Page & Winchester Kick Off Day 1 World Championships
Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com
by Derek Levendusky
BELGRADE, SERBIA - Team USA women got started today in Belgrade at the 2023 UWW Senior World Championships. 55 kg Jacarra Winchester and 59 kg Jennifer Page were up first for the U.S. Women’s World Team, both putting together solid performances to reach the semis.
Here’s what their day looked like so far.
59kg Jennifer Page
Match 1: 11-0 win over Anjli (UWW)
Page looks so strong at this weight. After earning a step out in the first period, Page hit a huge headlock early in second to go up 5-0. She nearly got the fall but the sequence went out-of-bounds. Once they returned to neutral, Page powered through an Anjli shot for another 4-pointer to make it 9-0. She finished off her opponent with an arm spin that seemed to be awarded 2 for a “correct throw” as it did not appear to have exposure.
Quarterfinals: 6-4 win vs. Sae Nanjo (Japan)
Things did not start off well for Page in this one, giving up an early takedown to go down 2-0. In the next reset, she scored on gator roll turn to go ahead 2-2. Nanjo has great leg attacks and found another one with a clean high crotch to go ahead of the American 4-2. That would be the score at the break. Early in the second, like in the first match, Page hit another headlock, but just for 2, earning a 4-4 lead early in second period. Despite an onslaught of attacks by her Japanese opponent, she held on, getting another late turn in a counter, to win it 6-4.
Semis: Qi Zhang (China) dec. Jennifer Page (United States) 5-1
Page fell to China’s Qi Zhang in semifinals and will wrestle for bronze tomorrow.
55 kg Jacarra Winchester
Match 1: vs Neha Sharma (UWW)
Tough hand fighting early in this one. Winchester got taken down first, falling behind early 2-0. After forcing a step out, Winchester scored again after putting Sharma on her back during a scramble, going ahead 3-2. She scored again with a high gut as time was expiring in the first to go to the break with a 5-2 lead. In the second, the 2019 world champ put up more points after countering a shot to put Sharma on her on back again, making it 7-2. She held on to win by that score.
Quarterfinals: Mariia Vynnyk (Ukraine)
In the first, Winchester transitioned from defending shot to an ankle pick for 2. Adding a late first-period step out point, she led 3-0 at the break. Early in second, she scored another takedown to go ahead 5-0. In the middle of the second, another takedown put her on top 7-0. Deep in the match, Winchester scored 2 on a powerful counter throw that looked like 4, but was only scored 2, making it 9-0. Vynnyk finally got on the board with a step out to make it 9-1, but the American closed the door when countering an inside trip to win it 11-1.
Semis: Jacarra Winchester (United States) tech. fall Anastasia Blayvas (Germany) 10-0
Winchester dominated Germany’s Blayvas to reach the finals with a chance to win her second world title. She’ll face Japan’s Haruna Okuno in the finals.