Ten Things We Learned at U23 Nationals
Xochitl “XMP” Mota-Pettis. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com
by Derek Levendusky
SPOKANE, WA - The U23 division at Women’s Nationals in Spokane put on display some of the top young women in USA Wrestling. Here’s ten takeaways from last weekend in Washington.
1. Macey Kilty hasn’t missed a step.
It’s like riding a bike, at least for Macey Kilty. You’d have no idea she’s just getting back in the saddle, recovering from her second straight year-long injury recovery. 65 kg Kilty dominated the field en route to the U23 title, scoring four straight wins by technical superiority.
2. Felicity Taylor doesn’t want you to score on her.
Taylor outscored opponents 49-0 en route to the 53 kg title. She beat two college All-Americans and a college national finalist to get to final, where she dominated the younger Estrella Dorado-Marin with two straight technical falls 13-0 and 10-0. Dorado-Marin proved she is certainly on the rise, beating NCWWC national champ Jaslynn Gallegos in the semis 8-6, but ran into a brick wall in Taylor, ranked #2 in FloWrestling’s Senior Women’s Freestyle Rankings.
3. Howk took the path less traveled.
Alisha Howk, a wrestler who chose to forego a college career to be a part of Sunkist Wrestling Club and Victory School of Wrestling, has proven to be a contender at the Senior level, ranked #3 at 55 kg in FloWrestling’s Senior Women’s Freestyle Rankings. Entering a U23 division, when you remove a few of the older women from the field, Howk she showed she’s the class of 55kg, where she controlled opponents with four convincing wins, including a 2-0 series win in the finals over high school star Elena Ivaldi from California, a young woman ranked #1 in high school rankings and #6 in the pound-for-pound high school rankings.
4. Montana Delawder is now.
When she beat Cameron Guerin as a college freshman in 2022, she proved she’s a name to watch in the future. When it comes to the U23 division, the future is now for Montana Delawder, winning the 57 kg U23 national title. Her title run included wins over 2021 NAIA champ Jasmine Hernandez and 2021 Junior World Teamer Payton Stroud.
5. XMP stands for Xcuse Me Please, that’s my stop sign.
OK, that wasn’t great, but Xochitl “XMP” Mota-Pettis is great. Over the last few years, she’s made a name for herself at the Senior level, earning big win after big win and proving she’s among the best in America. She is the best when you put her in a U23 division, earning her title with three techs and a fall, including 10-0 and 12-2 wins over runner-up Nicole Moore in the finals to win the 59 kg best-of-three series 2-0.
6. Adaugo is one of the brightest young stars in our sport.
She’s someone you’ll stop what you’re doing to watch, because most of the time, you know she’s going to do something spectacular. After dominating her way to her second NAIA title last month, Adaugo Nwachukwu won her second straight 62 kg U23 title with two pins and two techs, winning her finals match against Marisol Nugent 10-0…twice. Nugent otherwise had a pretty fantastic tournament, getting a big win over NCWWC runner-up Yele Aycock 6-5 in the semis.
7. Ashley Lekas ain’t playin’.
Augsburg’s Ashley Lekas has emerged not only as a top college athlete, but a top Senior level threat, though she’s in perhaps the deepest Senior level weight class at 76 kg. To win her U23 title, she defeated #8 ranked Tristan Kelly 6-3 and #4 ranked (at 72 kg) Joye Levendusky in the finals 2-0 and 5-0 in a best-of-three. Anyone who has seen her on the mat this year (though her college season was cut short by injury), knows she’s physically leveled up and optimized at 76 kg, where she has become a force. Levendusky otherwise had a stellar tournament, which included a win over NCWWC national champion Marlynne Deede 3-1 in the semis.
8. Shilson can open a stop sign store.
Borrowing the words from Wayne Fish’s song “Famous Braxton Amos”, Shilson has won so many USAW titles she can “oh-oh-open a stop sign store.” Wrestling fans wish they got to see the series with Shilson play out, though an injury early in the first match nixed it, causing Mortimer to get DQ’ed and awarding Shilson the 50 kg U23 title.
9. Katie Lange is separating herself from the pack.
We knew Katie Lange was good coming out of high school, but an injury sustained as a freshman at Augsburg last season kept her a bit hidden at the next level or at least delayed her emergence—until now. Even during this year’s college season, she took a few losses and it was unclear where she was in the pack. But after winning an NCWWC national title last month followed by a 68 kg U23 national title last weekend, it’s clear she’s a top-5 Senior level talent. She had to defeat Augsburg teammate Nina Makem in a best-of-three to win the stop sign, which she did in two tight ones, 4-2 and 2-2.
10. Kaylynn Abrecht 2.0 is for real.
For the second time in about a month, Kaylynn Albrecht is at the top of the podium. Last month she won an NAIA national title in Jamestown, North Dakota, and that in dramatic fashion, defeating Life University’s Latifa McBryde in the final seconds. This time it wasn’t as dramatic, but she won the 72 kg U23 title nevertheless, as her finals opponent failed to make weight. After beginning her post-high-school career at Wayland Baptist, Albrecht transferred to Baker as a junior where she experimented with higher weight classes. Once she settled into 155, she made the NAIA finals two years in a row, winning it this year and parlaying it into a U23 title.