Wrestlers · Senior level
Kennedy Blades
2024 Olympic silver medalist at 76 kg; 2025 World bronze medalist at 68 kg; 2021 U20 World champion; 2x college national champion for Iowa
Chicago, IL · Wyoming Seminary HS · Iowa
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026
Kennedy Blades was born September 4, 2003, and grew up in Broadview, Illinois. In 2016 she became the first girl to win an Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation championship, competing against boys. At Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania she won Super 32 in 2018 and 2019 and the 2019 Prep School National title.
In April 2021, as a high school junior, she reached the final of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 68 kg and lost to Tamyra Mensah-Stock 12-4 and 8-1. That August she won the Junior World title at 72 kg in Ufa, outscoring her first three opponents 31-0 and pinning Lilly Schneider of Germany in 17 seconds. In 2023 she took U20 World bronze in Amman and U23 World silver in Tirana, both at 76 kg.
At the 2024 Olympic Trials in State College she won three challenge tournament matches by technical fall, then beat Adeline Gray 11-6 and 8-3. In Paris she beat Catalina Axente of Romania 11-0, Milaimys Marin Potrille of Cuba 4-3 and Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan 8-6. She lost the 76 kg final to Yuka Kagami of Japan 3-1 on August 11, 2024.
She signed with Iowa in July 2024, went 25-0 in her first college season and won the 2025 NCWWC title at 160 pounds. Moving to 68 kg, she won the 2025 Zagreb Open, U.S. Open, Pan American Championships and Final X. She then took World bronze in Zagreb, beating Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Turkey 12-1 after a 12-1 loss to Ami Ishii of Japan.
She went 19-0 the next season and won the inaugural 2026 NCAA title at 160 pounds, pinning Tiffani Baublitz of East Stroudsburg in 1:19. In 2026 she placed fifth at the Zagreb Open. Her Final X series against Isabella Mir, delayed from June, is set for September 25 in Hilliard, Ohio, for the 68 kg World Team spot.
2026 NCAA champion at 160 pounds for Iowa. She wrestles Isabella Mir at 68 kg on September 25 in Hilliard, Ohio, for the U.S. spot at the 2026 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | High school | Super 32 | 1st | Also 2019 Super 32 champion and 2019 Prep School National champion | |
| 2018 | Age group | Cadet Pan American Championships, Guatemala | 69 kg | 1st | |
| 2019 | Age group | Cadet World Championships, Sofia | 73 kg | 7th | |
| 2021 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Fort Worth | 68 kg | 2nd | Lost best-of-three final to Tamyra Mensah-Stock 12-4, 8-1 while a Wyoming Seminary junior |
| 2021 | Age group | Junior (U20) World Championships, Ufa | 72 kg | 1st | Outscored first three opponents 31-0; pinned Lilly Schneider (GER) in 17 seconds in the final |
| 2023 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Amman | 76 kg | 3rd | Lost semifinal to Priya (IND) 10-0; def. Mariia Silina (AIN) 6-2 for bronze |
| 2023 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Tirana | 76 kg | 2nd | Three 10-0 tech falls, then lost final to Reetika (UWW) 9-2 |
| 2024 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, State College | 76 kg | 1st | Challenge tournament TF 11-0 Grote, 11-1 Guilford, 11-0 Makoyed; def. Adeline Gray 11-6, 8-3 |
| 2024 | Senior | Olympic Games, Paris | 76 kg | 2nd | def. Catalina Axente (ROU) 11-0, Milaimys Marin Potrille (CUB) 4-3, Aiperi Medet Kyzy (KGZ) 8-6; lost final to Yuka Kagami (JPN) 3-1 |
| 2024-25 | College | NCWWC National Championships, Coralville | 160 lb | 1st | 25-0. def. Kaylynn Albrecht (McKendree) TF 10-0; Most Outstanding Wrestler; Iowa team title |
| 2025 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Monterrey | 68 kg | 1st | def. Nathali Griman Herrera (VEN) 14-5 in final |
| 2025 | Senior | Final X, Newark | 68 kg | 1st | def. Brooklyn Hays 10-4, 5-2 |
| 2025 | Senior | World Championships, Zagreb | 68 kg | 3rd | def. Radhika (IND) 11-0; lost to Ami Ishii (JPN) 12-1; def. Skobelska (UKR) 9-2; def. Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (TUR) 12-1 for bronze |
| 2025-26 | College | NCAA Women's Wrestling National Championships, Coralville | 160 lb | 1st | 19-0. def. Tiffani Baublitz (East Stroudsburg) by fall 1:19; inaugural NCAA championship; Iowa 2nd as a team |
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/kennedy-blades · Born Sept 4 2003; hometown Chicago IL; Wyoming Seminary, Kingston PA; 2018 and 2019 Super 32 champ; 2019 Prep National champ; 2019 U17 Worlds 7th at 73 kg; 2021 U20 World gold 72 kg; 2023 U20 bronze and U23 silver at 76 kg; 2025 Pan Am, Final X, US Open champion; 2025 World bronze 68 kg; 2026 NCAA champion
- https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/player/kennedy-blades · Iowa roster: senior 2025-26, 160 lb, Chicago IL, Wyoming Seminary; 25-0 in 2024-25 with NCWWC title and MOW; 19-0 in 2025-26 with NCAA and Region V titles; 2025 US Open champion at 68 kg; 2025 Pan Am champion 68 kg; twin sister Korina
- https://www.teamusa.com/news/2024/august/10/in-illinois-everyone-knew-the-blades-sisters-in-paris-kennedy-blades-is-ready-to-introduce-herself-to-the-world · Broadview IL; 2016 first girl to win an Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation championship against boys; 2021 Trials runner-up to Mensah-Stock at 68 kg as a high school junior (implies class of 2022); coaches Izzy Martinez and Mark Perry
- https://uww.org/athletes/blades-kennedy-alexis · 2018 Cadet Pan Am gold 69 kg; 2019 Cadet Worlds 7th 73 kg; 2021 Junior Worlds 1st 72 kg; 2023 U20 3rd and U23 2nd at 76 kg; 2024 Olympics 2nd; 2025 Worlds 3rd 68 kg; 2025 Zagreb Ranking Series and Pan Am 1st; 2026 Zagreb Open 5th at 68 kg
- https://www.teamusa.com/news/2021/april/04/meet-the-15-olympic-bound-wrestlers-for-team-usa · 2021 Olympic Trials 68 kg final: Mensah-Stock over Blades 12-4 and 8-1, Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, April 2-3 2021
- https://www.themat.com/news/features/2021/august/19/kennedy-blades-in-junior-world-finals/ · 2021 Junior Worlds, Ufa, 72 kg: 10-0 Guseinova, 10-0 Nurtaeva, 11-0 Saneh, 31-0 combined, final vs Lilly Schneider (GER); Broadview IL, Wyoming Seminary, Izzy Style WC
- https://www.themat.com/news/2023/august/17/jimenez-finishes-with-u20-world-silver-jones-janiak-and-blades-earn-bronze · 2023 U20 Worlds Amman 76 kg: 10-0 Senkina, 4-3 Moro, lost 10-0 to Priya in semis, 6-2 over Silina for bronze
- https://nwhof.org/news/blades-jimenez-earn-silver-elor-will-go-for-gold-at-u23-world-championships · 2023 U23 Worlds Tirana 76 kg: three 10-0 tech falls, lost final 9-2 to Reetika (UWW), silver
- https://www.themat.com/news/2024/april/19/kennedy-blades-rolls-through-challenge-tournament-takes-aim-at-adeline-gray-for-olympic-spot · 2024 Olympic Trials challenge tournament, Bryce Jordan Center, State College, April 19 2024: TF 11-0 Grote, 11-1 Guilford, 11-0 Makoyed, 33-1 combined; age 20, Sunkist Kids
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12451726-2024-usa-wrestling-olympic-trials-results · 2024 Olympic Trials 76 kg championship series: Blades over Adeline Gray 11-6 and 8-3, April 19-20 2024
- https://www.themat.com/news/2024/august/11/blades-wins-silver-medal-snyder-takes-fifth-on-final-day-of-olympic-wrestling-in-paris · Paris 2024 76 kg: 11-0 Catalina Axente (ROU), 4-3 Milaimys Marin Potrille (CUB), 8-6 Aiperi Medet Kyzy (KGZ), lost final 3-1 to Yuka Kagami (JPN) on Aug 11 2024; age 20; recently signed with Iowa. Article prose misspells the Cuban as 'Marin Portillo'; its own results list reads 'Marin Potrille'
- https://uww.org/article/68kg-debut-blades-suplexes-her-way-gold · 2025 Zagreb Open, Feb 7-8 2025, 68 kg gold, four wins (two falls, two superiority) incl. Dacher, Hanzlickova, Szabados, Pok
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2025/03/8/hawkeyes-crown-3-national-champions-claim-second-straight-team-title · 2025 NCWWC, Coralville, March 8 2025: 160 lb title, TF 10-0 over Kaylynn Albrecht, 25-0, Most Outstanding Wrestler, Iowa team title
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/09/jimenez-kennedy-baublitz-win-golds-schwab-claims-silver-martinez-gets-bronze-in-women-s-freestyle-at-pan-american-championships · 2025 Pan Am Championships, Monterrey, May 9 2025, 68 kg gold: 6-2 and 14-5 over Griman Herrera, 11-1 Pedro Da Rocha, 10-0 Jimenez Fernandez
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/june/14/live-updates-2025-final-x · 2025 Final X, Prudential Center, Newark, June 14 2025: Blades over Brooklyn Hays 10-4, 5-2 at 68 kg
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/september/18/blades-dominates-bronze-medal-match-bey-to-repechage-at-world-championships · 2025 World Championships, Zagreb, 68 kg bronze: 11-0 Radhika, lost 12-1 to Ami Ishii, 9-2 Skobelska, 12-1 over Buse Cavusoglu Tosun; first senior World medal
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/03/7/solorio-blades-and-welker-claim-ncaa-titles · 2026 NCAA Women's Wrestling National Championships, Coralville, March 7 2026: 160 lb title, 9-1 over Steigler in semis, pin of Tiffani Baublitz 1:19; second straight national title; Iowa 2nd with 166, McKendree 171
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/april/02/kennedy-blades-accepts-68-kg-women-s-freestyle-berth-at-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · April 2026: accepted automatic 68 kg bid to 2026 Final X as 2025 World medalist; two-time college national champion; 2025 Anthony-Maroulis Trophy winner; article then listed 2026 Worlds in Manama, Bahrain
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/15/2025-world-medalists-blades-welker-woods-receive-medical-delay-for-final-x-series · June 2026: Blades requested and received a medical delay for her 2026 Final X series at 68 kg vs Isabella Mir
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/august/26/final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management-wrestle-off-set-for-sept-25-in-ohio · Final X wrestle-off Blades vs Isabella Mir at 68 kg set for Sept 25 2026, Hilliard Davidson HS, Hilliard, Ohio; winner goes to the 2026 Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milaimys_Mar%C3%ADn · Cuban wrestler's full name is Milaimys de la Caridad Marin Potrille, born March 16 2001, Havana; 2024 Olympic bronze medalist at 76 kg
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/7138876-a-look-back-at-a-historic-junior-worlds-for-usa-women · Blades won the 2021 Junior World 72 kg title with three tech falls and a pin of Lilly Schneider of Germany in 17 seconds in the final
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2024/07/23/kennedy-blades-signs-with-iowa · Kennedy Blades signed a national letter of intent with Iowa, announced July 23 2024
Your turn
Every program in the country that has a women's team, with the coach's published email, is in the college directory.
The newsletter
One email. The rules, the gear, the college path.
For wrestlers, parents, and coaches. Same standard as the site: every number sourced, no filler, unsubscribe any time.