This past weekend, Calli Gilchrist ’29 brought bronze back to Providence from the USA Wrestling Women’s National Championships in Spokane, Washington. Competing in the 53 kg weight class, Gilchrist cemented her spot on the U-20 U.S. Women’s National Team.
Gilchrist, Brown’s first-ever recruit in women’s club wrestling, went 7-1 in her bouts, with six victories coming by fall or technical fall. Her only loss came at the hands of Taylor Whiting, who went on to win gold.
“I had so much trust in my training and coaching,” Gilchrist wrote in an email to The Herald. “The faith I had in the program really gave me the confidence I needed in my matches.”
Gilchrist, who traveled to Spokane with Women’s Club Wrestling Head Coach Nick Lattanze ’21, was the sole Bear competing at the national team trials. Her tear through the brackets made a splash as she showed off cleanly dominant victories over some of the country’s best 53 kg wrestlers in her age group. Gilchrist displayed consistency by often establishing and maintaining early leads before finishing the bout with a fall or technical fall.
The Connecticut native stormed through her opening bout with a first-period pin over Rosalia Rubio, wasting no time in stapling her opponent’s back to the mat. From her first moments in Spokane, Gilchrist’s penchant for aggressive offense shone through.
Her next bout followed a similar theme, as she barrelled through Hepua Salter to secure a 10-0 technical fall in the first period. Controlling the center of the mat, Gilchrist earned a point by forcing her opponent to step out of the circle. Next, she wowed spectators with a 4-point grand-amplitude throw that launched her opponent into the air.
Courtesy of Jess McNally
Gilchrist went on to storm through the round of eight, collecting another first-period technical fall. Up until the quarterfinals, Gilchrist did not allow a match to reach the second period, refusing to concede even a single point.
In an email to The Herald, Lattanze lauded Gilchrist’s composure throughout the tournament as a “major step forward in her wrestling.”
But the Bear’s blitz through the winner’s bracket was cut short when Gilchrist encountered Taylor Whiting, who went on to win the tournament. Whiting secured a takedown and gained two points for a back exposure one minute into the first period. Whiting racked up two more takedowns in the first period to secure the technical fall over Gilchrist.
She then moved into the consolation bracket and returned to putting up dominant performances, denying her opponents any moment to breathe or offer offense of their own. In her first bout, Gilchrist secured a first-period pin against Gable Hemann with a throw.
Gilchrist then wrestled former world-team member Isabella Marie Gonzales in her tightest bout of the tournament. Gilchrist faced a 5-0 deficit early after being taken down with a grand-amplitude throw in the first period.
She wrote that while she has had difficulties “staying calm when being down in a match,” this year, she was “really proud” of herself for trusting the work she has put in in order to make a comeback.
Gilchrist completed that comeback to regain her footing in the second period, turning the tide and emerging victorious with a final score of 14-7.
Courtesy of Jess McNally
Her triumph over Marie Gonzales sent her to the semifinals, where she wrestled Abbi Cooper, who was fresh out of the winner’s bracket. But a strong 14-4 win led Gilchrist straight to the tournament’s third-place match.
There, the Bear’s first-period dominance continued, as she pinned Libby Roberts after a throw to earn her place on the podium and the national team.
Gilchrist’s landmark performance in Spokane sparked hopes within the young program that women’s wrestling at Brown has a bright future, Lattanze wrote.
“You can come to Brown University to get one of the most prestigious degrees in the world, and truly chase World and Olympic dreams,” he wrote. “Brown is going to be a household name in women’s wrestling for a long time to come.”
Chiupong Huang is a senior staff writer covering sports.
