Race to the Mat: U23 Women’s Freestyle World Team Finalized Through Wrestle-offs in Colorado Springs

The U23 Women’s Freestyle World Team is almost finalized, with two special wrestle-offs set to determine the final spots. The process of making the U23 team is not straightforward, and the details of the entire process can be found here.

Eight out of the 10 members of the team have already been determined and will be competing at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 21-27, with backup wrestlers listed in parentheses. However, two spots remain undetermined and will be decided through wrestle-offs at the Olympic Team Camp in Colorado Springs on June 27.

The yet-to-be determined U23 spots are in the 65 kg and 72 kg weight classes. The wrestle-offs will feature Aine Drury facing off against Adaugo Nwachukwu and Claire DiCugno in the 65 kg category, as well as Jasmine Robinson taking on Kylie Welker in the 72 kg category. All three challenging wrestlers have impressive backgrounds, with Welker moving down from 76 kg and Nwachukwu moving up from 62 kg, and each having won college national titles in 2024.

The wrestle-offs will take place on Thursday, June 27, with a schedule set for preliminary matches and Best of Three series matches. The bouts will feature Aine Drury against the winner of Nwachukwu/DiCugno in the 65 kg category, and Jasmine Robinson against Kylie Welker in the