2020 Senior Nationals WFS Recap
CORALVILLE, IA — Some of the best wrestlers in the United States competed at this weekend’s Senior Nationals. The lower weights were contested on Friday and the upper weights on Saturday.
Sarah Hildebrandt (NYAC) racked up the points during her domestic debut at 50 kg. She outscored the field 38-0 and wrestled just over 8 minutes across 4 matches—her finals match with Amy Fearnside went the full 6 minutes. Fearnside won her semifinal 6-5 over Alyssa Lampe (SKWC)—a three-time World Team member and 2019 Senior Nationals champion.
Katherine Shai (TMWC) swept the 53kg bracket, starting the day with a 10-0 tech in the quarters. Her dominance continued with a fall over Amy Golding in the semifinals and tech over #2 seed Ronna Heaton (SKWC) in the finals match.
Highlights at 57 kg started and finished in throws. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise Wrestling) upended the bracket when she hit two-time World Team member Alli Ragan with a lefty headlock. Mota-Pettis secured the pin just over the minute mark, and then went on to claim a 10-0 superiority in the semifinals. Mota-Pettis is a 2019 Fargo champion and has been training at Rise Wrestling in Texas. Lauren Louive (NYAC) dominated the bottom half of the bracket with a superiority first round and fall in the semifinals. The 57 kg finals match was contentious. Mota-Pettis led for a significant portion of the match, but down by 2 with :25 seconds remaining Louive hit a headlock and finished the finals match by fall.
At 62 kg Jennifer Page (TMWC) and Macey Kilty (SKWC) met in the finals after a pair of technical superiorities each. Page’s semifinals match against Bridgette Duty was packed with power, including a big 4-point double. Kilty was able to finish both leading matches in under a minute via leg laces. Kilty was the first to score in the final match. Page was trailing 3-0 with under a minute to go when she closed the gap. First, with a blast double that earned her a step-out point, and then in a final flurry Page picked up two points for exposure and another step out to for the 4-3 decision.
Forrest Molinari (SKWC) dominated the round-robin bracket at 68 kg claiming her third Senior Nationals title. Skylar Grote (NYAC) defeated #2 seed Rachel Watters 11-3 and wrapped up her second match in :35 seconds with a sweep and 4 leg laces.
Just over 5 minutes of work was all 5-time World Champion Adeline Gray (NYAC) needed to collect her fifth Senior Nationals title. She won the final match by way of technical fall over two-time World Team member Victoria Francis (TMWC). Francis upset #2 seed Precious Bell (TMWC) 11-8 in a heated semifinal match, collecting feet to back exposure in each period.
This weekend’s Senior Nationals was the last major senior-level event through the end of the calendar year. Women’s Nationals—Junior and U23—are scheduled for the second week in November.
Final Matches
50kg Final: Sarah Hildebrandt (NYAC) VPO Amy Fearnside (TMWC) 8-0
53 kg Final: Katherine Shai (TMWC) VSU Ronna Heaton (SKWC) 10-0 (4:02)
57 kg Final: Lauren Louive (NYAC) VFA Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Rise Wrestling) 10-8 (5:47).
62 kg Final: Jennifer Page (TMWC) VPO Macey Kilty (SKWC)
68 kg Final: Forrest Molinari (SKWC) V Skylar Grote (NYAC)
76 kg Final: Adeline Gray (NYAC) VSU Victoria Francis (TMWC) 10-0 (3:00)
Complete results and matches can be found on Flowrestling.
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