Sunnyside graduate Audrey Jimenez, a pioneer in female wrestling in the state as the best to emerge in the burgeoning competition, will represent the United States at the United World Wrestling (UWW) Senior World Championships in Croatia in September after sweeping her best-of-three series against Erin Golston on Saturday at Final X at Prudential Center at Newark, N.J.
Jimenez, entering her sophomore year at Lehigh University, won her matches 10-2 and 12-2 Saturday to secure the World Team spot at 50 kg (110 pounds).
19 year old Audrey Jimenez chases down her first senior world team at 50kg! pic.twitter.com/ZIz6hdQiDv
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) June 15, 2025
The victory is a significant breakthrough for Jimenez, who came up short two years ago, losing two matches in the Final X against 2024 Olympic champion Sarah Hildebrandt.
In the first match Saturday against Golston, Jimenez fell behind 2-0 at the break and fought off her back to avoid conceding a fall. Jimenez battled back in the second period, scoring a takedown plus two points of exposure to take a 4-2 lead. She added another four-point move in the final seconds, plus a takedown right before the buzzer to win the first match 10-2.
Erin Golston scored the first takedown of the match before Audrey Jimenez scored 10 unanswered for a final score of 10-2 in match one pic.twitter.com/GnLtTY63oJ
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) June 14, 2025
Jimenez took a 5-0 lead at the break in the second match behind a shot-clock point and two takedowns. Golston opened the second period with a takedown, but Jimenez came back to score the final seven points to secure the technical fall. Jimenez scored a step-out point, then added a takedown. She closed the match with less than 15 seconds remaining with a takedown and a two-point turn.
Jimenez, 19, improved to 5-0 against Golston with Saturday’s two victories. Golston, 32, has been a perennial Senior-level contender for more than a decade. She has collected 16 international medals on the Senior circuit since 2013. Most recently, Golston earned a bronze medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series tournament in Albania.
The victory continues Jimenez’s impressive run this spring after returning from knee surgery.
She also captured titles at U20 Nationals, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Pan-American Championships.
The Class of 2024 Sunnyside graduate — a four-time state champ who became the first female her senior year to earn the boys state title in her weight class — will represent the United States in three major events from August through October.
Jimenez will wrestle at the U20 World Championships, Aug. 18-24 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The UWW World Championships are Sept. 13-21 in Zagreb, Croatia.
The U23 World Championships, Oct. 20-26 in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Recommended for you
