The Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial is the final Ranking Series event of the year and will feature many of the premier contenders for World medals in September. Top women’s wrestling nations China, Mongolia, Ukraine and Canada are all sending athletes in the Olympic weight classes to Budapest. The American team will have a prime opportunity to test itself against many of the world’s best in this highly anticipated event. 

Hildebrandt’s opportunity to avenge her World Championships loss from last year 

Since Sarah Hildebrandt moved down to 50 kilos three years ago, she’s only taken three losses. One was in the Olympic semifinals to experienced veteran Sun Yanan of China. Another was in the 2021 World finals to Japanese World Champion Remina Yoshimoto. The third and most recent was to 21-year-old Otgonjargal Dolgarjav of Mongolia, who upset Hildebrandt in the World semis last year. 

For the first time since Belgrade, Hildebrandt and Dolgarjav will be in the same bracket. At 4-foot-9, Dolgarjav is one of the Senior-level’s shortest wrestlers — Hildebrandt is six inches taller than her — and her small stature makes her an interesting style matchup for Hildebrandt’s length. Should these two meet again, expect Hildebrandt to make the necessary adjustments to deal with the challenges Dolgarjav presents. 

Of course, other challengers including World medalists Oksana Livach, Anna Lukasiak and Alina Vuc will also be in the bracket. Additionally, China has put three athletes on the 50-kilogam podium at each of the three previous Ranking Series tournaments and will look to accomplish the same feat here. 

Can Dom Parrish find her mojo from last year and turn her 2023 season back in the right direction? 

Last year, Dom Parrish shocked the world by winning gold at her first Senior World Championships. Since that remarkable performance, however, she’s struggled on the international stage, going 1-4 in her last three tournaments. At her most recent competition — Final X in June — she looked savvy, defeating Katie Gomez in two consecutive controlled matches. This tournament will provide another opportunity to prove she’s back on the right track.. Parrish will have an opportunity to avenge two of her losses from earlier this year — against Sam Stewart of Canada and Emma Malmgrem of Sweden. Ten total World medalists are participating in this bracket, including Olympic medalists Qianyu Pang of China and Bolortuya Bat-Ochir of Mongolia. Parrish is certainly amongst the best in the world at 53 kg and this event will be an opportunity to add some good wins to her resume and build momentum leading into Worlds. 

We know XMP is good, but just how ready is she for the international stage? 

Immediately after Xochitil Mota-Pettis tossed and pinned Alli Ragan at 2020 Senior Nationals, she became a known threat on the domestic scene. However, aside from a couple Pan-Am appearances, XMP has yet to test herself on the international stage. Down at her Olympic weight, we’ll finally get to preview her against the best in the world ahead of her World Team wrestle-off against Helen Maroulis in August. 

XMP’s bracket includes a host of challengers, including World bronze medalists Alina Akobiia and Anhelina Lysak (both Ukrainians, but the latter representing Poland). Canada’s U23 World medalists Hannah Taylor and Alex Town will both be in attendance. Patrycja Gil of Poland, who beat Maroulis at the Zagreb Ranking Series tournament in January, and her compatriot Jowita Wrzesien, who earned a World bronze at 59 kg last year, round out the list of established challengers. 

Another interesting international threat is Mongolia’s Tserenchimed Sukhee, who is moving down from 62 kg to 57 kg. Sukhee had wins over the likes of Kayla Miracle, Olympic medalist Iryna Koliadenko and many of the other top athletes at 62 kg. Should she be able to transition down effectively, she’ll become an instant contender for medals at this new weight class. 

59 kilograms: The perfect pre-Worlds measuring stick for Jen Page 

Jen Page has quietly been one of the top domestic athletes in the United States over the past couple years. After falling in the U.S. Open finals at 62 kg, she successfully dropped down to 59 kg and dominated her way to the World Team spot. Page has some experience internationally at 62 kg and 65 kg, but perhaps her most notable result thus far was a close 11-11 criteria loss to last year’s 59-kilogram World silver medalist, Grace Bullen, at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series in February. This tight match implies that she’ll be able to compete with the top tier of athletes at her new weight class.

She’ll certainly have lots of opportunities to test herself in Budapest. Reigning World champion Anastasia Nichita of Moldova headlines this bracket; she’s one of the most technically proficient wrestlers across all weight classes. A pair of talented Ukrainians — past World champ Yuliia Tkach and age-level star Solomiia Vynnyk — are also amongst the top talent in this weight. U23 World silver medalist Magdalena Glodek of Poland rounds out the list of top contenders here. Page will certainly be able to get her hands on some of the top 59 kg contenders here, providing her some great experience leading into Worlds. 

Makoyed and Guilford Will Be Medal Favorites In Budapest

In America’s unquestionably deepest weight class, two of the world’s best wrestlers at 76 kg — Dymond Guilford and Yelena Makoyed — failed to place among the top three and make the national team. Despite this, both will be contenders, if not favorites, to make the podium in Budapest. 

Guilford wrestled in her first Senior Worlds last year, when an early loss to Japanese World bronze medalist Yuka Kagami kept her off the medal stand. However, she bounced back at U23 Worlds to take second, dominating her way to the finals. Guilford has also medalled at two of the last three Ranking Series tournaments she’s participated in (and at the only one she did not place in, the Poland Open, she lost to two Olympic Champions). 

While Makoyed has never wrestled at a World Championships, age-level or otherwise, she has one of the most impressive resumes in the entire world. Her list of wins is crowned by a fall victory over 2022 World champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey at the World Cup in Iowa. In the past year alone, she’s pinned three of the four medalists from 2022 Worlds (Adar, Samar Hamza of Egypt, and Epp Maee of Estonia — all of whom will be in the bracket in Budapest). Although she’s yet to have her breakthrough moment at a major championship, Makoyed’s unique style and proven history against the top contenders in the world make her the favorite to come home from Budapest with gold.