Junior Sage Mortimer won the gold medal in the 50kg weight class at the Under-23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania, on October 24. The gold medal capped an extraordinary 11 months for Mortimer.

A member of GVSU's first women's wrestling team, Mortimer won a national title at the 2023 USA Women's Senior Nationals in December, and then finished third in her weight class at this summer's U.S. Olympic Trials.

In Albania, Mortimer defeated Natalia Pudova, 7-5, to win the gold medal with her coach, Jake Short, in attendance.

"I'm so proud of Sage," Short said. "She had put in the time, the work and effort to become a world champion."