By David Gerhart
USA Wrestling

A quartet of age-group World champions is set to represent the U.S. in women’s freestyle at the 2026 U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. Women’s freestyle action at Sportova Hala Mladost commences on Tuesday, August 18 and continues through Friday, August 21.

Team USA women's freestyle team members Gretchen Donally, Piper Fowler, Caley Graber, Everest Leydecker and Taylor Whiting are all winners of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award.

The first of three women’s freestyle groups begins competition on Tuesday, August 18. Group one (50-53-72 kg) wrestles Tuesday and Wednesday, with group two (55-62-65-76 kg) competing on Wednesday and Thursday. Group three (57-59-68 kg) rounds out action on Thursday and Friday.

2025 U20 World champion Leydecker leads the four age-group World champions looking for her second-straight U20 title. Leydecker rolled to the championship last year with three-straight 10-0 technical falls to start the tournament. Then in the gold medal bout, Leydecker posted a 10-2 decision over India’s Reena, who won bronze at the U20 and U23 World Championships in 2023.

Leydecker, who is also on the 2026 Senior World Team, is joined by fellow Senior World Team member Morgan Turner. Two-time U17 World champion Turner is set to make her debut at the U20 World Championships.

Women’s Freestyle Athlete Bios

Both Leydecker and Turner are set to compete at three World Championships this year. Along with being on the U20 and Senior World Teams, Leydecker and Turner are also slated to take part in the U23 World Championships on home soil in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October.

After becoming just the fifth wrestler, and first American, to win three U17 World titles two weeks ago, Taina Fernandez now sets her sights on a new challenge and takes part in her first U20 Worlds. In her U17 career, Fernandez compiled a record of 12-0 with eight falls and three technical falls. She allowed only six points across those 12 matches, all of which were in one single contest, which she won 13-6.

2023 U17 World champion Fowler returns to the World stage of Team USA after two U17 World Championships appearances. Along with her title in 2023, Fowler earned a seventh-place finish at the 2024 championships.

Karlee Brooks, who will compete at 57 kg, joined Fowler and Turner on the 2023 U17 World Team. In her debut for Team USA, Brooks placed fifth at the event in Istanbul, Türkiye.

World Championships newcomers for Team USA include Whiting at 53 kg, Graber at 59 kg, Bella Williams at 62 kg, Riley Hanrahan at 65 kg and Donally at 72 kg. Williams represented the U.S. twice on the continental stage in 2025 and won the U20 and U23 Pan American titles. Donally competed for the U.S. in 2025 at the Klippan Lady Open in Sweden. Whiting, Graber and Hanrahan all made their Team USA debuts last month at the Grand Prix of Spain. Whiting claimed silver at the event, with Graber winning bronze and Hanrahan placing fifth.

In Samokov, Bulgaria, last year, Team USA placed fourth overall at the U20 World Championship with 95 points. Japan returns as the defending champions after collecting 165 points behind five gold medalists. India and China rounded out the top three with 140 and 104 points, respectively.

Leydecker is one of four returning U20 World champions from 2025 in this year’s field. The 76 kg weight class has two returning champions in Kajal of India and Nadiia Sokolovska of Ukraine. Japan’s Sakura Onishi of Japan rounds out the returning gold medalists at 62 kg.

In total, 15 U20 World medalists from 2025 are back in the field for 2026. Three weight classes (62 kg, 65 kg and 76 kg) each have three returning medalists.

The 2026 U20 World Championships field currently includes 177 individuals from 44 different countries. China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United States will all have the maximum number of entrants at 10.

The first of three women’s freestyle groups begins competition on Tuesday, August 18. Group one (50-53-72 kg) wrestles Tuesday and Wednesday, with group two (55-62-65-76 kg) competing on Wednesday and Thursday. Group three (57-59-68 kg) rounds out action on Thursday and Friday.

The full women’s freestyle event schedule is available below.

FloWrestling will provide a live stream of the action in the U.S. market. Brackets and results will be hosted on UWW Arena.

For live results and updates from the U20 World Championships, follow along with USA Wrestling’s social channels and TheMat.com.

2026 U20 World Championships

At Bratislava, Slovakia, August 16-23

Reference Links

• Event Schedule

• Event Entry List

• Live Stream

• Brackets and Results

Women’s Freestyle Event Schedule

Tuesday, August 18

10 a.m. – Qualification rounds (WFS 50 kg, 53 kg, 72 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (WFS 50 kg, 53 kg, 72 kg)

Wednesday, August 19

10 a.m. – Repechage (WFS 50 kg, 53 kg, 72 kg)

10 a.m. – Qualification rounds (WFS 55 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 76 kg)

5 p.m. – Semifinals (WFS 55 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 76 kg)

6 p.m. – Finals (WFS 50 kg, 53 kg, 72 kg)

Thursday, August 20

10 a.m. – Repechage (WFS 55 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 76 kg)

10 a.m. – Qualification rounds (WFS 57 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (WFS 57 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg)

6 p.m. – Finals (WFS 55 kg, 62 kg, 65 kg, 76 kg)

Friday, August 21

10 a.m. – Repechage (WFS 57 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg)

6 p.m. – Finals (WFS 57 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg)

*All times local. Bratislava, Slovakia, is located six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Roster

50 kg – Morgan Turner (Chicago, Ill./All I See Is Gold Academy/Titan Mercury WC)

53 kg – Taylor Whiting (Oconto, Wis./Askren Wrestling Academy/Iowa Women’s WC)

55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC)

57 kg – Karlee Brooks (Phoenix, Ariz./Iowa Women’s WC)

59 kg – Caley Graber (Northfield, Minn./Summit Wrestling Academy)

62 kg – Bella Williams (Edmond, Okla./Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Riley Hanrahan (Black River Falls, Wis./Team Nazar Training Center)

68 kg – Taina Fernandez (Bowie, Md./Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Gretchen Donally (Ballantine, Mont./Colorado Mesa WC)

76 kg – Piper Fowler (Cleveland, Tenn./Cyclone RTC)

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Support Staff & Delegation

U.S. Women’s Freestyle coach – Jessica Medina

U.S. Women’s Freestyle coach – Clarissa Chun

Personal Coach – Kim Thompson

Personal Coach – Max Askren

Personal Coach – Randy Leydecker

Personal Coach – Riley Graber

Personal Coach – Nazar Kulchytskyy

Personal Coach – Jason Gabrielson

Personal Coach – Travis Mercado

Personal Coach – Jake Kadel

Medical (ATC) – Chad Smidt

Medical (ATC) – Judi Tekautz

Medical (MD) – Jeremy Frank

Official – Jason Babi

Official – Joshua Grube

Official – Brock Zollinger

Team Leader – Christina Hargrove

NF Media – Richard Immel

NF Media – Ariah Anderson-Cheetany

NF Media – Tony Rotundo

NF Official – Jeff Waters

NF Official – DeeDee Smidt

NF Official – Megan Ball

NF Official – Darryl Colbert

President – Bruce Baumgartner

NF Secretary General – Rich Bender

OC Guest – Michelle Bender