Helen Maroulis, Amanda Martinez rematch set at 57kg in women's freestyle at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management

Olympic and four-time World champion Helen Maroulis to face Amanda Martinez for a second straight year at Final X.

Reigning World champion Helen Maroulis and age-group World Team member Amanda Martinez gear up for a rematch of last year’s Final X contest. The two square off for 57 kg women's freestyle spot on the 2026 U.S. World Team on June 19 at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Following her gold-medal performance at the 2025 World Championships, Maroulis automatically qualified for 2026 Final X. She pinned her way to the finals then secured her fourth World title with a 3-2 decision against Il Sim Son of North Korea in Zagreb, Croatia. Maroulis is the seventh American across all Olympic wrestling styles to win a fourth World gold medal.

Maroulis is the first three-time Olympic medalist in U.S. women's wrestling history, medaling in each of her three appearances. She won the first Olympic gold in U.S. women's wrestling history in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and bronze medals in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan and in 2024 in Paris, France. Across 12 Senior World Championship appearances, she has collected eight medals, including four gold, two silver and two bronze. Maroulis is also a three-time age-group World medalist.

For the second-straight year, Martinez captured the 57 kg title at the U.S. Open Championships to clinch her spot at Final X. She started her run in Las Vegas with back-to-back first-period pins to move into the semifinals. Martinez then scored a 9-1 win over two-time age-group World medalist Amani Jones. In the championship match, she edged age-group World medalist Alexandra Hedrick, 6-4.

Martinez represented the U.S. at the 2021 U23 World Championships and was also a member of the 2022 World Cup Team. In 2026, she has had strong showings on the international stage, winning bronze at the first two UWW Ranking Series events of the year at the Zagreb Open and the Muhamet Malo Tournament.

Maroulis and Martinez have met four times in their careers, with Maroulis winning each contest by fall. The first contest came at the 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series in Tunis, Tunisia. Maroulis then swept the 2025 Final X series last June. The most recent meeting between the pair came at the 2025 Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial Ranking Series event in Budapest, Hungary.

What’s at stake at Final X?

Final X will determine the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team in two-of-three international disciplines — men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative for the 2026 Senior World Championships.

Maroulis is a perfect 8-0 across her four Final X appearances. Before beating Martinez twice last year, she swept Xochitl Mota-Pettis in 2023 and Hedrick in 2018 and 2022. All eight of Maroulis' Final X victories have come by bonus points with three pins and five technical falls.

Last year was Martinez’s first appearance in a Final X best-of-three championship series, where she went 0-2 against Maroulis. However, Martinez is 2-0 in true-third matches at Final X, winning 5-3 over Hedrick in 2023 and scoring a pin against Cameron Guerin in 2022.

Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit

Final X will serve as the 2026 Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, its 16th to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise critical funds each year to support local youth wrestling programs, which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party takes place at the conclusion of Final X.

In eight Beat the Streets Benefit appearances, Maroulis has compiled an 11-0 mark. Her appearances in 2022 and 2025 Final X were her most recent victories. In 2018, Maroulis claimed a 4-1 decision against four-time World medalist Odunayo Adkeuoroye of Nigeria. Maroulis won a 7-4 contest against three-time age-group World champion Yuzuru Kumano of Japan in 2017 and pinned World medalist Samantha Stewart of Canada in 2016.

During the USA vs. Cuba event in 2015, Maroulis earned a 10-0 tech fall over World Championship participant Yamilka del Valle Alvarez. At the 2014 benefit, Maroulis pinned two-time Olympian Marcia Andrades of Venezuela. Maroulis made her Beat the Streets debut in 2012 and swept a best-of-three series against Ashley Hudson, 4-0 and 2-1.

Martinez holds a 2-2 record in Beat the Streets Benefit events, earning true-third match victories over Guerin in 2022 and Hedrick in 2023 before falling twice to Maroulis in 2025.

Get Final X Tickets

BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages, which include access to premier seating at Final X, plus the exclusive after-party, are currently available at btsny.org. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Bob Seidel at bseidel@btsny.org. Donations and BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages directly help BTSNY make a lifelong impact on New York City youth in need.

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

Final X Event Schedule

12:30 p.m. (ET): U.S. National Team true-third matches

2 p.m. (ET): Session I (Round 1)

5 p.m. (ET): Session II (Rounds 2 & 3, if necessary)

Match order will be announced at a later date.

How to Watch Final X

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com. Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing.

For more information about Final X, please visit TheMat.com.

2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management

June 19 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey

Men’s Freestyle

57 kg - Luke Lilledahl (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg - Marcus Blaze (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg - Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bo Bassett (Windber, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg - Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho/Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg - James Green (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg - Levi Haines (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Chance Marsteller (Reading, Pa./New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg - Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg - Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Michael Macchiavello (Northampton, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg - Kyle Snyder (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Stephen Buchanan (Coralville, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

125 kg - Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Mason Parris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg - Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Morgan Turner (Chicago, Ill./All I See Is Gold Academy/ Titan Mercury WC)

53 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Elena Ivaldi (Rocklin, Calif.)

55 kg – Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC/New York AC) vs. Areana Villaescusa (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

57 kg - Helen Maroulis (Scottsdale, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) vs. Macey Kilty (North Liberty, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)

68 kg - Kennedy Blades (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Isabella Mir (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Menlo Park, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC)*

76 kg - Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

*Alexandria Glaude has withdrawn from Final X due to injury. Amit Elor must complete the Final X process by making weight and receiving a forfeit on the mat in Newark.

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About Beat the Streets New York  

Beat the Streets Wrestling is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the full human and athletic potential of New York City’s urban youth through the sport of wrestling. Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that now includes 110 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first girls high school league. Through wrestling, Beat the Streets instills discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility, and a strong work ethic, creating lifelong impact for more than 4,000 student-athletes while strengthening NYC’s wrestling culture. To learn more and support the mission, visit btsny.org/donate and follow Beat the Streets on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.