Did You See That? Big U.S. Open Moments (Through Quarters)

Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

by Derek Levendusky

There were some turn-your-head moments at the U.S. Open in the opening round on Friday morning in Vegas. Here’s a few you may have seen…or may have missed.

Round of 32
50 kg: Unseeded Jasmine Howard of High Ground Wrestling scored a second period fall over 2x NAIA Champion and #8 seeded Nina Pham. Howard was 3rd in the NAIA as a freshman for Texas Wesleyan this year.

50 kg: Unseeded Kendra Ryan of Cardinal Wrestling Club scored a 10-0 first period tech fall over #7 seed Charlotte Fowler. Ryan was 5th at the National Collegiate Wrestling Championships in March as a sophomore for team champion North Central. Fowler was a multiple-time All-American for Campbellsville.

Round of 16
55 kg: California’s Isabella Ngo upset #5 seed and NCAA national runner-up Amani Jones by fall. Jones hit a headlock and seemed to have Ngo dead to rights, but when Jones tried to adjust her position, Ngo reversed Jones to her back for the pin. Ngo was ranked #14 in the country in high school rankings when she ended her high school career in 2022.

68 kg: Hawkeye Wrestling Club’s Isabella Mir pinned NAIA National Champ Emily Se in the second period. First of all, Mir looks more imposing than ever and she has the mat game to boot. It will be fun to watch her in the NCAA for Iowa next year.

76 kg: #10 seed Ashley Lekas had a convincing win over #7 seed Skylar Grote of Beaver Dam RTC 7-2. It’s not that a #10 beat a #7, it was watching Lekas, who still has very few accolades at the college level due to injuries, beat another top Senior level athlete like Grote. A few weekends ago Lekas beat #4 ranked Levendusky in the U23 finals. Lekas came out of the gate this year in college an obviously improved version of herself and looks like a real threat in upper weights for years to come.

Quarterfinals
65 kg: Unseeded Aine Drury from California dominated 2019 Cadet World bronze medalist Skylar Hattendorf with a fall. She was up 10-2 at the time of fall. Drury was a CIF state champion and ranked in the top 5 nationally in high school when she graduated in 2020, but has been a bit off the radar for the last few years, though she never stopped wrestling, as she was on the Cerritos roster this past season.

65 kg: NYAC’s #6 seeded Maya Letona won by tech fall over #3 seed and 2023 NCWWC National Champion Ana Luciano 12-1. It’s no secret that Letona is good, but to beat a stingy opponent like Luciano in that manner was impressive.

76 kg: If you missed it, go back and watch it! #5 Kylie Welker had #4 Dymond Guilford on her back for close to a minute in the first period and built up an 8-0 lead. That was when Guilford hit Welker with a pancake during a transition and got the fall. This was one of many matches in the shark tank that is 76 kg. Guilford will face #1 seed Adeline Gray in the semis.

76 kg: Adeline Gray is back! 4x college national champion Sydnee Kimber did take her down to start the quarterfinal match, but other than that, Gray is back to her winning ways, scoring two pins thus far in the tournament.