After winning her second-consecutive national title last Saturday, Iowa redshirt second-year women’s wrestler Kylie Welker was named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on Thursday.
Welker finished the 2024-25 season with a perfect 27-0 record, with all wins coming by tech fall or pin. Welker also finished the season without giving up a single point to her opponents.
Are we surprised?
@kylie_welker has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week!
: https://t.co/79bu2pZCxm@USAWrestling x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/u8iiychEXE
— Iowa Women’s Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) March 13, 2025
At the NCWWC National Championships last week, Welker cruised to the finals at 180 pounds with a technical fall win in round one, a 48-second pin in round two, a technical fall win in the quarterfinals, and another technical fall victory over teammate Naomi Simon in the semifinal. In the final, Welker defeated Sabrina Nauss of Grand Valley State, 10-0, by technical fall in just 58 seconds.
The Welker Way. Dominant.
@kylie_welker finished her second season going 27-0, with 21 tech. falls, 6 pins and ZERO points given up. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/vAfZq31Fad
— Iowa Women’s Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) March 9, 2025
Welker won the 170-pound title in the 2024, helping the Hawkeyes achieve the team title in their first season as a program. In 2025, Welker repeated her success, this time at 180 pounds. The Hawkeyes again won the team title, beating out North Central to achieve their goal of back-to-back titles.
The USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week award, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, is awarded to wrestlers nominated for their weekly success and career accomplishments.
Welker has been extremely successful in her college career, but her feats don’t end there, as she also holds many world-level accolades. In 2024, she was the age-group World Champion at 72 kilograms and the Senior World Bronze Medalist at the same weight.
Welker was also the runner-up at the U20 National Championship in 2023 along with a championship title at the 2023 U20 Pan-American Championships.
Welker, a Franksville, Wisconsin, native, was the first wrestler to commit to the Hawkeye women’s wrestling program. Along with many other wrestlers in the Iowa program, Welker has helped move the sport of women’s wrestling forward as it is set to become the 91st NCAA championship sport in the 2025-26 season.