After winning the individual title at 160 pounds at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, a big, bright smile swept across the face of Kennedy Blades as the official raised her hand.
Blades easily rolled through her bracket, setting up a matchup with McKendree’s Kaylynn Albrecht in the final. The two had met earlier in the season at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, where Blades defeated Albrecht by technical fall, 12-0.
Following an early shot attempt from Blades, most of the rematch’s first period moved very slowly. Blades secured a takedown to get on the board with 1:45 remaining in period one, a move that seemed to set the tone for the match.
The third-year never looked back after that, recording multiple takedowns and push-outs to defeat Albrect by tech fall and claim the national title.
The moment was the cherry on top of a marvelous season for Blades, which began with high expectations. Shortly before the Hawkeyes’ season began, she won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, along with multiple other world titles throughout her career.
Some of those titles included a gold medal at the Zagreb Open in Croatia during the 2024-25 season. Despite her well-known ability to perform at a high level in big competitions, Blades didn’t see those lofty expectations as added pressure, instead using them to fuel her current performance.
“Coming off the Olympic stage a lot of people think, ‘now you can’t lose,’” Blades said. “Being in college wrestling, I feel like I’m helping grow the sport more. The fact that there’s so many more fans makes me go harder, because I want to show off for my fans, and at the end of the day give all glory to God because that’s my goal.”
Blades wrapped up her first season with the Hawkeyes undefeated at 25-0, with all wins coming by tech fall or pin. While Blades is a fierce competitor on the mat, she couldn’t help but crack that same smile as she entered the stage for her first collegiate championship match.
“I love being in the finals,” Blades said. “I love the walk out song, and everybody cheering, so I couldn’t help but smile. I really try to be serious but I couldn’t do it. I love that I’m not like that because I was like ‘just go out there and have fun,’ especially in Iowa, in Wrestletown, that’s so iconic, so it feels great.”
Along with the championship title at 160 pounds, Blades also took home some extra hardware as she was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Blades, along with her teammates, have inspired and paved the way for young girls across the country who dream of one day becoming a part of the growing sport of women’s wrestling.
Her message?
“I just want to tell them to keep training hard,” Blades said. “There’s definitely going to be lows, don’t think this is easy, but you are there for a reason. God has a huge plan for you, it could be being a four-time national champion, being a world champion, or an Olympic champion. Just keep going because you never know the doors that may open.”