Henri Deglane Grand Prix Day 1 results: The U.S. women’s freestyle team put on a spectacular performance in the opening day of the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in Nice, France, collecting four gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal.
The USA athletes claimed seven of the 12 finals spots, setting up two All-American finals matches at 62 kg and 68 kg.
Highlighting the day with gold-medal performances were 2016 Olympic champion Helen Maroulis, 2019 World champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock at 68 kg, 2018 World silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kg and 2019 U23 World runner-up Kayla Miracle at 62 kg. 2019 World champ Jacarra Winchester along with Macey Kilty and Forrest Molinari claimed silver medals, while Amy Fearnside battled back for bronze.
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Maroulis looked solid at 57 kg, outscoring her opponents 40-1 in her four matches. Also a two-time World champion, Maroulis dominated her way to the finals by way of back-to-back-to-back technical falls. In the finals, she faced Laura Mertens, who has represented Germany at three World Championships. While Mertens was able to slow down Maroulis’ scoring, the American still controlled the match for a 4-1 victory.
In one of the most anticipated U.S. women’s freestyle matchups, 2019 World champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock met up with two-time World Team member at 65 kg Forrest Molinari in the 68 kg gold-medal match. Mensah-Stock used two takedowns in the final frame to spur her to a 6-1 win over her U.S. teammate.
On her way to the finals, Mensah-Stock collected two pins and a technical fall. She wraps up a fantastic week as she headed to France fresh off a win over five-time World champion Adeline Gray in a superstar matchup put together by FloWrestling.
For Molinari, she logged two strong comeback wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals to rightfully earn her spot in the finals.
Hildebrandt tech’d her way to a gold medal at 50 kg, winning her first three bouts with 10-0 scores. In the finals, she faced 2017 U23 World champion Evin Demirhan from Turkey, getting off to a fast start with a 6-0 lead at the break. In the second period, Hildebrandt scored on two takedowns to ultimately earn her a 13-2 win.
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In the other USA vs. USA final, Miracle took on five-time age-group World medalist Macey Kilty in the 62 kg finals. Kilty drew first blood with an early takedown, but it was Miracle who controlled the rest of the bout, nearly pinning Kilty at the end of the first period. Eventually, Miracle claimed the title with an 8-2 win.
Both had impressive runs to the finals with Miracle picking up a shutout over 2016 Olympian and three-time age-group World medalist Luisa Niemesch of Germany and Kilty besting 2014 World champion and three-time World medalist Yulia Tkach of Ukraine, 4-1, in the semifinals.
At 53 kg Winchester landed a spot in the finals, where she met up with 2009 World champion and four-time World runner-up Sofia Mattsson of Sweden. It appeared that Mattsson would shut out the reigning World champ; however with less than a minute left, trailing 5-0, Winchester scored a takedown and a tilt to go down by only one point. In the final 10 seconds, Winchester attempted a shot but Mattsson came out on top for a 7-4 win.
National Team member Fearnside bounced back from a first-round loss, winning three matches in the wrestlebacks to earn a bronze medal. In her medal match, Fearnside dominated Lisa Ersel of Germany with an 11-0 win.
National Team member Lauren Louive (57 kg) and two-time World Team member Victoria Francis (76 kg) also competed at the event but did not place.
Competition continues with men’s freestyle action on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) live on Flowrestling. Fans can keep up with the action by following @USAWrestling on Twitter.
U.S. women’s freestyle results
50 kg: Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC/USOPTC) – GOLD
WIN Aynur Erge (Turkey), 10-0
WIN Julie Sabatie (France), 10-0
WIN Jonna Malmgren (Sweden), 10-0
WIN Evin Demirhan (Turkey), 13-2
50 kg: Amy Fearnside (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC) – BRONZE
LOSS Evin Demirhan (Turkey), 4-4
WIN Ana Torres (Spain), 10-0
WIN Julie Sabatie (France), 3-1
WIN Lisa Ersel (Germany), 11-0
53 kg: Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC) – SILVER
WIN Esra Pul (Turkey), 10-2
WIN Marina Rueda (Spain), 10-0
WIN Annika Wendle (Germany), 5-1
LOSS Sofia Mattsson (Sweden), 7-4
57 kg: Helen Maroulis (Sunkist Kids) – GOLD
WIN Ambra Campagna (Italy), 13-0
WIN Elena Brugger (Germany), 10-0
WIN Johanna Lindborg (Sweden), 13-0
WIN Laura Mertens (GER), 4-1
57 kg: Lauren Louive (New York AC/USOPTC)
WIN Arianna Carieri (Italy), 7-4
LOSS Laura Mertens (Germany), fall 5:07
WIN Jeannie Kessler (Austria), 13-2
LOSS Mehlika Ozturk (Turkey), 4-0
62 kg: Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) – GOLD
WIN Andrea Grasrueck (Germany), 10-0
WIN Elena Esposito (Italy), 10-0
WIN Luisa Niemesch (Germany), 4-0
WIN Macey Kilty (USA), 8-2
62 kg: Macey Kilty (Sunkist Kids/Tarheel WC) – SILVER
WIN Annie Nuernberger (Germany), 10-0
WIN Sara Dacol (Italy), 10-0
WIN Yulia Tkach (Ukraine), 4-1
LOSS Kayla Miracle (USA), 8-2
68 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC) – GOLD
WIN Laura Godino (Italy), fall 0:20
WIN Nesrin Bas (Turkey), 10-0
WIN Eyleen Sewina (Germany), fall 3:20
WIN Forrest Molinari (USA), 6-1
68 kg: Forrest Molinari (Sunkist Kids) – SILVER
WIN Veronica Braschi (Italy), fall 1:06
WIN Asli Demir (Turkey), fall 3:27
WIN Luz Vasquez (Argentina), 14-3
LOSS Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA), 6-1
76 kg: Victoria Francis (Titan Mercury WC)
LOSS Martina Kuenz (Austria), 10-0
LOSS Cynthia Vescan (France), fall 2:55
(The story was originally posted by USA Wrestling)