Everything you need to know about women's 57kg, 59kg, and 62kg brackets at the 2019 U.S. Open.

By Evan Knaff

57 Kilograms

At 57 kilos in 2018, Alex Hedrick won the title over stud high-schooler Michaela Beck. Hedrick went on to place second to Olympic champion Helen Maroulis at Final X. Michaela Beck, who at the time was a senior in high school, currently trains with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Unfortunately, neither wrestler is registered for the 2019 Open. Instead, we have a different crop of wrestlers ready to vie for the title, and its accompanying auto-berth to Final X.

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Contenders:

Kelsey Campbell

Cameron Guerin

Koral Sugiyama

Dajan Treder

The top contender at 57kg would have to be Kelsey Campbell. Campbell, a 2012 Olympian, is looking to repeat as U.S. Open champ, this year down a weight from 59kg. Last year, Campbell defeated Lauren Louive in the 59kg Open finals, and then again at Final X Lehigh in the true third match, in order to make the national team. Campbell’s long list of accomplishments on the international circuit, dating back to 2004, makes her the presumptive favorite. An Open title for Campbell would put her in Final X, since last year’s World Team member, Helen Maroulis, was unable to medal at Worlds.

Watch Kelsey Campbell make the 2018 U.S. National Team with a true-third-place win over Lauren Louive at Final X Lehigh:

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Cameron Guerin is a top challenger for Campbell. Guerin, a four-time Washington state champ, was the third-place finisher at 55kg at the 2018 Open. Guerin is a former Junior World Team member, a former Pan Am champ, and a current OTC resident athlete. Guerin has also already qualified for the World Team Trials in Raleigh at 55kg, as a result of her finalist status at the 2019 Grand Prix of Germany.

Dajan Treder is moving up a weight class this year, after taking fifth and fourth the last two seasons at 53kg at the Open. Treder placed fifth at 123 pounds at this years WCWAs and third at the NAIA Invitational.

A potential dark horse pick is the only returning wrestler from the 2018 Open at 57kg, Koral Sugiyama of Campbellsville University, who went 1-2 and took seventh. Sugiyama was a finalist at the 2017 Dave Schultz at 59kg, and placed fourth at the 2019 WCWAs, her fourth All-American honor. Sugiyama defeated Treder 5-2 in the semifinals of this year’s NAIA Invitational. With not many of last year’s 57kg competitors returning, Sugiyama could be poised to make a nice run.

Sierra Brown Ton, a freshman at Colorado Mesa, also competed at 123lbs at WCWA Nationals. She took eighth place at the tournament, and now looks to add to her resume. 

Brown Ton’s CMU teammate Marissa Gallegos is also registered at 57. Gallegos was a two-time Colorado state champion in high school. 

Other registered competitors include Abby Chufar and Alayna Swilley. 

Prediction:

1) Campbell 

2) Guerin 

3) Sugiyama 

4) Treder

59 Kilograms

At 59 kilos in 2018, Kelsey Campbell narrowly won the Open over Lauren Louive by a 4-2 score. This year, Campbell is down to 57, but Louive is back to claim the title she was denied a year ago. However, there is one major obstacle standing in her way. That obstacle is 2018 Final X winner Alli Ragan.

Contenders: 

Alli Ragan

Lauren Louive

Lauren Mason

Megan Black

Alli Ragan is the clear favorite here, as she won Final X last year. If not for an injury, Ragan would have been the American representative in Budapest, but unfortunately, she withdrew prior to competition. In terms of major international experience, Ragan has two world silver medals, one from 2016 and one from 2017, both at 60kg; her 2017 medal gave her the automatic berth to last year’s Final X. Alli won two Junior World bronze medals, as well as being a four-time WCWA finalist for King University, winning titles in 2013 and 2014. While Ragan has already qualified for the WTT as the returning WTT champion, a win here at the Open would secure her a spot in Final X. 

Watch Alli Ragan win match two over Jenna Burkert to win the 59kg 2018 World Team spot:

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Lauren Louive is Ragan’s top competition for the title, given she was a finalist at this weight last year. Louive is Ragan’s teammate at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Her list of accomplishments is long, including a fourth-place Open finish in 2017 to go along with her runner-up finish last year. She won the 2017 Dave Schultz, and placed third at the same tournament this year. Lauren narrowly missed out on making the national team last year, as she was defeated by Campbell in the true third match. 

A pair of wrestlers are bumping up from 57kg this year. The first is my dark horse pick, Lauren Mason. Mason, competing collegiately for Simon Fraser, took fourth place at last year’s Open one weight down. She went on to take fourth at UWW Junior Women’s Nationals the next month, that time at 55kg. Mason also took third at the 2019 WCWA Nationals. But a fun fact about Mason is that in the quarters of last years Open, Lauren, unseeded, took down the No. 1 seed Megan Black, who also happens to be the other wrestler moving up from 57kg. 

Black made history in 2012 when she became the first female to ever earn a medal at the Iowa State Tournament. She has since had a very successful wrestling career, including two WCWA finals appearances as well as a University Nationals title and a spot on the 2017 USA U-23 team at 58kg. She took fifth at last year’s Open, as well as third at last year’s Bill Farrell. 

The two final entrants at 59kg are Kaylee Lacy, a wrestler for Colorado Mesa University, and Maya Porter, a current high school senior who competed last year at the 2018 UWW Cadet Women’s Nationals. 

Prediction:

1) Ragan 

2) Louive 

3) Mason 

4) Black 

62 Kilograms

The champ is back. Kayla Miracle returns to 62kg this year to defend her crown in a full weight class. Her top competition from last year is gone as well, as Jenna Burkert is down at 59kg and has qualified for the WTT already, and Mallory Velte, who Miracle beat in last year’s Open finals, is already qualified for Final X at 62kg by virtue of her 2018 World bronze medal. So the pool is wide open for a new challenger for Miracle.

Contenders:

Kayla Miracle

Brenda Reyna

Alexis Porter

Solin Piearcy

Miracle is the reigning Open champion at 62kg, but that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of her accomplishments. A four-time WCWA champion for Campbellsville, Miracle was the 2017 runner-up at the Open at 58 kilos. Kayla also won both the 2016 and 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational. Last summer, she came up just short of making the World Team, losing in the third match to Mallory Velte at Final X State College, so one can be sure that Kayla is coming in hot ready to make it back to Final X and make her first Senior World Team. 

Watch Kayla Miracle defeat Solin Piearcy 10-0 in the 2017 WCWA semifinals:

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One tough contender is Brenda Reyna. Reyna is a two-time Junior World Team member for Team USA, and last year placed fourth at the Open at 59kg. She is a sophomore at McKendree, and recently won her second All-American honor in as many attempts, finishing as the national runner-up after a fourth-place finish a year ago. 

Alexis Porter is another solid contender for the title. Porter is the older sister of Maya, competing at 59kg. Alexis was a four-time All-American for McKendree, with her highest placement being a runner-up finish in 2018. She placed fifth at last year’s Open at 65kg, and third at least year’s WTT challenge tournament, as well as finishing sixth at 63kg at the 2017 Open. In 2016, Porter won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. Alexis looks to be a tough challenge for Miracle.

My dark horse pick is Solin Piearcy, who just wrapped up her junior year at Menlo College by earning her third All-American honor, improving on two fifth-place finishes by winning the WCWA title at 136 pounds.

Other competitors include Desiree Zavala, a two time All American for Grays Harbor, finishing runner-up at 136 in 2018. Also competing is Bridgette Duty, a sophomore and two-time WCWA All-American for the University of the Cumberlands. Brianna Csontos, the 2018 Junior Pan Am champ at 62kg, is also registered, along with Gabrielle Garcia, Melissa Jacobs, and Amber Strong.

Eve Berrington is also registered at this weight. Berrington is planning to compete in the 18th season of American Idol, and that’s absolutely something worth noting.

Prediction: 

1) Miracle 

2) Piearcy 

3) Porter 

4) Reyna