The march to wrestling's World Championships follows a steady progression: U.S. Open, World Team Trials, and, at the end, Final X to determine the qualifiers for the freestyle and Greco Roman teams that will represent the United States at the World Championships. The 2025 World Championships are set to be held in Zagreb, Croatia from September 13-21.
This weekend, Final X was held in Newark, New Jersey, the last stop in the qualification process, with best-of-3 series at each weight to determine who will be wearing red, white, and blue and representing the U.S. on the mat in Croatia in a few months. Several former (and a few current) Hawkeyes were in action in matches to determine the men's and women's freestyle teams -- and they did very well.
Spencer Lee earned a silver medal at last year's Olympics in Paris, which enabled him to bypass the rest of the qualification spot and take a spot in the best-of-3 finals. His opponent? Penn State freshman Luke Lilledahl, who was a gold medalist at the U17 World Championships in 2022 and the U20 World Championships in 2024, as well as a champion at the U.S. Open a few months ago.
Lee defeated Lilledahl 7-2 in the first match of the series, using a takedown and a pair of gut wrenches in the first period to score most of his points. The second match followed a similar script, with Lee winning 6-0. He struck early again in that match, scoring all six of his points in the first period, thanks to takedown, a leg lace, and an exposure from the feet.
The 2-0 win secured Lee's spot on the U.S. team for the World Championships at 57 KG. It will be the second senior freestyle team that he's qualified for, after the Olympics last year. This will be Lee's first appearance on a senior World team and his first appearance at the senior World Championships. Lee was a three-time age-level World Champion, winning a U17 World title and two U20 World titles from 2014-16.
Lee will be joined on the World team by former Iowa teammate Real Woods, who will be making his first appearance on a senior national team. Woods won the spot on the U.S. team with his own 2-0 performance in the best-of-3 finals at 65 KG. Woods dispatched former Stanford and Ohio State wrestler Joey McKenna with back-to-back wins at Final X.
Woods won the first match over McKenna 7-3, thanks to a four-point move late in the second period that broke a 3-3 tie. In the second match, Woods scored a four-point move early to open up a lead over McKenna. The match ended 4-4, with Woods ahead on criteria due to the four-point move. A McKenna challenge was denied, which made the final score 5-4 in favor of Woods.
The Iowa women's wrestling team also qualified multiple members for the U.S. women's freestyle team at Final X. Kennedy Blades, an Olympic silver medalist at 76 KG last year, cut down to 68 KG to compete at Final X -- but the new weight didn't pose too many problems for the standout wrestler.
Blades dispatched Brooklyn Hays in back-to-back matches to win the best-of-3 finals, 2-0. Blades won the first bout 10-4, coming on strong in the second period with nine points to earn the win. In the second match, Blades scored the first takedown and held on to win 5-2. She'll be making her first appearance on a senior World team.
Macey Kilty will be joining Blades on the U.S. team, after a dominant performance at 65 KG to become a three-time World team member. Kilty, a silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships and a bronze medalist at the 2024 World Championships, steamrolled her best-of-3 finals series with a pair of 10-0 technical fall wins in the first period over Aine Drury.
Kylie Welker, who like Blades and Kilty was a 2025 national champion for the Iowa women's program, was the third Hawkeye woman to qualify for the World team. She defeated Dymond Guilford with a narrow 2-1 win in the first match of their best-of-3 series. The second match was headed to a similar finish, tied 1-1 at the break, before Welker exploded for eight points in the second period to earn a blowout 9-1 victory.
That win clinched her spot on the World team. Like Kilty, she'll also be making her third appearance on a World team and will be trying to better her bronze medal finish at the 2024 World Championships.
Finally, the 53 KG final was a battle of current Iowa vs former Iowa, with Brianna Gonzalez, a 2025 national champion for Iowa, taking on Felicity Taylor, a 2024 national champion for the Hawkeyes. Taylor defeated Gonzalez 2-0 in the best-of-3 finals to earn her first senior World team spot.
In the first match, Taylor scored a close 2-1 win over Gonzalez. Taylor beat her 6-4 in the second match after recording a takedown and a pair of tilts.
All told, there will be a significant Hawkeye flavor to the United States team that heads to Croatia in two months to try and claim individual and team glory at the World Championships. Lee and Blades highlighted Hawkeye efforts at the Olympics last year and came home with a pair of silver medals; they'll be looking to improve on those results at the World Championships -- and hope that their fellow current and former Hawkeyes can also claim some medals.
The 2025 World Championships will take place from September 13-21 in Zagreb, Croatia.
