Hawks competing at U20 & U23 World Championships

With the Olympics behind us it is time to look forward to Hawks competing at the U20 and U23 World Championships. We will have five Iowa wrestlers competing at the U20 World Championships and four at the U23 World Championships.

Brianna Gonzalez(50kg), Cadence Diduch(62kg), Reese Larramendy(65kg) and Naomi Simon(76kg) won U20 Nationals in April. They will represent Team USA at the 2024 U20 World Freestyle Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on September 4-6.

Diduch and Simon are members of the incoming Recruiting Class of 2024.

Ben Kueter(125kg) will also be competing for Team USA at the U20 World Freestyle Championships on September 7-8. Kueter won the U20 World Team Trials in Geneva, Ohio in June. Kueter was the 2022 U20 World Champion at 97kg/213 lbs.

Patrick Kennedy won the 79kg title at U23 Nationals. Kennedy will now represent Team USA at the U23 World Freestyle Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 26-27.

Iowa national champion Kylie Welker won the 72kg spot on the U23 World Team in a best of three wrestle-off. Welker will compete at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on October 24-25.

This will be the second U23 World Championships for Welker and fifth trip to a World Championship representing Team USA. Welker won Bronze at the 2021 U23 World Championships and was a 2021 Junior World champion.

Welker will be joined by new teammates Skye Realin(59kg) and Macey Kilty(62kg) at U23 Worlds. Realin and Kilty announced this summer that they are transferring to compete at Iowa for the upcoming season.

Realin won Gold at 59 kg at the U23 Pan American Championships. Kilty won silver at 65kg at the 2023 Senior World Championships and was a 2018 Cadet World champion. She has won five age-level World medals for Team USA.

I will keep you up to date with a preview and results for all of our wrestlers competing in the World Championships.