Wrestlers · Career complete
Forrest Molinari
2021 World bronze medalist at 65 kg; 2023 Pan American Games champion; 3x World team member; WCWA champion for King
Benicia, CA · Benicia HS · King University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026
Forrest Molinari grew up in Benicia, California, and started wrestling at 14. She wrestled for Benicia High School, qualified for the CIF state championships three times and placed third twice.
She began college at Missouri Baptist and placed third at the 2013 WCWA championships. She moved to King University, where she was fourth in 2015, won the WCWA title in 2016 and was second in 2017. She was a four-time All-American.
She won the 2015 U20 Nationals and placed seventh at the U20 World Championships in Brazil. In 2018 she won the World Team Trials and Final X at 65 kg, about 143 pounds. She placed fifth at the World Championships in Budapest that year and fifth again in 2019 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
In 2021 she won the World Team Trials again and took bronze at the World Championships in Oslo, Norway, in her third trip to the Worlds. She won Pan American Championships gold in 2018, 2022 and 2023. At the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, she won two technical falls and a pin without giving up a point. She then beat Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez of Venezuela 3-2 for the 68 kg gold.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pennsylvania, she reached the 68 kg best-of-three final. Amit Elor of Titan Mercury won it 6-0 and 2-1.
After the Trials she moved to mixed martial arts. She won her professional debut by unanimous decision in November 2024, and Benicia High School inducted her into its Hall of Fame the same year. She fights as a professional featherweight out of the MMA Lab.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | College | WCWA Championships | 3rd | For Missouri Baptist, where she started her college career. | |
| 2015 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Salvador da Bahia | 67 kg | 7th | She also won the 2015 U20 Nationals. |
| 2015-16 | College | WCWA Championships | 155 lb | 1st | She beat Jessika Rottier (Cumberlands) 7-0 in the final and helped King to its third straight WCWA team title. She was fourth at 136 pounds in 2015 and second in 2017 for King. |
| 2018 | Senior | World Championships, Budapest | 65 kg | 5th | She made her first Senior World team by winning the World Team Trials and Final X. She also won the 2018 Pan American Championships. |
| 2019 | Senior | World Championships, Nur-Sultan | 65 kg | 5th | She won the U.S. Open and Final X on the way to her second World team. |
| 2021 | Senior | World Championships, Oslo | 65 kg | 3rd | Her third World Championships, after fifth-place finishes in 2018 and 2019. |
| 2023 | Senior | Pan American Games, Santiago | 68 kg | 1st | 4-0. Two technical falls and a pin in the morning session without giving up a point, then a 3-2 win over Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez (Venezuela) in the final. USA Wrestling called it her fourth Pan American title and first Games gold. |
| 2024 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, State College | 68 kg | 2nd | She came through the challenge tournament to reach the best-of-three final, where Amit Elor (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury) won 6-0 and 2-1. |
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 to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/forrest-molinari · USA Wrestling athlete profile. It lists her World teams, college and high school results, Pan American, U.S. Open and Final X titles, her move to mixed martial arts and her Hall of Fame induction.
- https://kingtornado.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/forrest-molinari/4211 · King University roster biography. She was fourth at 136 pounds at the 2015 WCWA championships, won the 2016 WCWA title at 155 pounds over Jessika Rottier of Cumberlands 7-0, and was WCWA runner-up in 2017.
- https://nwhof.org/news/2021-world-bronze-medalist-molinari-will-compete-in-final-x-stillwater · USA Wrestling via the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, 2022. Her 2021 World bronze in Oslo was her third World Championships, after fifth in 2018 and 2019.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2023/november/02/molinari-ices-pan-american-games-gold-garrett-hall-add-silver-medals-to-men-s-freestyle-haul · USA Wrestling, November 2023. She won the 68 kg gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, beating Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez of Venezuela 3-2 in the final.
- https://theguillotine.com/2024/04/u-s-phenom-amit-elor-qualifies-for-first-olympic-team-after-winning-eight-world-titles/ · The Guillotine, April 2024. Amit Elor beat Forrest Molinari 6-0 and 2-1 in the 68 kg final series of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- https://sports.yahoo.com/u-olympic-wrestling-trials-2024-231820324.html · NBC Sports via Yahoo Sports, April 2024. Results from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials challenge tournament, where she reached the 68 kg challenge final.
- https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Forrest-Molinari-466423 · Sherdog fighter record. A professional featherweight with the MMA Lab, she won her debut by unanimous decision in November 2024.
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