USA Wrestling is sending some of its brightest young stars to compete in Istanbul this week at U17 World Championships. Along with the all-star cast go the medal hopes of a national program that is rising on the world stage at every level. This year, Team USA looks to improve upon its fourth-place finish last year in Rome. 

The U.S. program failed to land a U17 World champion a year ago, though it did earn three silver medals — Erica Pastoriza (43 kilograms, Gabriella Gomez (46 kg), Valerie Hamilton (61 kg). The 2023 squad seeks to follow in the footsteps of the 2021 team that won gold, though Japan was not present that year. 

The first two weights of this year’s roster feature a pair that met in the Fargo finals a few weekends ago at 94 pounds, with Illinois’ Morgan Turner getting the 2-2 criteria win over Pennsylvania’s Jaclyn Bouzakis. Turner called Fargo a warm-up for Worlds, and both she and Bouzakis look like legitimate medal threats. They weren’t the only world teamers to compete in Fargo, as 49-kilogram rep Heather Crull won 106 and 73-kg rep Piper Fowler won 164, both with impressive performances. 

Here’s a weight-by-weight preview of the American U17 World team:

40 kg: Jaclyn Bouzakis

After winning U15 Nationals each of the last two years, Bouzakis climbed another step to claim the U17 World team spot this year. The Pennsylvania native won the U15 Pan Ams last year and looks like someone that can contend for the podium in Istanbul. Even in the loss to Turner, she showed how with solid positioning and stingy defense she can shut down a prolific offense. If Bouzakis can find a lead in matches against the world-class field in Istanbul, she has the discipline and style to hold her leads and close out matches.

43 kg: Morgan Turner

Turner has very quickly become one of the most exciting young wrestlers on the scene. A head turner with her Burroughs-like doubles, she’s a scoring machine. She brings an impressive resume to Istanbul this year, a 2-time Pan Am champ, the FloWrestling Who’s Number One winner last year, and her first Fargo title this year. If the world stage doesn’t know who Morgan Turner is yet, they’re about to find out. No one will be shocked to see Turner bringing some hardware home this week, and maybe even that shiny gold one.

46 kg: Rianne Murphy

Indiana’s Rianne Murphy beat a very tough Caley Graber to earn the World team spot, a very competitive domestic weight that makes you think that the winner is a medal threat. The 16U Fargo champ has had some success against international competition, winning Pan Ams twice like her teammate Turner. Ranked #2 behind Turner domestically, Murphy looks primed to compete for the podium in Turkey.

49 kg: Heather Crull

An Indiana state teammate of Murphy, she was a double All-American last summer at Fargo, including a runner-up finish in 16U division. This year, she broke through to make her first U17 World team and follow it up with a Fargo Junior title. She was so good at World Team Trials, in fact, that the sophomore didn’t get scored on the entire tournament, including two tech falls in the best-of-three finals. She’ll be tested at the world level, but such a performance and domestic resume should give her confidence that she belongs in Istanbul and has what it takes to earn some hardware.

53: Karlee Brooks

Brooks’ trajectory over the last few years has pointed to this moment, as you could see her climbing the rankings and separating herself from the field. Currently ranked #1 in the United States among all high school age divisions, Brooks has become a powerhouse domestically. Her series to win the World team spot against California’s Isabella Marie Gonzalez was close, winning 2-1 in a best-of-three, all close matches (W 4-4, L 2-0, W 4-0). The fact that she can win close matches is a great sign entering the world level where sometimes the margin between wins and losses is often narrow. The Arizona senior will need her offense to be firing on all cylinders if she hopes to bring a medal home, something she’s certainly capable of.   

57 kg: Everest Leydecker

Arizona sophomore Leydecker burst on the national scene last summer when she shocked the wrestling world by winning Fargo as an unranked entry. At World Team Trials last spring, she won a best-of-three series against this year’s Fargo runner-up Carly Ceshker 2-0 in a competitive scrap, earning a spot on her first World team. Her dual career in wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu has made her battle-hardened and ready for international competition, so don’t expect the moment to be too big for her. She’s a legit medal threat, and wouldn’t that be amazing for an athlete still relatively young in the sport, stepping on the national scene only last year.

61 kg: Haylie Jaffe

Jaffe will be entering her senior year this fall, a homeschooled Pennsylvania native that won the Pennsylvania state tournament three times. The 2021 Cadet Pan Am champion, Jaffe bested this year’s Fargo champ Cadence Diduch in the U17 Team Trials, winning the best-of-three in two straight matches 4-2 and 8-2. Currently ranked #1 in the country at 132, one of her best attacks is a high crotch that she hits with high efficiency. She’s another solid piece of a cast of legit medal contenders ready to hit the mats for Team USA this week in Turkey.

65 kg: May Prado

Another senior on the World team, Prado won her best-of-three series at U17 Trials 2-1 over Belicia Manuel. She can go big or small, though her style seems to favor going big with throws and even supes. On one hand, that could benefit her at U17 Worlds as the home run threat keeps her alive in any match and could also provide big points in matches against opponents that have more efficient styles. On the other hand, she could be exploited if she finds herself in 50-50 Greco positions, though domestically she seems to win those positions most of the time. Look for the two-time Georgia state champ to represent her state, and our country, well.

69 kg: Jasmine Robinson

Texas senior Jasmine Robinson has been a force domestically the last few years, currently ranked #2 nationally behind Destiny Rodriguez. She dominated her way to the world team spot, winning the finals over Sarah Henckel by technical superiority and a fall, scoring points with spectacular head-turning moves throughout the Trials. A returning world teamer, she was one-and-done last year in Rome. The experience gave her more motivation for this year. In her post-match interview in Spokane, she said, “This year I’m really coming back and focusing in more and tuning in to come back with the gold for the U.S.” 

73 kg: Piper Fowler

Tennessee senior Piper Fowler is ranked #1 domestically and proved it again last week when she won a Fargo title in preparation for U17 Worlds. With a style that reminds you of four-time college national champion Sydnee Kimber, Fowler always seems able to build up and finish when she gets to the legs. She’s also an outstanding counter-wrestler, punishing opponents with heavy sprawls and go-behinds. Her improvement over the last year is evident, taking out Mishell Rebisch 2-0 in the best-of-three finals at World Team Trials, an opponent that doubled up at Fargo in 2022. With solid defense and positioning, Fowler is not afraid to be offensive and get into scrambles where her strength and skill always seem to give her an edge on improving into scoring opportunities.There’s a lot of reasons to be hopeful that Fowler could do something special in Istanbul, especially considering juggernaut Japan isn’t usually as strong in upper weights.

Last year, Japan won the team race with 180 points; India was second with 149; Ukraine third with 112.

Women's freestyle schedule (ET)

Wednesday, August 2

4 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (WFS 43-49-57-65-73 kg)

10 a.m. – Semifinals (WFS 43-49-57-65-73 kg)

Thursday, August 3

4 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (WFS 40-46-53-61-69 kg), Repechage (WFS 43-49-57-65-73 kg)

10 a.m. – Semifinals (WFS 40-46-53-61-69 kg)

11 a.m. – Championship Finals (WFS 43-49-57-65-73 kg)

Friday, August 4

4 a.m. – Repechage (WFS 40-46-53-61-69 kg)

11 a.m. – Championship Finals (WFS 40-46-53-61-69 kg)