Wrestlers · Career complete
Julia Salata
2x WCWA champion for King at 155 pounds; 3x Junior Nationals, Fargo, champion; 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Pan American champion at 65 kg
Canton, MI · Canton High School HS · King University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026
Julia Salata is from Canton, Michigan, and wrestled for Canton High School. At Junior Nationals, Fargo, she won the 146-pound title in 2009 and 2010.
In March 2011 she won the Junior 159-pound title at the USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals. She beat Savanna Nickols of the Arcata Bad Boys 15-1 in the final. That July she won a third straight Fargo title, pinning Michelle Organ of Wisconsin in the 159-pound final.
She wrestled for King University. As a freshman in March 2012 she won University Nationals at 72 kg, about 159 pounds. She beat Brittany Roberts of Oklahoma City University in the final. She placed fourth at the WCWA championships that season and second in 2013. She made the U.S. Junior World Team in 2012 and 2013.
In 2014 she went 19-0 for King and won the WCWA title at 155 pounds. Her 5-1 win over Kayla Aggio of Oklahoma City in the final clinched King's first WCWA team title, 229 points to 227. She also won University Nationals at 75 kg that season. In July she took bronze at 75 kg at the University World Championships in Pecs, Hungary. In 2015 she went 23-0 for King and repeated as WCWA champion, beating Hanna Hall of Campbellsville 10-0 in the final.
After graduating she was a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center and a training partner for Adeline Gray at the 2016 Olympics. From 2016 to 2021 she was an assistant coach at King. She won a third University Nationals title in 2017.
At the 2018 U.S. Open she beat Forrest Molinari of the Titan Mercury WC 5-0 for the 65 kg title. Molinari won their Final X series in June, two matches to none. In April 2019 she won the Pan American title at 65 kg in Buenos Aires with two technical falls. She wrestled at the U.S. Olympic Trials for the third time in April 2021.
She is in the King University Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2014 women's wrestling team, inducted in 2024. That team won King's first WCWA and NWCA National Duals titles and started a run of four straight in each.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Age group | Junior Nationals, Fargo | 146 lb | 1st | Beat Brittany Goebel of Illinois 1-0, 2-0 in the final. The first of her three straight Junior women's freestyle titles. |
| 2010 | Age group | Junior Nationals, Fargo | 146 lb | 1st | Beat Demi Strub of Indiana 1-1, 1-4, 1-0 in the final. |
| 2011 | Age group | USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals, Junior division | 159 lb | 1st | At Oklahoma City University. A major decision over Kim Spiegel of the USOEC, a technical fall over Britnee Barbosa of Team Texas in the semifinals, and a 15-1 major decision over Savanna Nickols of the Arcata Bad Boys in the final. |
| 2011 | Age group | Junior Nationals, Fargo | 159 lb | 1st | Pinned Michelle Organ of Wisconsin in 1:50 of the second period in the final, her third Junior Nationals title. |
| 2011-12 | College | WCWA National Championships | 4th | As a King freshman, the first of four WCWA All-America finishes. | |
| 2012 | Age group | University Nationals | 72 kg | 1st | In Oklahoma City as a King freshman. Beat Brittany Roberts of Oklahoma City University 4-1, 2-0 in the final. |
| 2012-13 | College | WCWA National Championships | 2nd | Runner-up as a sophomore. | |
| 2013-14 | College | WCWA National Championships | 155 lb | 1st | 19-0. Beat Brittany David of Lindenwood 8-3 in the semifinals and Kayla Aggio of Oklahoma City 5-1 in the final. The win clinched King's first WCWA team title, 229-227. Record is for her season with King. |
| 2014 | Age group | University Nationals | 75 kg | 1st | Her second University Nationals title. |
| 2014 | Age group | University World Championships, Pecs, Hungary | 75 kg | 3rd | 2-1. Beat Tamae Yoshii of Japan 5-0, lost to Epp Mae of Estonia, then beat Noelia Lalin Canda of Spain 12-1 for bronze. The U.S. women placed third as a team. |
| 2014-15 | College | WCWA National Championships | 155 lb | 1st | 23-0. Five wins, the last a 10-0 technical fall over Hanna Hall of Campbellsville in the final. Record is for her season with King. King repeated as WCWA team champion. |
| 2018 | Senior | U.S. Open | 65 kg | 1st | For the New York AC. Beat Jayden Laurent of the Musky WC 3-1 in the semifinals and Forrest Molinari of the Titan Mercury WC 5-0 in the final. Her first U.S. Open title. |
| 2018 | Senior | Final X, Bethlehem | 65 kg | 2nd | 0-2. Best-of-three series for the U.S. World Team spot. Forrest Molinari won 5-0 and 10-2. |
| 2019 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Buenos Aires | 65 kg | 1st | 2-0. Round robin. Beat Jessica Brouillette of Canada 11-0 and Gabriela Pedro da Rocha of Brazil 10-0. |
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://dt5602vnjxv0c.cloudfront.net/portals/81254/docs/fargo_almanac_2024.pdf · Fargo Almanac, Mat Talk Online. Julia Salata of Michigan won Junior Women's Freestyle titles at 146 pounds in 2009 and 2010 and at 159 in 2011, beating Brittany Goebel, Demi Strub and Michelle Organ in the finals.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2009/july/20/asics-vaughan-junior-women-s-f-20602 · USA Wrestling, July 20, 2009. Finalist biographies for the girls Junior Nationals put Julia Salata of Canton, Michigan, a Canton High School student, in the 146-pound final against Brittany Goebel of Illinois.
- https://www.themat.com/sitecore/content/home/usa-wrestling/athlete-of-week/2011/2011/march/29/julia-salata-named-themat-com--23403 · USA Wrestling, March 29, 2011. Julia Salata of Canton, Michigan, won the Junior 159-pound division at the Girls Folkstyle Nationals, beating Savanna Nickols 15-1 in the final, after two straight Junior Nationals freestyle titles.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2011/july/19/webster--salata--hendey-top-li-23862 · USA Wrestling, July 19, 2011, from Fargo. Julia Salata won her third Junior Nationals title, pinning Michelle Organ of Wisconsin in the 159-pound final.
- https://www.kingtornado.com/news/2012/3/24/3_24_2012_5982.aspx · King University, March 24, 2012. Freshman Julia Salata of Canton, Michigan, won the 72 kg division at University Nationals in Oklahoma City, beating Brittany Roberts of Oklahoma City University 4-1, 2-0 in the final.
- https://kingtornado.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/julia-salata/4166 · King University roster biography. Hometown Canton, Michigan. Her 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons: WCWA titles at 155 pounds, records of 19-0 and 23-0, the 5-1 final over Kayla Aggio and the 10-0 final over Hanna Hall, and the 2014 University Nationals title at 75 kg.
- https://www.kingtornado.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/coaches/julia-salata-15/330 · King University coach biography. A four-time WCWA All-American with two national titles: fourth as a freshman, runner-up as a sophomore, champion as a junior and senior. She joined the King staff before the 2016-17 season. She finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2012 and 2016 and wrestled at the April 2021 Trials.
- https://www.kingtornado.com/honors/hall-of-fame/2014-womens-wrestling/92 · King University Athletics Hall of Fame, class of 2024. The 2014 women's wrestling team won the NWCA National Duals and WCWA titles. Salata's 5-1 win in the final clinched the WCWA team title, 229-227.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2014/july/10/us-earns-six-medals-in-womens-freestyle-on-day-three-of-university-world-championships · USA Wrestling, July 10, 2014, from Pecs, Hungary. Julia Salata won bronze at 75 kg at the University World Championships, beating Noelia Lalin Canda of Spain 12-1.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2017/march/30/bp73-julia-salata · USA Wrestling, March 30, 2017. Julia Salata had just won her third University Nationals title. A two-time WCWA champion, she was a member of U.S. Junior World Teams in 2012 and 2013.
- https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/wrestling/roster/staff/julia-salatavargas/5835 · Princeton University biography, from her August 2022 hire as Director of Wrestling Operations. She began wrestling in 2007, was a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center from 2015 to 2016 as a training partner for Adeline Gray at the Rio Olympics, was an assistant coach at King from 2016 through 2021, qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2012, 2016 and 2021, and was on U.S. national teams from 2013 through 2021.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2018/april/28/hildebrandt-miracle-gray-among-stars-in-us-open-womens-finals · USA Wrestling, April 28, 2018. Julia Salata of the New York AC won her first U.S. Open title at 65 kg, beating Forrest Molinari 5-0 in the final.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2018/april/27/three-olympians-reach-finals-in-womens-freestyle-at-us-open · USA Wrestling, April 27, 2018. In the U.S. Open 65 kg semifinals, Julia Salata of the New York AC beat Jayden Laurent of the Musky WC 3-1.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2018/june/23/complete-wrap-story-from-final-x-in-lehigh · USA Wrestling, June 23, 2018, from Final X in Bethlehem. Forrest Molinari beat Julia Salata 5-0 and 10-2 at 65 kg for the World Team spot.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2019/april/19/salata-hedrick-win-gold-at-pan-ams · USA Wrestling, April 19, 2019, from Buenos Aires. Julia Salata won Pan American gold at 65 kg with technical falls of 11-0 and 10-0.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2020/september/11/salata-to-wrestle-valencia-on-nittany-lion-wc-card · USA Wrestling, September 11, 2020. Salata competed on four U.S. age-group World Teams, two at the Junior level and two at the University level.
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