Awe-inspiring.
That’s the best way to describe the recent performance by the U.S. women at the 2026 U17 World Championships. The dominant team victory was secondary to the statement the Americans made: We are here to take over.
It wasn't just the results. It was the way they wrestled. The United States was gritty when they needed to be and dominant everywhere else.
This was the second straight year that the United States topped Japan — the global gold standard for women’s wrestling. Most of Japan’s best wrestlers succeeded at age-level competitions before dominating the Senior World Championships.
China won the 2012 Senior World Championships, but that was the last time a country other than Japan brought home women's freestyle gold. It’s a record of domination matched only by the Soviet Union men before the 1991 split.
It’s time to recycle Terry Steiner’s five-year-old quote after the United States bagged a gold, silver, and two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Steiner, of course, is the leader of USA Wrestling’s women’s freestyle program, and his insights were included in a 2021 story by FloWrestling’s Andy Hamilton.
“There will come a time when the U.S. will dominate the sport of women’s wrestling,” Steiner said in Tokyo after the final night of wrestling at the Olympic Games. “I don’t know if I’ll still be here, but I do know that day is coming.
“It’s not an overnight success. It’s a lot of people doing a lot of work at every aspect of this sport — our grassroots level, our state level, our state sanctioning, our college level. That all builds on everything, and it continues to build. We’ve got a lot of momentum right now.”
Building A Team Title: USA At The 2026 U17 Worlds
That momentum was on display in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the National Gymnastics Arena. The 10-member U.S. team secured four golds, one silver, and three bronze medals. The highlight was Taina (pronounced Ty-ee-nuh) Fernandez winning her third straight gold medal — the first non-Japanese wrestler to do so.
Postscript: She pinned her way through the tournament without surrendering a point.
Marlee (pronounced Mar-lay) Solomon (53 kg) showed her resolve with a gritty first-round win, then reeled off a fall and two techs to earn gold.
Epenesa Elison (pronounced EE-lison) trounced the 57 kg field with precise takedowns and elite-level turns.
Kaili Manuel (pronounced Kylee Man-well) posted a positional masterpiece to take the 73 kg title.
Landri Von Gonten (space between the last name) showed her resolve with quarterfinal and semifinal thrillers before dropping her finals match at 61 kg to take silver.
Sophia Valdez (40 kg), Maddie Healey (46 kg), and Isla — pronounced Eye-luh — Silva (49 kg) won their bronze medal matches. Even their losses were competitive, and none of the three was teched.
Eve Skrocki (65 kg) lost her opening match, 7-6, but held a 6-0 lead. She was a position away from possibly reaching the finals.
“This group has bought into the lifestyle, and hopefully they’ve fallen in love with it." -- USA Wrestling's Terry Steiner
Even the harshest critics (aka — Scott Beck of Women’s Wrestling Weekly: The Show) give this team high marks. This performance was a triumph — one that will lay the foundation for future generations.
Now, for the payoff.
What does Steiner think five years later? Has that elusive day he referenced in 2021 finally arrived?
“Let’s not just jump too far ahead of ourselves,” Steiner said. “It was one competition. The girls performed great, and we definitely had some girls step up. That’s what we need to happen. At a certain point, you step up and do your job.
“We had some girls step up that we never thought would be in those positions. I was messaging (USA Wrestling coach) Jessica Medina, and she said it was in cruise control. They are all helping each other out, and they’re all engaged in helping each other. They were a team.”
Next question, Terry: How do we carry this momentum forward so it's not a one-off tournament?
“It all comes down to habits,” Steiner said. “If you have good habits and you're consistent with them, that’s when success and progress happen. We have some great and talented athletes, but we have to have good habits every day. That’s what will move us forward.
“This group has bought into the lifestyle, and hopefully they’ve fallen in love with it."
Steiner is right; this is a step. Better to fall in love with the process than the results of one tournament.
Still, it’s pretty cool to see how well the U.S. women performed at the 2026 U17 World Championships. This will go down as one of the all-time great age-level performances. Maybe the greatest.