Iowa women's wrestling's Kylie Welker left Las Vegas a big winner, securing her third consecutive U23 World Championship on Oct. 17.
The Hawkeye senior and national champion steamrolled her way through competition at 76 kilograms for Team USA. Welker outscored opponents 38-0 and had three technical falls and a pin.
Welker began her run with a 11-0 technical fall win over Poland’s Patrycja Cube, recording four takedowns in the win. A win by fall over Turkey’s Elmira Yasin sent her to the semifinals, where Welker earned her second 11-0 technical fall of the tournament over Russia’s Mariia Silina to make the finals. She capped off her stellar outing with a 10-0 technical fall over Serbia’s Evelin Ujhelji in the finals with one takedown and four leg laces, winning in just 47 seconds.
Welker is the first American to win three U23 World titles and the first women’s freestyle wrestler to do so in consecutive years according to USA Wrestling. Welker is now a four-time age-group World champion with a U20 World title under her belt as she readies for her final collegiate season.
"It feels pretty special," Welker told USA Wrestling. "It's always my goal to go out there and do the best I can. World gold is what I strive for, so it feels good."
Also winning hardware for Iowa women's wrestling and Team USA at the U23 World Championships was Everest Leydecker (55 kilograms) and Reese Larramendy (65 kilograms). Both walked away with U23 World bronze medals.
Leydecker opened with three consecutive technical falls to reach the semifinals. She led 3-0 in the semifinal bout but Hungary’s Gerda Terek caught Leydecker in a cradle and won by fall to secure an upset win. Leydecker returned in dominant fashion and defeated Uzbekistan’s Ulmeken Esenbaeva by an 11-0 technical fall, with two takedowns and three leg laces to secure her bronze medal.
Larramendy began her tournament with a 6-4 win by decision over Colombia’s Nicoll Parrado Osorio, showing some nice counter-offense in the first period and holding on from there to win. She fell in a quick 10-0 technical fall in the semifinals to China's Yuqi Rao. Larramendy returned and won a 10-4 decision over Ayse Erkan of Turkey to secure U23 World bronze.
This was Larramendy's first medal at the World level. Leydecker, a two-time U20 World champion, added more to her trophy case with her efforts and isn't done yet as she has a spot at the Senior World Championships from Oct. 24-Nov. 1. Both will be national-title contenders for Iowa women's wrestling this season.
Also representing the Hawkeyes and Team USA at the U23 World Championships was men's wrestler Jordan Williams at 70 kilograms in freestyle. He opened with back-to-back wins by decision, starting with defeating Spain’s Kodakov Gil in a one takedown bout ending in a 3-1 decision. Against India's Sumit Bharaskar, a takedown and exposure in the first period carried Williams to a 6-4 victory by decision.
In the quarterfinals, he faced Moldova’s Alexandr Gaidarli, a multiple-time age-group medalist. Williams suffered a 10-0 technical fall loss and since Gaidarli did not reach the finals, Williams was not pulled back into the repechage to compete for bronze. He'll compete for a starting spot in the middleweights for the Hawkeyes this upcoming season.
Iowa State Cyclones men's heavyweight Coby Merrill rounded out the field for Iowans at the U23 World Championships at 125 kilograms for Team USA. He began with a 11-0 technical fall over Armenia's Khachatryan Khachatur, showcasing a variety of offense in the bout. His next bout ended in a loss to Georgia’s Aleksandre Abramishvili in a quick 10-0 technical fall, highlighted by several double-leg takedowns.
Merrill was pulled back into the repechage and made the bronze-medal match after a 10-0 technical fall win over Canada's Mahil Karanveer Singh. With hardware on the line, Merrill cruised past Hungary's Gellen Milan. He had one takedown into two gut wrenches, followed by four step-outs for a 10-0 technical fall and bronze medal. The Cyclone freshman projects to start at heavyweight this year for Iowa State.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: Iowa women's wrestling's Kylie Welker wins U23 World title