Wrestling is back. The first major Senior-level event of the 2020-2021 season goes down this weekend, October 9-11, in Coralville, Iowa, at the Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse. The 2020 Senior Nationals field already includes many familiar names as some of the best from the high school, college, and Senior level head to Iowa to do battle on the mats. 

Registrants include five-time world champion Adeline Gray at 76 kg, 2018 Senior World silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kg, two-time world silver medalist Alli Ragan at 57 kg, and two-time world team members Forrest Molinari at 68 kg and Victoria Francis at 76 kg. There could be other entries as the event gets closer.

Watch 2020 Senior Nationals LIVE on FloWrestling

Friday-Sunday, October 9-11, 2020

Due to the pandemic and the unusual circumstances surrounding the changes—and sometimes cancellations—in the wrestling calendar, there have been questions about what’s actually on the line at this weekend’s event. Besides the prestigious title of being a U.S. Senior Nationals Champion, USA Wrestling recently announced that they added this event as part of their “criteria to qualify for a 2020 Olympic redshirt year,” meaning that college athletes who place in the top 8 could qualify for an Olympic redshirt, giving them an extra year of eligibility. Though this event does not appear to be a qualifier for the 2021 Olympic Team Trials in April, those who have qualified could improve their seeding with key head-to-head wins. Further, USAW posted on their site regarding this weekend’s event, “In the event that UWW keeps the 2020 Senior World Championships on the calendar and USA Wrestling plans to send teams, this event will most likely serve as our 2020 Senior World Team Trials.”

Here’s a weight-by-weight preview.

50 kg

Sarah Hildebrandt is coming to Iowa! The 2018 World silver medalist announced last year that she’s dropping to 50 kg for the Olympic year, where she’s currently ranked #1 in FloWrestling’s WFS domestic rankings. She’s the obvious favorite at this weight, though the top 4 in this field make up what might be the toughest weight class at Senior Nationals this year, only rivaled by 68 kg and 76 kg. But can anyone else in this field take out Hildebrandt? Last January, Hildebrandt won gold at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy, a tournament that included a 7-5 win over #3 ranked Victoria Anthony. Anthony is not entered for Senior Nationals, but #2 Alyssa Lampe is, who defeated Anthony by fall last December at 2019 Senior Nationals.

After announcing her retirement in 2016 after the Olympic Team Trials, two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe returned to the mat in 2019 to make another run at making an Olympic team. Stoking an old rivalry with Victoria Anthony, she came from behind to win in the finals last December, answering any questions about whether she “still has it.” Besides the tall task of having to get through Hildebrandt to win this year, she’ll also have #6 Amy Fearnside and #7 Emily Shilson to contend with in this 50 kg group.

Fearnside is a National Team Member who took third last December, falling to Lampe 10-0 in the semis. She had an outstanding year on the international scene, winning the Poland Open and the Canada Cup until Lampe got in her way in Texas. Will Fearnside have an answer for Lampe’s prolific offense and tough top game? Barring an upset, it looks like they’re gonna hit in the semis as Lampe is seeded #2 and Fearnside #3. Hildebrandt defeated Fearnside by 11-0 tech fall at the Dave Shultz in 2017 and by fall at the Olympic Team Trials in 2016. By all appearances, there’s no record online of Hildebrandt ever facing Lampe.

Meanwhile, 2018 Cadet World champ Shilson is shedding her youth and emerging as one of the top young talents in women’s wrestling. The Augsburg sophomore is coming off a double-dip in college titles this year, winning the WCWA Championships and the inaugural NCAA event, the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. Anyone who watched Shilson wrestle at the Beat the Streets event knows that the “kid” might not be a kid anymore. And remember, she only lost to Vicki Anthony 2-0 & Amy Fearnside 6-4 last December. That said, the #4 seed will have her hands full if she ends up facing Hildebrandt in the semis.

This group also has 2010 Junior World Bronze medalist Amy Golding. In her last appearance at the US Open in 2015, she took fifth place. Also entered at this weight is three-time WCWA All-American Charlotte Fowler, WCWA All-American Junnette Caldera, and WCWA All-American Arelys Valles. Stefana Jelacic and Samara Chavez are also registered, both of whom were at one time ranked #1 in the National HS Rankings. Jelacic graduated last May while Chavez is currently in her senior year. Always interesting to see how top high school talent fares at the Senior level.

Prediction: Hildebrandt gets it done, but has a handful with young Shilson in the semis. This weight should have an exciting final.

Seeds:

1. Sarah Hildebrandt (NYAC)

2. Alyssa Lampe (Sunkist Kids)

3. Amy Fearnside (TMWC)

4. Emily Shilson (TMWC)

53 kg

#1 seeded Katherine Shai has looked good since her return to the mats last year after two and a half years out of competition. The #4 ranked Senior-level wrestler is the highest-ranked entry at this weight, though she’ll have #5 Alisha Howk and #6 Ronna Heaton in this group, two opponents who dropped down to this weight last year from their non-Olympic weight of 55 kg. Heaton won a Cadet World title in 2015 while Howk has made several age-level world teams, placing first in the Junior Pan Am Championships just last year. Both of Howk and Heaton are only several years removed from their high school days, still emerging on the Senior level. If the bracket goes “chalk,” only one of them will face Shai in the finals as it looks to be a Howk-Heaton semi. Assuming it happens, make sure you watch that match. Howk beat Heaton 6-4 in the quarters last December. Looks like the story of a young rivalry will continue this weekend in Iowa. Shai defeated both Howk and Heaton last year at 2019 Senior Nationals in Texas, downing Heaton 5-2 and scoring a tech fall over Howk in the third-place match.

Victoria Smith is also in this group, a WCWA All-American for Southwestern Oregon Community College. Camille Fournier of Texas, ranked #1 at one point last year in the AWW poll, is also registered. Should be fun to watch. 

Prediction: The stingy & seasoned Shai will be too much for her younger opponents and wins this year’s title, her first. 

Seeds:

1. Katherine Shai (TMWC)

2. Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids)

3. Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids)

57 kg

There are some tough and upcoming wrestlers at this weight, but right now it looks like #2 ranked Alli Ragan…and everybody else. Alli Ragan’s elite skills are no secret, a prolific leg attacker with world-level talent. She won the silver medal at both the 2016 and 2017 Senior World Championships. #2 seed Lauren Louive, once a teammate of Ragan’s at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, faced Ragan last year at Final X, falling in both matches by 10-0 tech fall within 2 minutes. Louive also DNP’ed at Senior Nationals last December, but perhaps she’ll bounce back this weekend to the previous form that earned her a spot at Final X. 

Two younger wrestlers to keep your eye on are Vayle Baker, the WCWA runner-up last year for Augsburg and a two-time All-American, and Xochitl Mota-Pettis, a two-time Fargo champion who seems poised to break out at some point on the Senior level. 

Prediction: Unless Helen Maroulis is a last-minute entry, Ragan will dominate this weight. I doubt anyone will score a point against her. 

Seeds:

1. Alli Ragan (Sunkist Kids)

2. Lauren Louive (NYAC)

62 kg

#1 seed Macey Kilty is currently the top-ranked Senior-level competitor at this weight at #5 in Flo’s WFS rankings. She’s also the #3 on the Senior National Team. Kilty has proven over and over that she’s a world-level talent, winning a whopping 5 age-level world medals, including U23 silver last year—but, though she’s come awful close, she’s yet to win a Senior-level event. Is now the time? #2 seed Jennifer Page will have something to say about it. The two-time U.S. Open winner (2014 & 2017) returned to the mats last December where this very match happened, Kilty coming out on top 5-4. Page went on to a fifth-fifth

place finish, while Kilty placed third. Many believe the younger Kilty has only started to reach her potential. Will the seasoned Page close the gap or will Kilty widen it? 

#3 seed Jackie Cataline is also in this group, the 2014 & 2016 U.S. Open Champion. She went out in the blood round last December, falling to Skylar Grote 10-0 on the front side, then losing a 10-9 barnburner to Nahiela Magee on the backside. Forgiveable results for someone just getting back to competition level, but can she return to the form she had 5-6 years ago? We’ll see. Keep your eye on the potential semi between Page and Cataline—a rekindled old rivalry between two seasoned competitors. 

The #4 seed is Lexie Basham of Texas, a young athlete that was ranked #1 at one point in National HS Rankings. NAIA & WCWA All-American Bridgette Duty from Cumberlands is also a late entry to this group. 

Prediction: Kilty widens the gap and wins the title over the veterans.

Seeds:

1. Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids)

2. Jennifer Page (TMWC)

3. Jackie Cataline (TMWC)

4. Lexie Basham (Spartan Mat Club)

68 kg

This group includes a number of ranked Senior-level athletes: #2 Forrest Molinari, #4 Alexandria Glaude, #6 Skylar Grote and #9 Rachel Watters. Last December, after Molinari won the 2019 Senior Nationals, she famously shouted, “This is my weight!”—and that with 68 kg world champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock calling the match matside. #1 seed Molinari hasn’t altered her mission and will bring her queen-of-the-mat attitude to this weekend’s event in Iowa. #2 seed Glaude is coming off the end of her college career, where she won two national titles for McKendree, but looked rusty at Beat the Streets against Victoria Francis a few weeks ago, where she fell 11-0 to the two-time world teamer. It was much different when she faced Francis in the semis last December, a gritty chess-match she only lost 3-2. Which version of Glaude will walk on the mats in Iowa this weekend? Even at her best, finding ways to score against Molinari is a tall task, who seems to put most of her opponents on their heels from the first whistle, at least in her domestic matches. She took fifth at Worlds in 2018 & 2019. Glaude will have to get through #3 seed Rachel Watters before that match happens with Molinari. Should be a good semi. Watters is also just coming off the end of her college career, where she won a WCWA title earlier this year for Oklahoma City.

#4 seed Skylar Grote is very tough, but it’s asking a lot of her to get through Molinari on the top side. 2019 NAIA Champion Marilyn Garcia (Menlo) is also in this group as the #5 seed.

Prediction: Molinari does Molinari things, overpowering the field to win another Senior Nationals title.

Seeds:

1. Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids)

2. Alexandria Glaude (TMWC)

3. Rachel Watters (NYAC)

4. Skylar Grote (NYAC)

5. Marilyn Garcia

76 kg

News broke a few days ago that a very familiar name threw her proverbial hat into the ring. Five-time world champion Adeline Gray will compete this weekend at Senior Nationals. There is no evidence to make anyone think that she has “lost a step” or lost her passion to win world championships. She’s already one of the most decorated U.S. wrestlers of all time, but one has to wonder if she’s going after the distinction of being “the most decorated U.S. wrestler” of all time. That title still belongs to Kristie Davis (Marano), who “only” won two world titles, but racked up a stunning 9 world medals in her career. If UWW decides that Worlds are happening this year, Gray wants to be there and winning this event would assure that.

Meanwhile, across the mat are #2 ranked, #2 seeded Precious Bell, who won Senior Nationals last year (sans Gray), and #3 ranked (at 68 kg) two-time world teamer Victoria Francis, who is seeded #3. Tells you something about the depth in this weight class when Francis is the #3 seed. The #3 ranked woman at 76 kg, Dymond Guilford, is also registered and is seeded #4. None of them have ever come close to Adeline Gray. At Final X in Lincoln last year, Gray handled Precious Bell, winning the first two of the Best of 3 format by fall and 10-0 tech fall, respectively. Francis wrestled Gray more often before she dropped down to 72 kg a few years ago, but when she did wrestle her, it was more of the same as Gray dominated the matches. That said, Francis looked fantastic at Beat the Streets and is out-worked by no one.

What is it about Adeline Gray? Power, technique, tactics, mindset—it all seems to come together for the legend. Her overpowering set-ups and assassin-like timing with beautiful leg shots sometimes make it look easy, but that’s the mark of champions. Is she still at the top of her game? Probably. Watch this weekend and find out.

High school star Tristan Kelly is in this field, and so is 2020 WCWA National Champion Alexandra Castillo of Campbellsville. Geneva Gray, Adeline Gray’s sister and one-time head coach at Bacone College, is also competing and is the #6 seed.

Prediction: Adeline, Adeline, wherefore art thou Adeline? There she is, at the top of the podium again.

Seeds:

1. Adeline Gray (NYAC)

2. Precious Bell (TMWC)

3. Victoria Francis (TMWC)

4. Dymond Guilford (TMWC)

5. Tristan Kelly (Betterman Elite)

6. Geneva Gray

Watch this weekend’s event on FloWrestling. The action starts Friday at 10 AM CST.

Follow Derek on Twitter.