The Best Current Senior Level Rivalries
Guilford vs. Francis at 76 kg has been fun to watch over the last year. Photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com
by Emma Bruntil, AWW staff writer
Twitter & IG: @Emaaabruntil
by Emma Bruntil, AWW staff writer
Twitter & IG: @Emaaabruntil
Everybody loves some good, healthy competition. And, with the growing opportunities and publicity within the sport of women’s wrestling over the last decade, our domestic field is as competitive as ever. Not only does the United States have super stars in world champion Adeline Gray and Olympic champion Helen Maroulis, but we also have hungry college athletes and high school phenoms that add incredible depth to some already loaded brackets. The current rivalries in women’s freestyle may not be as widely recognized as Jordan Burroughs vs. Kyle Dake, or David Taylor vs. J’Den Cox, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the head-turning, glued-to-your-seat type of action that everyone knows and loves.
62 kg: Kayla Miracle & Mallory Velte
The Miracle-Velte rivalry started all the way back at the 2018 U.S Open. Miracle was fresh off a title at the prestigious Klippan in Sweden, and had recently moved up to 62 kg. The year prior, in 2017, Miracle had finished runner-up to Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis at the World Team Trials (Helen then went on to win a world title that year in dominant fashion). Comparatively, Velte had been the top dog at 63 kg, where she made her first world team in 2017. At the Open, the pair collided in the finals, with Miracle walking away the victor 3-0, and earning the bye to Final X. In State College, Miracle appeared to be in the driver's seat to make her first world team, winning match number one 4-2. In match number two, Miracle led 2-2 before a late takedown from Velte earned her the win and forced a third match. In the end, it was Velte who walked away with the world team spot with a series clinching 7-1 win. Velte went on to take bronze at the World Championships that year, earning the bye to Final X Lincoln where she would await Miracle once more, this time with the 2019 world team spot on the line. This time though, it was all Miracle. The Campbellsville alum dominated in match one with a 12-2 win, and controlled the second match for a 4-0 victory. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, Velte fell to Macey Kilty in the Challenge Tournament semifinals, preventing a rematch with Miracle in the best-of-three series. Miracle then went on to beat Kilty in the three match series. Although the pair hasn’t wrestled recently, their matches have been must see events over the years.
50 kg: Sarah Hildebrandt & Victoria Anthony
Sarah Hildebrandt had become a household name in the women’s wrestling world after making three world teams and winning a world silver medal in 2018. In 2020, Hildebrandt announced that she was moving down from her previous weight of 53 kg to 50 kg for the Olympic year, putting her in a deep field that includes Whitney Conder, Amy Fearnside, Emily Shilson, and of course, the inside trip queen Victoria Anthony. Anthony had been one of the top contenders at 48 kg and 50 kg since 2013, when she took 5th place at the World Championships. Hildebrandt and Anthony met for the first time in the semifinals of the Matteo Pellicone, a prestigious ranking tournament in Italy. Initially, Anthony jumped out to a huge lead by way of a powerful headlock. Hildebrandt battled back, though, hitting her patented slide-by for the 7-5 win. Hildebrandt went on to win the tournament, beating world silver medalist Emelia Alina Vuc in the finals. Hildebrandt and Anthony’s electric match turned a lot of heads in 2020, and many had the pair circled as a potential Olympic Trials final. Shortly after the Matteo Pellicone, Hildebrandt qualified 50 kg for the Olympics at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier in March of 2020, leaving her to await the winner of the Challenge Tournament. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, Victoria Anthony ran the gauntlet, collecting wins over Alyssa Lampe and Amy Fearnside in the semis and finals, respectively. In match number one of the best-of-three series, Anthony jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Hildebrandt answered with some points of her own. Hildebrandt’s par terre offense proved to be the difference maker, as she ended the match with a leg lace and 12-2 score. In match two, it was all Hildebrandt, earning the 10-0 tech to secure her Olympic bid. Although the results in this rivalry have been in favor of Hildebrandt, the pair's matches have been exhilarating every time. Anthony’s diverse offense and big point potential combined with Hildebrandt’s ability to score from anywhere is a recipe for some exciting wrestling!
50 kg: Amy Fearnside & Alyssa Lampe
Amy Fearnside vs. Alyssa Lampe has been must-see-TV every time they take the mat together, which has been quite frequently over the past two years. The pair's first meeting was in the semifinals of the 2019 Senior Nationals, where Lampe powered her way to a fall after a huge throw. The 2019 Senior Nationals was Lampe’s first competition coming back from retirement, and to say it was successful would be an understatement. Lampe dominated the competition, beating Fearnside and 2021 Olympic Trials runner-up Victoria Anthony by fall. The next meeting between Fearnside and Lampe was at the 2020 Senior Nationals, where Fearnside flipped the script and earned the win over Lampe in the semifinals to face Sarah Hildebrandt in the finals matchup. In the semifinal with Lampe, Fearnside took the lead in the second period, and held off a charging Lampe for the 6-5 win. Recently, at FloWrestling’s Captain’s Cup, the pair met in the team finals between Team Mensah-Stock and Team Winchester. Lampe racked up the points early, compiling a 9-0 lead towards the end of the first period. Fearnside then answered back with a takedown and series of gut wrenches to trail only 9-8 at the break. In the end, Fearnside emerged the 14-11 winner in a thrilling match that had a total of 25 points on the board. The next time Fearnside and Lampe wrestle, grab your popcorn and prepare for an epic point scoring battle.
57 kg: Alli Ragan & Jenna Burkert
The wrestling world was moved to tears when Jenna Burkert made the Olympic Trials finals, only days removed from the loss of her mother. What some people may not have realized, though, is that the Ragan-Burkert rivalry dates all the way back to 2013, when the pair wrestled at World Team Trials up at 63 kg. Interestingly, the pair had trained together frequently, as both were residents at the Olympic Training Center until Jenna Burkert joined the Army/WCAP in 2016. At the 2013 World Team Trials, Alli walked away the victor, securing the fall with a headlock to defeat Burkert in the second period. Ragan and Burkert then collided again at Final X Lincoln in 2018. That year, Ragan had earned a bye to Final X by winning a world silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in Paris. Jenna Burkert won the Challenge Tournament, and by doing so earned the right to square off with Ragan for the world team spot at 59 kg. In Lincoln, Ragan soundly beat Burkert in two matches by scores of 4-0 and 5-0. Ragan controlled both matches, using crafty defense and re-attacks to keep Burkert scoreless in the series. Based on their prior meetings, many people expected Ragan to meet Helen Maroulis in the finals at Olympic Trials, setting up a rematch from their Pan American team wrestle-offs. However, in a reversal of fate from their 2013 meeting, Burkert secured the fall in 2:12 with a beautiful headlock when she met Ragan in the Challenge Tournament finals at Olympic Trials. Alli Ragan was recently hired as a women’s assistant coach at Grand View University, and appears to be done competing, so it may be unlikely that we get to see another rematch between these two ferocious competitors. Maybe on a wrestling card sometime?
53 kg: Katherine Shai & Areana Villaescusa
Katherine Shai has been a staple in the women’s wrestling community since her first quad in 2008. Although Shai has not made a world team, she is a 7-time national team member and has found herself in the World Team Trials finals on several occasions. Areana Villaescusa of Army/WCAP actually moved down to 53 kg from the non-Olympic weight of 55 kg in 2019. The pair were actually in the same bracket at the 2019 Poland Open, but did not meet. Shai and Villaescusa wrestled for the first time in the bronze medal match at the 2019 Bill Farrell, with a ticket to Olympic Trials on the line. Villaescusa was dominant, though, earning the 10-0 technical fall with some solid offense and crafty turns. Shai and Villaescusa’s next meeting was at the 2019 Senior Nationals, and it went down to the wire. In the end, Villaescusa once again emerged the winner after earning a late takedown with less than 20 seconds on the clock to take the 4-4 criteria win. At Olympic Trials, Shai and Villaescusa met in the Challenge Tournament semifinals, where Shai earned a gritty 2-1 win to advance to the finals against Wisconsin’s Ronna Heaton. Although another rematch between these two would be exciting, Katherine Shai has been on the Senior level scene for a long time, and may not wrestle in the next quad.
76kg: Dymond Guilford & Victoria Francis
Another budding Senior level rivalry is between 2021 Senior Nationals champion Dymond Guilford, and 2-time world team member Victoria Francis. Interestingly, Guilford was Victoria Francis’s training partner for the 2019 Senior Worlds, where Francis finished in 5th place. Since then, the pair have met on several occasions in some entertaining back-and-forth battles. Earlier this year, Guilford and Francis met on the Pitt Wrestling Club card, with Guilford emerging the 4-2 winner. The next meeting between these heavyweight stars was at FloWrestling’s Captain’s Cup, with big team implications on the line. Guilford controlled the match, converting several times on a single leg takedown to earn the 10-0 technical fall, and helped earn Team Mensah-Stock a finals berth. Dymond appeared to be the heavy favorite going into the next match up with Francis in the 3rd place bout at Olympic Trials. However, Victoria Francis demonstrated her savvy veteran experience with a huge throw for the fall to topple Guilford. With both of these athletes at 76 kg for the foreseeable future (or at least in “next door” weights), this is a match up that is sure to happen again, and trust me, you don’t want to miss it.