Rodriguez and Janiak Advance to U20 World Finals

Women’s wrestling kicked off on Wednesday at the U20 World Championships and the US team started off strong with two women in world finals and another in the hunt for bronze. 

The two wrestlers that advanced to Thursday’s gold medal matches both happen to be veterans of the U20 world scene. Cristelle Rodriguez and Alexis Janiak were on the 2023 U20 world team and their experience helped propel them to wrestle for world titles tomorrow. 

Rodriguez was 12th in 2023 and outwrestled that placement already - and then some! The NAIA national champion from Doane actually wasn’t seriously tested during any of her three bouts at 55 kg on Wednesday. Rodriguez needed just over a minute to dispatch Poland’s Amelia Tomala, 11-0. In her second match, Rodriguez came out hot again breezing through Russian, Ekaterina Chikanova with a first takedown in only :38 seconds. Rodriguez continued to pour it on with a 9-0 lead early in the second period. She would put an emphatic stamp on her victory with a big, four-point finish to a leg attack and a 13-0 victory. 

In the day’s second session, Rodriguez continued to dominate despite surrendering a takedown and her first points of the event to European U20 champion Tuba Demir (Turkiye). Rodriguez got to her offense with a single leg and switched to a double leg with a strong finish for four points and nearly secured a fall after the two hit the mat. Late in the opening period, Rodriguez stopped a Demir shot and threw her an opponent by for a takedown and a 6-2 lead. Early in the second period, Demir attempted a throw, which Rodriguez anticipated, putting Demir to her back. Rodriguez sunk in a deep half and was able to notch the fall. 

Rodriguez will face Mongolia’s Khaliun Byambasuren in tomorrow’s gold medal match. Byambasuren got to the finals on the strength of a 3-1 semifinal win over Japan’s Karina Honda. 

The only returning U20 medalist on the women’s team this year is Alexis Janiak - who is now a two-time U20 medalist after her run to the finals on Wednesday. Janiak was a bronze medalist at 59 kg last year. She returned to that same weight class in 2024. 

Like Rodriguez, Janiak wasn’t overly challenged on Wednesday; however, she did need to wrestle the full six minutes in all three of her matches. Despite the lack of close scores for Janiak, it didn’t mean that she didn’t have to dig deep to earn her wins. In the semifinals against Uladzislava Kudzin (Belarus - AIN), Janiak had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit early in the second period. Janiak scored a takedown off of a low double leg and held both legs for a leg lace. She was able to get four turns to quickly take a 10-2 lead. That is how the bout would end and Janiak earned a spot in tomorrow’s gold medal match. 

That was almost a carbon copy of Janiak’s quarterfinal win over Viktoria Borsos (Hungary). Borsos led 3-1 with about a minute and a half remaining in the bout, but surrendered a takedown to Janiak who also broke the match open with leg laces. She would win, 11-3. 

Janiak will take on Japan’s Sakura Onishi for the gold. Onishi advanced to the finals after a pair of 10-0 techs and a fall in the semifinals. 

The other American woman in the medal hunt is Naomi Simon at 76 kg. Simon nearly was able to pull off a comeback win in the quarterfinals against Ukraine’s Mariia Orlevych, but just fell short at 9-8. Orlevych was able to win her next match, pulling Simon into medal contention. Simon will face Japan’s Chisato Yoshida in a bronze medal match tomorrow. 

At 50 kg, Anaya Falcon posted a first-round win, but was defeated in her second match and has been eliminated from the medal chase. 

The remainder of the women’s team will take the mat tomorrow. That group includes two-time U20 team member Reese Larramendy (65 kg) and U17 world bronze medalist Jasmine Robinson (72 kg).