Gray Wins 6th World Title, Hildebrandt & Molinari Medal, Maroulis in Finals

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

Adeline Gray, Sarah Hildebrandt, and Forrest Molinari all made the podium in Oslo. Gray photo courtesy of FloWrestling. Hildebrandt & Molinari photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo/WrestlersAreWarriors.com

OSLO, NORWAY - Adeline Gray became a 6-time world champion and 9-time world medalist in Oslo, tying Jordan Burroughs for the most world titles all-time by a U.S. wrestler, and tying legend Kristi Marano-Davis for the most medals all-time for U.S. women. Burroughs also has nine for the men.

Gray pinned her way to the title with four falls, though it didn’t come easy in the finals. She faced Epp Maee of Estonia, who took a 4-0 into the second period before Gray took over the match with her first takedown halfway through the second to make it 4-2. Moments later, the Olympic silver medalist countered a shot by Maee and secured a trapped arm to work the position into the fall at 5:58. For the sixth time on the world stage, Gray ran around the mat bearing the U.S. flag.

It was ever so close for #1 seeded Hildebrandt in the 50 kg final against Japan’s Remina Yoshimoto. The American scored first with a shot clock point and takedown from a hip to hip scramble, jumping ahead 3-0. Yoshimoto scored late in the first to make it 3-2 at the break, then added a step out point of her own to make it 3-3 with a criteria lead. In the middle of the second, Hildebrandt extended herself with an outside trip attempt resulting in a wild scramble that eventually led to Yoshimoto getting a turn to make it 5-3, ultimately the final score. It would be silver for Hildebrandt, her second since 2018.

After taking 5th in 2018 and 2019, 65 kg Molinari broke through to the podium in dominant fashion, earning a 12-1 win over Maryia Mamashuk (Belarus) in the bronze match. Her heavy hands-heavy hips approach served her well, fending off numerous attacks from Mamashuk, and even turning them into her own points. 6-0 at the break, Molinari scored the tech fall in the middle of the second for the bronze. The American had two dominant wins in the first & second rounds, but needed a last second score to defeat 2018 world silver medalist Koumba Larroque of France in the quarterfinals. Molinari fell to Japan’s Miwa Morikawa 6-2 in the semis to land in the bronze match. Morikawa lost in the finals 8-6 to take silver. Moldova’s Irina Ringaci won gold, a 20-year-old who also won the Junior world title this year.

The third and final group of Team USA women also started their tournament today in Oslo. 57 kg Helen Maroulis, 59 kg Maya Nelson, 68 kg Tamyra Mensah-Stock, and 72 kg Kylie Welker all hits the mats, and three will wrestle tomorrow for medals. Maroulis will wrestle for gold, seeking her fourth world title (including her 2016 Olympic gold) and first since 2017; Nelson and Mensah-Stock will wrestle for bronze; and Welker was eliminated when the Turkish opponent she lost to in the first round lost her semifinal.

Viewers were stunned when Rin Miyaji of Japan pinned Olympic gold medalist Mensah-Stock with a cradle in 21 seconds. Mensah-Stock took a shot early in the first and went out of position for a moment after Miyaji put her on her hip. The Japanese wrestler immediately locked up a cradle and secured the fall, much to the shock of U.S. wrestling fans. Even so, Tamyra Mensah-Stock immediately held up the “love” sign with her hands like the Team USA women were doing in Tokyo, showing the character and heart many fans have grown to love. She will wrestle for bronze tomorrow.

At 57 kg, Helen Maroulis reached the World finals for the first time since 2017, giving herself a chance to become a 4-time world champion, including her 2016 Olympic gold. She earned a fall over Austria’s Jeannie Kessler in the first round, then followed with another dominant win, this time over Russia’s Veronika Chumikova, winning 10-1. She had to come from behind in her semi against Japan’s Sae Nanjo. Down 4-1 in the middle of the first period, she closed the gap to 4-3 at the break. Maroulis got two more in second during a flurry of action, countering a shot with a low level takedown. She held on as Nanjo got close at the end with a leg attack, a 5-4 victory for the beloved American.

At 59 kg, in her first trip to Senior Worlds, Maya Nelson made the bronze match where she’ll attempt to earn her first Senior world medal. The 2017 Junior world champ earned a 7-0 win in the first round over Turkey ‘s Ebru Dagbasi and followed it up with a 4-2 win over Krystsina Sazykina of Belarus in the quarters to advance to the semis. Nelson fell 4-1 there to Japan’s Akie Hanai in a match marked by stingy defense by her Japanese opponent.

In the team race, Japan holds the lead with 116, USA is in second with 95, and Ukraine is in third with 55.

Maroulis, Nelson, and Mensah-Stock will all wrestle their medal matches tomorrow at noon EST. It will stream live on FloWrestling. It will be the final day for U.S. women in Oslo.