Behind Taina Fernandez, Team USA Crowns Four U17 World Champions, Wins Team Title in Baku

While Maryland's Taina Fernandez made history by becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to win three U17 World freestyle championships, she was far from the only American to shine in Baku, Azerbaijan.

California's Epenesa Elison, Michigan's Kaili Manuel and Pennsylvania's Marlee Solomon each captured U17 world titles, Texas' Landri VonGonten earned a silver medal, and Pennsylvania's Madison Healey and Isla Silva joined Colorado's Sophia Valdez in bringing home bronze medals as Team USA claimed its first U17 Women's Freestyle team championship since 2021.

Elison makes Golden Leap

A year after finishing as an U17 World Runner-up, Epenesa Elison qualified for the World Team again and made the final step up the podium as she decked India’s Nikita Sehrawat in the opening frame, 1:36.

Elison came out firing off on offense and collected a go-behind to take a 2-0 edge and then added another spin behind for a 4-0 count. After a rest, Elison sucked in a single leg and without hesitation drove her rival over to the back to gain the early ending.

Elison made quick work of Canada’s Gurleen Dhillon in the half-final with a 29 second fall. The quarters witnessed Elison posting a 10-0 technical fall of Croatia’s Mia Kovac. Another tech, 12-2, was delivered to Spain’s Nadiia Zholtikova. Elison’s closest bout came in her first action when she came out ahead of an 8-2 decision over Japan’s Rion Suzuki.

Manuel Dominates Petriv for Glory

Kaili Manuel was facing off with 2025 U17 World Bronze winner Solomiia Petriv of Ukraine and allowed just a single point to be placed on the sheet in an 8-1 decision.

Mauel executed one scoring maneuver of more than one-point in the second period during a match that featured most of the scores coming on step outs and activity time. The two came when she countered a low shot by Petriv for two exposure points to take an 8-0 lead before Petriv gained a late reversal for her only output.

Mauel had her closest showdown in the half-final when she came out on the right side of a 7-5 count versus India’s Garima. It was smooth sailing prior to that with a 12-0 tech in the quarters over Paula Benaixa Perez of Spain and a 3:23 sticking of Bagzhan Kurmanbay (Kazakhstan).

Solomon Leaves No in Finals

Another newbie to the international scene, Marlee Solomon, will reflect fondly on her time in BAKU after cruising to her first U17 World Crown.

Solomon toed the line with India’s Akshar in her final and kept her adversary off the board while compiling an 11-0 tech fall that included one final point tacked on at the end on a lost challenge from Akshar’s camp. Solomon ended the first round with a 6-0 advantage after a go-behind was coupled with an arm trap for two sets of exposure points.

Once the second period was underway, Solomon picked up right where she left off by gaining more exposure points on a big four-point sequence that saw the Keystone Girl use a single leg takedown to the back.

Like Elison, Solomon had her tightest outcome in her very first match of the affair, but hers was a razor thin 5-4 win versus Mariia Zhytovoz (Hungary). After getting that madness out of the way, Solomon was not tested again with consecutive second period pins to reach the finals. The half-final victim was Columbia’s Alejandra Serrano Roa (3:42) with Azerbaijan’s Fatima Bayramova meeting her end at the 3:06 mark.

Silver for VonGonten

Landri VonGonten’s trip through the bracket got progressively tougher as she moved to the finals. A pin of India’s Avanshika came 27 seconds into the second round of their opening bout, 2:27. That was followed by a 10-0 tech of Puerto Rico’s Marisa Iturrino.

An 8-6 quarterfinal result over Russia’s Kamila Temiraeva delivered VonGonten to a half-final bout with Kazakhstan’s Aruzhan Bakytnuy. VonGonten had to dig deep in that one to execute a late comeback to gain a ticket to the finals opposite Ozdenur Ozmez (Türkiye) on a 7-6 tally.

Unfortunately for the Texan, the final was all Ozmez as she was overwhelmed on a 10-0 count.

Bronze, No Bust

While Madison Healey, Isla Silva, and Sophia Valdez will not return home as champs, they will still come through customs sporting World Bronze Medals.

Healey’s path was the most difficult as she lost early in the championship bracket needed help to gain access to the Repechage. Once granted a second life, Healey made the most of it, winning two in a row, including a 10-0 tech of Hungary’s Vivien Szentpal in the placement match. Healey is now a back-to-back World Bronze Medalist.

Silva and Valdez reached the semifinals before suffering their first losses then bounced back to win their consolation finals.

Kazakhstan’s Ayanat Meinambay was close to keeping Silva from coming home with hardware, but the Pennsylvanian rallied to post four points at the very end to go from a 3-2 deficit to a 6-3 surplus. Valdez had little trouble with two-time U15 Asian Medalist, Rohini Devba (India), posting a 9-0 shutout.

Lundy and Skrocki Kept Off the Podium.

Colorado’s Lilly Lundy went 0-2 at 43 kilograms. Arizona’s Eve Skrocki posted a 1-2 record in her time on the mats.

Full Brackets and results.

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