Blades, Hikiji, Jimenez, Rodriguez and Welker named finalists for 2026 USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy
Five finalists have been selected for the 2026 USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s best women’s college wrestler—Kennedy Blades of Iowa, Erin Hikiji of Providence, Audrey Jimenez of Lehigh, Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane and Kylie Welker of Iowa.
Blades, Jimenez and Welker were champions at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships. Hikiji and Rodriguez earned national titles at the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships.
The award winner will be selected by a vote from three constituent groups—women’s college head coaches, national wrestling media and the fans. Each group accounts for one-third of the total vote.
Public voting is now open at usawrestlingevents.com/wcwoty and will run through Tuesday, March 31. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 2.
Finalists were determined by the Anthony-Maroulis Trophy oversight committee, which includes representatives of USA Wrestling, college coaches, media, officials and past winners.
| The following criteria were considered when evaluating finalist candidates, using data from the 2025-26 season only:• Season record• Bonus percentage• Number of falls• Number of technical falls• Quality of competition• Integrity and sportsmanship• Impact on program and team success• Cultural impact on women’s college wrestling |
| The USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy is named after Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis, who are the first four-time women’s college national champions. Both women won a fourth WCWA national title in 2014 as teammates at Simon Fraser University, becoming the first wrestlers in history to achieve the feat.Previous winners of the award were Yelena Makoyed of North Central (2023), Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn (2024) and Kennedy Blades of Iowa (2025).USA Wrestling created the Anthony-Maroulis Trophy to elevate a new award for women’s college wrestling that has significant cultural impact seen with other college athletic awards, such as the Dan Hodge Trophy in men’s college wrestling and the Hesman Trophy in college football. |
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After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
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