Macey Kilty raising her trophy after winning the Women ’ s Freestyle Cadet National Championship ( left ), and scoring a leg lace on Szimonetta Szeker of Hungary during the Women ’ s Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi , Georgia ( right ).
matches as she began to advance farther in the tournament . Count Kilty unimpressed , though . “ It never really hit me that I was the only girl , and that so many people in the arena were watching me ,” she admits . “ Looking back , if I ’ d have known , it still wouldn ’ t have bothered me .” Media and crowd interest became even more intense during her semifinals match against Zack Anglin , a wrestler born without full arms or legs . The match , which the Wisconsin State Journal dubbed as “ one of the most thrilling and inspirational matches in the history of the WIAA State Tournament ,” went to an ultimate tiebreaker , with Kilty riding out Anglin to finish off a 5-4 win as the crowd roared in the background . She had prepared for the match by talking with a Stratford teammate who had wrestled against Anglin the year before . “ He told me to make sure to stay low on one knee , but I wasn ’ t really comfortable at the beginning wrestling that way ,” she said . “ I decided to just stay in position until he tried something , because I knew that he was an aggressive wrestler and that I just needed to catch him in a mistake .” Though she dropped a 9-6 decision in the final , she finished the year with a record of 28-5 , and the legacy of this incredible run will live on in perpetuity in the annals of the WIAA State Tournament .
As an encore to her incredible performance at the state tournament , all Kilty did this summer was win the USAW Women ’ s Cadet National Freestyle Tournament , a double folkstyle championship ( wins in both the Cadet and Junior divisions at the USAW Girls Folkstyle Nationals ), and the Body Bar
Nationals , which earned her a spot on the world team . Now ranked # 1 at her weight in USA Wrestling ’ s Future Olympian Cadet Rankings , Kilty ’ s promising future is even more exciting than the amazing accomplishments in her past . Though she lost a tough match in the semifinals at worlds , she bounced back to take the bronze medal by tech falling Zhala Aliyev of Azerbaijan .
We are so excited to follow Macey ’ s career as she continues to train as part of Team USA , and we wish her the best of luck as she pursues her dreams !
Continue to the next page for a selection of videos of Macey Kilty .
26