4 athletes accept automatic bids to 2025 Final X
- USA Wrestling
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Spencer Lee, Vito Arujau, Helen Maroulis and Macey Kilty will compete for spots on 2025 U.S. World Championship Team.
Four athletes - Spencer Lee, Vito Arujau, Helen Maroulis and Macey Kilty - have accepted an automatic bid to Final X and will compete for spots on Team USA. Final X is set for Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
To be eligible for an automatic berth to Final X, an athlete must have medaled at either the 2024 Olympic Games or 2024 Senior World Championships at the weight being contested for 2025 Final X. There were 11 individuals eligible who met the automatic berth criteria—five in men’s freestyle and six in women’s freestyle.
Lee, a 2024 Olympic silver medalist at 57 kg, and Arujau, a 2024 Senior World bronze medalist at 61 kg, accepted Final X bids on the men’s freestyle side. 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Kyle Dake (74 kg) and Aaron Brooks (86 kg), plus 2024 Senior World bronze medalist David Taylor (92 kg) were eligible athletes who declined automatic bids.
Dake and Brooks are expected to compete toward a Final X berth in new weight classes. Dake has entered the U.S. Open at 86 kg, while Brooks remains unregistered. Taylor, now the head coach at Oklahoma State University, has retired from competition.
On the women’s freestyle side, Maroulis, a 2024 Olympic bronze medalist at 57 kg, and Kilty, a 2024 Senior World bronze medalist at 65 kg, accepted Final X bids. 2024 Olympic medalists Sarah Hildebrandt (50 kg), Amit Elor (68 kg) and Kennedy Blades (76 kg), plus 2024 Senior World bronze medalist Kylie Welker (72 kg) were eligible athletes who declined automatic bids.
Elor, Blades and Welker are expected to shuffle weight classes in pursuit of Final X berths. Elor has announced her next competition will be the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at 72 kg. Blades and Welker have entered the U.S. Open, Blades at 68 kg and Welker at 76 kg. Hildebrandt has retired from competition and is now an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s freestyle program.
What's at stake?
Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two of three international disciplines - men's and women's freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
The four athletes who accepted automatic bids to Final X will face the U.S. Open champion in his or her weight class in a best-of-three series for the U.S. World Team spot.
Twenty athletes will be added to the Final X lineup at the U.S. Open, which is set for April 23-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The champions in the Senior Men’s Freestyle and Senior Women’s Freestyle divisions advance to Final X.
Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit
Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.
Get Tickets
Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/2025FinalX. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org.
Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.
Follow Final X
FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.
Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling's new best-in-class event management software.
Final X will be held in two sessions Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 2 p.m., will feature round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m., will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.
For more information about Final X, visit themat.com.
If Prudential Center's tenant, New Jersey Devils, host an NHL Stanley Cup Final game June 14 the contingency date for Final X would be Sunday, June 15.
2025 Final X Qualifiers (As of April 21, 2025)
Men's Freestyle
Women's Freestyle
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