Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray with their gold medals at the 2015 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)It's hard to believe it has been more than three decades since Afsoon Roshanzamir became the first American woman to medal at the World Championships.
The early pioneers like Roshanzamir, Marie Ziegler and Tricia Saunders were among the first U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers to excel on the world stage.
The sport has made a steady ascent since then and teams from the United States continue to excel at the sport's top level.
The U.S. crowned three world champions in 2019 with Adeline Gray, Tamyra Mensah-Stock and Jacarra Winchester all earning gold.
This wasn't an easy list to compile with so many top American women having excelled now, but we thought it would be interesting to recognize these deserving athletes. Feel free to agree or disagree with the list that I compiled.
Here is my list of the top women's wrestlers in U.S. history:
Adeline Gray raises her arms in triumph after winning at Final X (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)1. Adeline Gray
Gray captured an American record fifth world championship in 2019. She has excelled in numerous weight classes in her storied career. Gray earned world titles in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. She also has won two world bronze medals along with winning world titles at the Junior and University levels. The 2016 Olympian is considered the favorite in her weight class to capture an Olympic gold medal next year in Tokyo.
2 (tie). Tricia Saunders
The first real star in the American women's freestyle program, Saunders captured four world titles. She won gold in 1992, 1996, 1998 and 1999. She also was a world silver medalist in 1993. Saunders was a coach on the first U.S. Olympic women's team in 2004 and is a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Kristie Davis gets in on a shot against Iris Smith at the 2008 Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)2 (tie). Kristie Davis
Known by Kristie Marano for much of her Hall of Fame career, she had a phenomenal run of sustained excellence. Davis won an American record nine World medals during her remarkable career, including two gold, five silver and two bronze. She qualified for a record 10 U.S. World Teams and made a record seven trips to the world finals. She also won a Junior world title and was on the only American women's squad to win a team title at the World Championships.
Helen Maroulis gets her hand raised after beating Saori Yoshida in the Olympic finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)4. Helen Maroulis
If there was a Mount Rushmore of the four best women's wrestlers in U.S. history, Maroulis would join Gray, Saunders and Davis in that elite group. Maroulis became the first American woman to capture an Olympic gold medal in wrestling after knocking off three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida of Japan in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Maroulis also has captured two world championships along with world silver and bronze medals in her brilliant career. She returned to competition in 2020 and was looking to make a run at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sara McMann won an Olympic silver and three world medals during her wrestling career (Photo/Larry Slater)5. Sara McMann
McMann nearly became the first Olympic gold medalist in U.S. women's wrestling history in 2004 before dropping a close bout in the finals to Japan's Kaori Icho, who went on to win four Olympic titles. McMann also won a world silver medal and two world bronze medals in her career. She went on to became highly successful in mixed martial arts.
6. Elena Pirozhkova
The 2012 world champion was a fixture on numerous U.S. World Teams during her superb career. She also earned two world silver medals and a bronze medal for the United States while making two Olympic teams. She placed fifth at the 2016 Olympic Games and also won a University World title for Team USA.
7. Patricia Miranda
Miranda became the first Olympic medalist in U.S. history, capturing a bronze medal in the first Olympics for women's wrestling in 2004 in Athens, Greece. She also won two world silver medals and a bronze medal during her illustrious career.
Clarissa Chun wrestling at the 2012 Olympics (Photo/Larry Slater)8. Clarissa Chun
Chun made a U.S. World Team early in her career before her persistence paid off years later. She advanced to the Olympic semifinals in 2008 before winning a world title later that year in Tokyo, Japan. She came back in 2012 to earn a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London. She made five U.S. World Teams and had two top-five finishes at the Olympics. She's now on the Team USA coaching staff.
9. Tamyra Mensah-Stock
Mensah is a rising star and multi-talented wrestler who captured a world title in 2019 after collecting world bronze the year before. She also has won a University World silver medal. She is one of the favorites to capture Olympic gold in Tokyo.
10. Sandra Bacher
Bacher was another one of the first American women's wrestlers who made a significant impact in the sport. She captured gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Championships in the late 1990s. She also had a fourth-place world finish. Bacher also competed in judo for the U.S. at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
11. Toccara Montgomery
Montgomery excelled at the Senior level at a very young age. She collected world silver medals in 2001 and 2003. She made the first U.S. women's Olympic wrestling team in 2004 and placed seventh in Athens, Greece. She was a Junior world silver medalist who competed only a short time on the Senior level, but still made the world finals twice.
12. Afsoon Roshanzamir
The first women's wrestling medalist in U.S. history, she won a bronze medal at the 1989 World Championships and followed with a world silver medal a year later. She also finished fifth in the world in 1992 while fighting through many obstacles during the challenging early days of women's wrestling. She made five U.S. World Teams and was an Olympic coach for the American squad in 2016.
Honorable mention
Iris Smith
Smith won a world title in 2005 and made three U.S. World Teams in a long and storied career where she made numerous national teams at heavyweight. She also won gold and bronze medals at the World Military Championships.
Shannon Williams
Another one of the early pioneers for USA Wrestling, Williams captured four world silver medals as one of the top lightweight wrestlers in the world. She made the world finals four times from 1991-97.
Tina George
George captured a pair of world silver medals for the United States. She reached the finals of the World Championships in 2002 and 2003. She made two more world teams in 2005 and 2006.
Jacarra Winchester
Winchester captured a world title in 2019 after placing fifth in the world in 2018. She also won a University World bronze medal. She is considered among the top medal contenders for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Randi Miller
Miller had never made a U.S. World or Olympic Team before delivering by earning a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She is one of just five American women's wrestlers to medal in the Olympics. She came back to make a U.S. World Team in 2014.
Alli Ragan
Ragan has been a fixture as one of the top American wrestlers for close to a decade. She has reached the finals of the World Championships twice. The two-time world silver medalist also has placed fifth at the World Championships.
Marie Ziegler
A member of the first U.S. World Team for women's wrestling in 1989, Ziegler captured world silver medals for the United States in 1990 and 1991. She later won a Veteran's world title for the U.S.
Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.
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