Wrestlers · Senior level
Kylie Welker
2x senior World bronze medalist; 3x age-group World champion; 3x college national champion for Iowa
Franksville, WI · Waterford Union HS · Iowa
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 10, 2026
Kylie Welker of Franksville, Wisconsin, won Wisconsin girls' state titles for Waterford Union High School in 2018 and 2019. In 2019 she took bronze at 61 kg at the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, pinning Laylokhon Sobirova of Uzbekistan in 0:58 in the bronze match.
In April 2021, still in high school, she reached the 76 kg final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where Adeline Gray won the series 10-0 and 11-0. That August she won the U20 World title at 76 kg in Ufa by technical fall over Bipasha of India. She placed 10th at 72 kg at the 2021 Senior World Championships in Oslo and took U23 World bronze at 76 kg in Belgrade. In February 2022 she became the first recruit to commit to Iowa's new women's wrestling program.
At Iowa she won the 2024 NCWWC title at 170 pounds and finished 23-1. In 2025 she moved to 180 pounds, went 27-0, and won the NCWWC title with a 10-0 technical fall over Sabrina Nauss of Grand Valley State. In 2026 she went 21-0 and won the NCAA title at 180 pounds, 11-0 over Destiny Rodriguez of McKendree.
In October 2024 in Tirana she won the U23 World title at 72 kg, pinning Vianne Rouleau of Canada in 1:12. Five days later she took senior World bronze at 72 kg, 5-2 over Alexandra Anghel of Romania. In 2025 she beat Dymond Guilford 2-1 and 9-1 at Final X. She won World bronze at 76 kg in Zagreb, 6-2 over Anastasiya Alpyeyeva of Ukraine, and repeated as U23 World champion in Novi Sad, 10-0 over neutral athlete Valeriia Trifonova. In May 2026 she won the Pan American title at 76 kg in Coralville, Iowa, pinning Genesis Reasco Valdez of Ecuador.
She wrestles Guilford again on September 25 in Hilliard, Ohio, for the U.S. spot at 76 kg at the 2026 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Redshirt senior at Iowa for 2026-27. She wrestles Dymond Guilford at 76 kg on September 25 in Hilliard, Ohio, for the 2026 U.S. World Team spot.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | High school | Wisconsin high school girls' state championships | 1st | state champion in both 2018 and 2019 | |
| 2019 | Age group | Cadet World Championships, Sofia | 61 kg | 3rd | def. Laylokhon Sobirova (UZB) by fall 0:58 for bronze; lost semifinal 10-0 to Nonoka Ozaki (JPN) |
| 2021 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 76 kg | 2nd | def. Dymond Guilford 8-0 in semifinal; lost final series to Adeline Gray 10-0, 11-0 |
| 2021 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Ufa | 76 kg | 1st | def. Bipasha (IND) by tech fall at 1:24 in final |
| 2021 | Senior | Senior World Championships, Oslo | 72 kg | 10th | |
| 2021 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Belgrade | 76 kg | 3rd | |
| 2023-24 | College | NCWWC National Championships | 170 lb | 1st | 23-1. Iowa team champion |
| 2024 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Tirana | 72 kg | 1st | 4-0. def. Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (UKR) 3-1 in semifinal; def. Vianne Rouleau (CAN) by fall 1:12 in final |
| 2024 | Senior | Senior World Championships, Tirana | 72 kg | 3rd | 4-1. lost semifinal to Ami Ishii (JPN) 12-1; def. Alexandra Anghel (ROU) 5-2 for bronze |
| 2024-25 | College | NCWWC National Championships | 180 lb | 1st | 27-0. def. Sabrina Nauss (Grand Valley State) 10-0 in final |
| 2025 | Senior | Senior World Championships, Zagreb | 76 kg | 3rd | made team via Final X (def. Dymond Guilford 2-1, 9-1); lost semifinal to Aiperi Medet Kyzy (KGZ) 8-3; def. Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (UKR) 6-2 for bronze |
| 2025 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Novi Sad | 76 kg | 1st | 4-0. def. Valeriia Trifonova (UWW) 10-0 in final; four technical falls |
| 2025-26 | College | NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships | 180 lb | 1st | 21-0. def. Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree) 11-0 in final; Iowa second as a team |
| 2026 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Coralville | 76 kg | 1st | 3-0. def. Genesis Reasco Valdez (ECU) by fall 4:20 in final; Golden Boot award |
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://hawkeyesports.com/roster/kylie-welker/ · Hometown Franksville, Wis.; Waterford Union HS; RS Sr. for 2026-27; 2024 NCWWC champion (23-1), 2025 NCWWC champion (27-0), 2026 NCAA champion (21-0)
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/kylie-welker · Wisconsin state titles 2018 and 2019; 2021 Senior Worlds 10th at 72 kg Oslo; 2021 U23 bronze 76 kg Belgrade; club Titan Mercury WC; attended Burlington HS, Springs Studio, graduated Waterford Union
- https://www.themat.com/news/2019/august/02/dias-claims-silver-welker-and-elor-win-bronze-for-third-place-team-finish-at-cadet-worlds · 2019 Cadet World bronze 61 kg, fall 0:58 over Sobirova, semifinal loss 10-0 to Ozaki, Burlington Wrestling Club
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6957315-maroulis-gray-return-to-the-games-womens-olympic-team-trials-recap · 2021 Olympic Trials 76 kg final: Gray def. Welker 10-0, 11-0; Welker def. Guilford 8-0 in semifinal; high school junior
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/7138876-a-look-back-at-a-historic-junior-worlds-for-usa-women · 2021 Junior World title 76 kg Ufa, tech fall at 1:24 over Bipasha (IND)
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2022/02/03/kylie-welker-becomes-first-commit-in-program-history · First commit in Iowa women's wrestling history, Feb 3, 2022
- https://www.ncwwc.com/2024-champions · 2024 NCWWC 170 lb champion; Iowa team champion
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2024/10/25/welker-captures-u23-world-gold-kilty-secures-silver · 2024 U23 World gold 72 kg Tirana: 11-0, 10-0, 3-1 Alpyeyeva, fall 1:12 Rouleau
- https://www.themat.com/news/2024/october/30/kilty-welker-score-bronze-u-s-women-take-third-at-senior-world-championships · 2024 Senior World bronze 72 kg: 10-0 Nickel, 4-0 Lecarpentier, fall Jiang, L 12-1 Ishii, 5-2 Anghel
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/march/08/led-by-three-champions-iowa-repeats-as-ncwwc-champions-women-s-wrestling-now-moves-on-to-ncaa-status · 2025 NCWWC 180 lb final: Welker tech fall Nauss 10-0
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/september/17/kilty-welker-to-bronze-match-blades-glaude-nwachuwku-drop-quarters-at-2025-world-championships · 2025 Worlds 76 kg: fall Georgieva, L 8-3 Medet Kyzy, 10-0 Yasin
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/september/17/maroulis-finds-way-to-fourth-world-title-welker-claims-back-to-back-bronze-at-world-championships · 2025 World bronze 76 kg Zagreb, 6-2 over Alpyeyeva
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/october/23/welker-repeats-at-u23-worlds-team-usa-adds-three-medals-to-haul-in-serbia · 2025 U23 World gold 76 kg Novi Sad, 10-0 over Trifonova, 4-0 all tech falls
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/03/7/solorio-blades-and-welker-claim-ncaa-titles · 2026 NCAA 180 lb final 11-0 over Destiny Rodriguez; semifinal fall 1:53 over Lawson; Iowa second, 166 to McKendree 171
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/may/09/welker-pins-world-champion-in-finals-u-s-women-top-team-standings-at-2026-pan-american-championships · 2026 Pan Am gold 76 kg Coralville, fall 4:20 over Reasco Valdez, Golden Boot
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/11/welker-guilford-duel-at-76-kg-in-women-s-freestyle-at-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · 2025 Final X: Welker def. Guilford 2-1 and 9-1; 2026 Final X scheduled June 19 Newark
- https://www.themat.com/2026-final-x · 76 kg Welker-Guilford series delayed, not wrestled in Newark
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/august/26/final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management-wrestle-off-set-for-sept-25-in-ohio · Wrestle-off vs Guilford set for Sept. 25, Hilliard Davidson HS, Columbus area, Ohio
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/16146833-final-x-wrestle-off-set-for-sept-25-in-ohio · Delay was an approved medical postponement available to 2025 Senior World medalists; listed as Iowa City, Iowa / Iowa Women's WC / Titan Mercury WC
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6957315-maroulis-gray-return-to-the-games-womens-olympic-team-trials-recap · Called a high school junior in April 2021 at the Olympic Team Trials, which puts her in the 2022 graduating class
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