heaton was defeated by Alisha Howk 6-0 in the consolation round of four. Heaton was fourth in the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament last year at 55kg and has won Fargo three times. 

Watch Howk wrestle Heaton in the video below:

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Dark Horse

• Shauna Isbell-Kemp

The University of Jamestown head women’s wrestling coach and 2012 WCWA champion will be making a return to the mat.

Predictions

1) Leathers 

2) Winchester 

3) Hedrick 

4) Parrish