The United States’ Senior World team is set, and as usual there are a few wrestlers with state of Iowa connections.
Final X took place on June 14 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with 20 different best-of-three series held to establish who would be heading to Zagreb, Croatia, to represent the United States at the Senior World Championships in September. Among those matchups, several wrestlers with connections to Iowa fought for those bids.
Here’s how it went down on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Spencer Lee, Real Woods and David Carr make Senior World team
Hawkeye alumni Spencer Lee and Real Woods and Iowa State graduate David Carr clinched Senior World team spots on the men’s side.
Lee (vs. Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl), Woods (vs. Joey McKenna of the Cowboy RTC) and Carr (vs. Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink) all did so by sweeping their respective series 2-0.
Lee won the first bout vs. Lilledahl in a 7-2 decision, highlighted by his takedown to two gut wrenches in the first period to outpace the Nittany Lion early. In the second bout, Lee shut out the youngster with a 6-0 win by decision to clinch his Senior World team spot. His takedown to two exposures in the first period was all he needed to emerge victorious.
Heading to Croatia, Lee will be a favorite to win a World championship at 57 kilograms as his work from par terre continues to impress year after year in freestyle.
Also joining Lee will be Woods, who now competes for the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club (University of Michigan’s Regional Training Center). Woods showed great poise in his first bout with McKenna, trailing 3-1 with under 20 seconds left but rallying with an exposure from a headlock position for two points and a four-point throw to win 7-3 over McKenna in the clutch. Woods won another thriller in the second bout to secure his World team bid, hitting a highlight-reel four-point throw in the first period to win 5-4.
This is Woods’ first Senior-level World team, as his wrestling appears to have reached another level in recent months to earn the spot at 65 kilograms.
The most impressive athlete of the men’s event may have been David Carr. Carr won the first match over Mesenbrink in a 4-3 decision. He trailed 3-0 after the first period, but two takedowns in the second saw Carr complete the comeback. Perhaps more impressive, Carr conceded an exposure and a passivity point but no takedowns to an offensive dynamo in Mesenbrink to win the bout.
In the second match, Carr gutted out another win, this time in a 4-4 victory by criteria. In total, Carr had four takedowns to Mesenbrink’s zero in the two matches, showcasing Carr’s tremendous positioning and defensive efforts to secure a World team spot at 74 kilograms.
Carr previously lost to Mesenbrink at the US Open earlier this year, but he reverted back to his 2024 NCAA Championship semifinal performance when he defeated Mesenbrink in a high-pressure moment then as well. Once again, Carr’s ability to perform in the big moments showed up.
Also of note, former Cyclone Ian Parker made the United States’ Senior National team with a third-place finish at 70 kilograms. The now-Virginia assistant coach defeated Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian in a 7-4 decision to earn his spot. While he did not make the Senior World team, by finishing top three in his weight for the U.S. he will receive a monthly stipend, training opportunities and competition opportunities with USA Wrestling.
Falling short of that honor was Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, who lost again to Penn State’s Carter Starocci in a 4-3 decision. The two last met at the 2025 NCAA Championships, with Starocci winning his fifth NCAA title by downing Keckeisen in another tight bout.
Five state of Iowa wrestlers make up United States’ Women’s Senior World team
Half. That’s right, half of the United States’ women’s freestyle Senior World team is made up of wrestlers who compete or once competed for programs in Iowa. Four of the wrestlers come from the Iowa women’s wrestling program and another from William Penn.
We’ll start with one of the most intriguing matchups of Final X between Brianna Gonzalez and Felicity Taylor, former teammates at Iowa who were 2-2 against one another in previous matchups. That includes some big moments too, like the Taylor win over Gonzalez in the National College Women’s Wrestling Championship final in 2024.
Taylor won a close 2-1 bout in the first matchup vs. Gonzalez, which was decided by a step-out point. Both Taylor and Gonzalez were dinged for passivity in the bout, but Taylor’s single-leg attack into a step-out was the difference. In the second bout, the offense started to roll with Gonzalez scoring the first takedown of the series and leading 2-0 after one period. In the second, Taylor’s takedown to two exposures led to her 6-4 win over Gonzalez to secure the 53-kilogram Senior World team spot.
Taylor represented Titan Mercury Wrestling Club and the Big Game Wrestling Club in the bout, and she’ll be looking to make South Winneshiek High School and the Iowa women’s wrestling fans proud in Croatia after defeating her former teammate. It’s her first Senior World Team qualification.
Following that, it was Iowa’s self-proclaimed “triple-whammy” of Kylie Welker, Kennedy Blades and Macey Kilty coming through with sweeps as well to secure trips to Croatia.
Welker won her first bout vs. Dymond Guilford in a slow-paced 2-1 decision. Welker forced two step-outs to Guilford’s one in the match to secure the victory. In the second bout, Welker finished strong in the final period of her match while leading Guilford 2-1. Welker’s opponent attempted to go for a big throw, but Welker countered to score a two-point takedown and three exposures, followed by a step-out to win 9-1. Securing a World Team bid at 76 kilograms, this is the third Senior-level team of her young career.
In Blades’ first match, the Olympic silver medalist actually trailed 2-1 after one period of action against Brooklyn Hays after conceding two step-outs. However, Blades took control in the second frame by taking Hays to her back with a four-point blast double to highlight her nine-point effort in the second to win 10-4. In the next match, Blades looked dazed after dinging her head early in the bout, but she was able to hang on and win by a 5-2 decision. Hays battled tough with the star talent, but Blades’ offensive skill was too much as she looks to add to her 2024 Olympic silver in Croatia at 68 kilograms.
Kilty dominated both of her matches with a pair of 10-0 technical falls over Aine Drury, locking down the 65-kilogram spot. The Hawkeye had five takedowns and five turns to end both bouts in the first period. This is her third Senior World team qualification, and she’s only 24 years old with many opportunities likely still ahead for the Wisconsin native.
Blades, Kilty and Welker are each 24 years old or younger, but are all making their second or third appearance on a Senior-level team.
Aside from the Hawkeyes, William Penn’s Adaugo Nwachukwu also had a standout day in New Jersey at 62 kilograms.
Nwachukwu won the first bout vs. Kayla Miracle in a 14-8 decision, rallying from a deficit she faced late in the second period with a pair of four-point throws to secure a win. Miracle countered with a 4-3 win by decision in the second bout, but Nwachukwu roared back from a 2-0 deficit in the third bout to win 8-4. It’s Nwachukwu’s first Senior World team qualification, as the William Penn program continues to thrive on the NAIA stage, as well as national and international events.
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: Final X: Spencer Lee, Real Woods, David Carr and several Iowa women make Senior World team
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Hawk Central
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