A gold medal from 19-year-old Everest Leydecker helped lift Team USA to the women’s freestyle world championship on Friday night. (Tony Rotundo photo courtesy of USA Wrestling)
Courtesy USA Wrestling
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Oct. 30, 2026 – The U.S. women’s freestyle team rose to the top at the 2026 Senior world championships on Friday night at Bary Arena, capping its first team title in the sport’s modern era as 19-year-old Everest Leydecker surged to gold at 55 kilograms.
As she did throughout the tournament, Leydecker stayed patient in the championship match and forced Ukraine’s Nataliia Klivchutska into the critical mistake. Klivchutska was put on activity time in the final minute of a tied match. She pressed hard for an opening, but Leydecker reversed the momentum and caught Klivchutska on her back for exposure points in the final seconds, securing a 4-1 win.
Leydecker, a freshman at the University of Iowa, adds a Senior crown to her two U20 world titles. She joined 62 kg champion Adaugo Nwachukwu, who secured gold on Thursday night, as champions for the U.S. women in Astana. Nwachukwu and Leydecker are the 13th and 14th Americans, respectively, to earn a Senior world title in women’s wrestling.
Abby Nette came home with a silver medal at 59 kg, falling just short of India’s Manisha in the finals, 8-6. Nette held a 6-1 lead after the first period, but Manisha reeled off seven straight points to steal the win in the second frame.
With a silver in tow, Nette finished the season five-for-five in international medals, a testament to her consistency. She was the Pan American champion and finished on the podium at three UWW Ranking Series events. Nette is a Sergeant in the U.S. Army and a member of its World Class Athlete Program, as is Nwachukwu.
Team USA finished with two champions (Leydecker, Nwachukwu), a silver medalist (Nette), three bronze medalists (Helen Maroulis, Kennedy Blades, Dymond Guilford), and top 10 placements in all but one weight class, totaling 137 team points. Perennial power Japan finished two points behind the U.S. in the standings, while China placed third.
This marks the second team title in U.S. women’s wrestling history, and the first in its Olympic era (2004-present). The previous title came in 1999 with gold medalists Tricia Saunders and Sandra Bacher, plus silver medalist Kristie Davis, leading the way.
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