The 2026 U.S. Open had a treasure trove of compelling results. Here’s whose stock rose after a memorable week of wrestling. Plus, a numerical breakdown of the top eight placers at each weight.
Email Kyle Klingman at kyle.klingman@flosports.tv with corrections.
Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP)
Bruce Robinson said he doesn’t want the women in his program to take part; he wants them to take over. His goal is to put three wrestlers on the 2028 Olympic Team, and the U.S. Open was a good start.
WCAP didn’t take over, but the 10-member team made a statement by sending five to the finals, crowning two champions, and placing eight in the top eight.
50: Katey Valdez
50: Samara Chavez — 7th
55: Areana Villaescusa — 2nd
55: Vayle Baker — 5th
59: Brenda Reyna
59: Sarah Savidge — 7th
59: Abby Nette — 1st
62: Adaugo Nwachukwu — 1st
68: Jasmine Robinson — 2nd
76: Tristan Kelly — 2nd
Valiant College Prep in Arizona
This is more than a preparatory high school. This has become a go-to spot for high-level training. Olympic champion Helen Maroulis trains there, and she’s already in Final X. Everest Leydecker attends high school there, and she won her first U.S. Open title at 18.
Michaela Beck reached the 59 kg finals, and two-time World silver medalist Kayla Miracle moved up to 65, and won a title at her new weight. That’s on top of Brooklyn Perez (3rd at 135), Emma Chacon (6th at 130), Morgan Lucio (2nd at 140), Marley Lucio (115), Daynah Gomez (110), Izzy Levine (140), Madyn Overman (105), and Martynique Davis (3rd at 125), who competed in the Girls’ High School Recruiting Showcase.
Senior Open Placers
55: Everest Leydecker — 1st
59: Michaela Beck — 2nd
62: SaVannah Cosme — 7th
65: Kayla Miracle — 1st
North Central’s Family Tree
Of the 80 placers at the U.S. Open, 14 wrestled at Division III North Central, including champions Amanda Martinez (57 kg) and Bella Mir (68 kg). This was especially apparent at 57 kg, where three former Cardinals placed in the top eight.
50: Kendra Ryan — 4th
50: Kaelani Shufeldt — 5th
53: Jaslynn Gallegos — 4th
53: Sydney Petzinger — 5th
55: Mateah Roehl — 7th
57: Amanda Martinez — 1st
57: Amani Jones — 3rd
57: Sara Sterner — 4th
62: Alara Boyd — 3rd
62: Claire DiCugno — 5th
65: London Houston — 5th
68: Bella Mir — 1st
72: Taylor Graveman — 6th
76: Shenita Lawson — 3rd
Kendra Ryan was one of 14 current or former North Central wrestlers to place at the U.S. Open
Katie Gomez — 50 kg
Whoever won the absurdly loaded 50 kg bracket deserves to have her stock increase. Gomez dropped from 53, finishing first with five straight wins over a deep field.
Cristelle Rodriguez — 53 kg
Rodriguez made the 2025 World Team at 55 kg, dropping to 53 for U23 Nationals and the U.S. Open (she won both). She outscored her first four opponents, 36-0, before taking a 4-2 lead against 2024 Olympic champion Sarah Hildebrandt and winning by injury default in the second period.
2025 124-Pound NAIA Finals
Rodriguez defeated Gomez 5-5 in the 2025 NAIA Championship finals, marking a rare historical moment where two U.S. Open champions in the same year faced each other for a college title.
Elena Ivaldi — 53 kg
Ivaldi lost in the first round to 2024 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, 10-0, before reeling off six straight wins to take third.
Ruby Jo Henson — 53 kg
Henson didn’t wrestle in high school and accepted a full-ride soccer scholarship to Kansas State. The 22-year-old started wrestling with her father, Sammie Henson, two years ago, who was a 1998 World champion and a silver medalist at the 2000 Olympics. Seven tournaments later, she finished eighth at the U.S. Open.
World champion Sammie Henson and his daughter, Ruby Jo Henson
Karissa Turwall — 55 kg
Turnwall has had a nice run since finishing fourth at the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships. She won U23 Nationals before finishing third at the U.S. Open, going 5-1.
Morgan Maschmann — 57 kg
Maschmann had a good freshman campaign at Fort Hays State, but didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championships after finishing fourth at regionals. She rebounded with a seventh-place finish at the U.S. Open, including a win over a two-time college All-American.
Morgan Maschmann completed her freshman season at Fort Hays State
By The Numbers
Senior-level numerical breakdowns get tricky because of age gaps and singularly unique journeys (see Ruby Jo Henson). Below is a breakdown by division. Senior means a wrestler is not college eligible or has not competed in college, but could have college eligibility.
College means a wrestler has college eligibility, and high school means that a wrestler is currently enrolled in high school.
Senior: 49
College: 26
High School: 5
This is where things get messy since 21 of 80 placers transferred colleges at least once. Therefore, numbers are inflated since one wrestler counts multiple times. For example, Shenita Lawson wrestled for Grand View, Southern Oregon, and North Central, and will count for three different colleges.
The numbers are also skewed because some high-level wrestlers didn’t compete. Iowa has two wrestlers competing in Final X, and some might only compete in the World Team Trials, so this is a numerical evaluation of participating individuals.
Placers by colleges with women’s freestyle wrestling programs
North Central — 14
McKendree — 12
Iowa — 8
King — 8
Menlo — 4
Augsburg — 3
Southern Oregon — 3
Campbellsville — 3
Colorado Mesa — 2
Cumberlands — 2
Grand Valley State — 2
Emmanuel — 2
Life — 2
Simon Fraser — 2
Aurora — 1
Baker — 1
Brock — 1
Cerritos — 1
Doane — 1
Eastern — 1
Eastern Oregon — 1
Fort Hays State — 1
Gannon — 1
Grand View — 1
Indiana Tech — 1
Iowa Wesleyan — 1
Lehigh — 1
Lock Haven — 1
Life Pacific — 1
Missouri Baptist — 1
Northern Michigan — 1
Presbyterian — 1
Sacred Heart — 1
Simpson — 1
Texas Wesleyan — 1
William Penn — 1