Wrestlers · Senior level
Erin Golston
3x Junior World medalist at 44 kg; U.S. Open champion and Final X finalist at 50 kg; 7 years on the U.S. National Team
Lake in the Hills, IL · Marquette Senior High School HS · University of Colorado Colorado Springs
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 11, 2026
Erin Golston grew up in Lake in the Hills, Illinois, in a wrestling family. Her father wrestled in high school in Chicago and in college at Illinois State, and he coached her beginner and intermediate groups. She started at six, the only girl on her team, and went 36-2 in her first two years. She had told her kindergarten teacher she wanted to go to the Olympics.
As a high school sophomore she moved by herself to Marquette, Michigan, to train at the U.S. Olympic Education Center. She was the youngest wrestler in the program. She won Junior World bronze medals at 44 kg, about 97 pounds, in Bucharest in 2011 and Pattaya in 2012, then took silver in Sofia in 2013. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs while training, and won University Nationals in 2014 and 2016.
She settled at 50 kg and stayed, and has spent seven years on the U.S. national team. She took Pan American silver in Buenos Aires in 2019. In 2022 she won the U.S. Open along with the Grand Prix of Spain and the Bill Farrell Memorial. She won the Bill Farrell again in 2024 and placed at the Olympic Team Trials. In 2025 she won the Senior World Team Trials in Louisville, then lost the Final X series to Audrey Jimenez of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Regional Training Center.
When the pandemic pushed the Olympics back and her training moved around, she thought about leaving the sport. A call from Randi Miller, the first Black woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal, brought her to Texas Woman's University, where she coaches while she keeps competing.
She wrestles 50 kg for the New York Athletic Club and coaches at Texas Woman's University in Denton, still chasing the Olympic team she has been after since kindergarten.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Age group | Junior World Championships, Budapest, Hungary | 44 kg | 13th | She also won the Youth Olympic Games Qualifier that year |
| 2011 | Age group | Junior World Championships, Bucharest, Romania | 44 kg | 3rd | She was fourth at the U.S. Open that year |
| 2012 | Age group | Junior World Championships, Pattaya, Thailand | 44 kg | 3rd | |
| 2013 | Age group | Junior World Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria | 44 kg | 2nd | Her third age-group World medal in three years; she was also true third at the U.S. World Team Trials and third at the U.S. Open |
| 2014 | Senior | Women's University Nationals | 1st | Neither cited page gives a weight for the title. USA Wrestling's 2018 national team bio puts her fourth at the U.S. World Team Trials that year while her themat profile says third, so the Trials placement is left out. | |
| 2016 | Senior | Women's University Nationals | 1st | She was also runner-up at Women's Nationals, which USA Wrestling's 2018 bio records as second at the U.S. Open, and took bronze at the Bill Farrell and Dave Schultz internationals. No cited page gives a weight for the title. | |
| 2019 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 50 kg | 2nd | She was also silver medalist at the Bill Farrell Memorial and the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov event and runner-up at the U.S. Open |
| 2022 | Senior | U.S. Open Championships | 50 kg | 1st | She also won the Bill Farrell Memorial and the Grand Prix of Spain, was runner-up at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament and made the World Cup team |
| 2023 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 50 kg | 4th | May 3-6, 2023. United World Wrestling's event record places the championships in Buenos Aires; her themat profile says Santiago, which appears to conflate them with the 2023 Pan American Games. She earned true third at Final X and took U.S. Open bronze that year. |
| 2024 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 50 kg | USA Wrestling records her third at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, behind Sarah Hildebrandt and Audrey Jimenez. Her themat profile logs a true-third loss at the same event, which would read as fourth. She earned a spot on her sixth Senior National Team, and her profile adds the Bill Farrell Memorial title and a fifth at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix that year. Placement left out: USA Wrestling's 2025 Final X preview says third, her USA Wrestling profile logs a loss in the true-third match. | |
| 2025 | Senior | Senior World Team Trials | 50 kg | 1st | She won the Challenge Tournament in Louisville, then lost the Final X series to Audrey Jimenez of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Regional Training Center on June 14 in Newark. She was runner-up at the CLAW U.S. Open and took bronze at the Muhamet Malo event in Tirana. |
| 2026 | Senior | U.S. Open Championships, Las Vegas | 50 kg | 2nd | She lost the final to Katie Gomez 5-0 and took bronze again at the Muhamet Malo event in Tirana |
| 2026 | Senior | Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, Louisville, KY | 50 kg | 4th | May 14-15, 2026, in a 50 kg field that included Felicity Taylor, Sage Mortimer, Emily Shilson and Morgan Turner |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/erin-golston · Hometown Lake in the Hills, IL; high school Marquette, Mich.; education UCCS; residence Denton, Texas; New York AC; born April 20, 1993; 2025-26 Team USA ranking No. 2 at 50 kg with seven years on Team USA; Junior World silver 2013 Sofia and bronzes 2012 Pattaya and 2011 Bucharest, 13th in 2010 Budapest; 2019 Pan American silver in Buenos Aires; 2022 U.S. Open champion, Grand Prix of Spain and Bill Farrell gold; 2023 fourth at Pan Ams in Santiago and true third at Final X; 2024 Bill Farrell gold and lost the true third match at the Olympic Team Trials; 2025 Senior World Team Trials champion, Final X runner-up, U.S. Open runner-up, Tirana bronze; 2026 Tirana bronze, U.S. Open runner-up, fourth at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament; master's from Texas Woman's University
- https://www.usawmembership.com/senior_national_teams/2018?bio=1008 · USA Wrestling 2018 national team bio: native of Lake in the Hills, Ill.; attended the U.S. Olympic Education Center women's wrestling program while in high school; college UCCS; high school Marquette, Mich.; born April 20, 1993; University Nationals champion in 2014 and 2016; Junior World medals in 2011, 2012 and 2013
- https://firstandpen.com/erin-golstons-love-for-wrestling-was-lost-but-found-again/ · Her father wrestled in high school in Chicago and at Illinois State and coached her beginner and intermediate groups; she started at age six as the only girl on her team and went 36-2 in her first two years; she moved by herself as a high school sophomore from Illinois to Marquette, Michigan, to train at the Olympic training center, the youngest wrestler in the program; she then went to the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs; after the 2020 postponement and a move to Wisconsin she considered quitting, and a call from Randi Miller, the first Black woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal, brought her to Texas Woman's University as an assistant coach
- https://twuathletics.com/sports/wrestling/roster/coaches/erin-golston/534 · TWU coaching bio: joined the Pioneers as a graduate assistant supporting the head coach with practices, technique instruction and the team newsletter; bachelor's in health science from the University of Colorado; competed in her fourth Olympic Trials in April and earned a spot on her sixth Senior National Team; ranked No. 4 nationally at 50 kg; two-time U.S. Open Senior National champion; three-time Olympic Team Trials qualifier; 2019 Pan American silver medalist; three-time Junior World medalist
- https://twuathletics.com/sports/wrestling/coaches · Texas Woman's University 2026-27 wrestling coaching staff lists Randi Miller as head coach and Erin Golston as a volunteer assistant
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15905654-2026-womens-freestyle-world-team-trials-challenge-tournament-preview · 2026 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament preview: Golston reached Final X in 2025 and reached the U.S. Open final in 2026, losing to Katie Gomez 5-0
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/may/11/olympians-elor-and-winchester-highlight-strong-women-s-freestyle-field-at-senior-world-team-trials · May 11, 2026 preview of the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Louisville, Ky., May 14-15: Golston entered at 50 kg as a U.S. Open runner-up alongside Felicity Taylor, Sage Mortimer, Emily Shilson, Morgan Turner and Kendra Ryan
- https://dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/twu_pioneers/twu-wrestling-coach-erin-golston-making-mark-on-national-level/article_85c266db-6db9-58e7-900a-5e6d9815c5d4.html · Denton Record-Chronicle feature on Golston as a TWU student assistant coach and U.S. National Team member, describing her Final X true third match at Prudential Center and her season on the national team
- https://uww.org/event/pan-american-championships-17/results · United World Wrestling event record: 'Pan-American Championships. May 3-6, 2023. Argentina, Buenos Aires'
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/23/jimenez-golston-to-meet-at-50-kg-in-women-s-freestyle-at-2025-final-x-in-newark-n-j- · May 23, 2025: Golston reached Final X by winning the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Louisville, Ky., and met Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) in the 50 kg best-of-three series on June 14 at Prudential Center; Jimenez had won the 2025 U.S. Open final 11-0 and led their Senior series 3-0; Golston was third at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials behind Sarah Hildebrandt and Jimenez, and won a 2023 true-third match over Alyssa Lampe; she has collected 16 international Senior medals since 2013
- https://www.themat.com/2025-finalx · 2025 Final X event lineup: '50 kg - Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)'
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