By Nick Zaccardi
NBC Sports
Two U.S. women’s wrestlers won World Championships in a 100-minute span in Las Vegas on Thursday night, snowballing more hope that the nation can win its first Olympic women’s wrestling gold medal in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Adeline Gray captured her second straight World title in the 75kg division, third World title overall and fifth straight Worlds medal. Gray became the second U.S. woman to win back-to-back World titles and the second to earn medals five straight years.

Helen Maroulis earned her maiden title at 55kg, following silver in 2012 and bronze in 2014. She didn’t surrender a point in her four matches Thursday.

Gray and Maroulis share much more.

Gray, 24, began wrestling at age 6, when her father taught her basic moves that she still uses, more or less. Gray honed her skills grappling with boys in Colorado high school competition and overcame a defeat in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials final, followed by 30 minutes of crying with a younger sister, to rise to a No. 1 world ranking in her division before she prevailed Thursday.

“I didn’t think that anybody was really capable of beating me,” Gray, who scored 13 straight points to win her gold-medal match 13-2 over China’s Zhou Qian, said in a press conference, still wearing her blue singlet. “It would have been more me beating myself.”

Maroulis, 23, began wrestling at age 7 because her little brother needed a partner. She, too, lost in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials final, and, like, Gray, still went to the Olympics to help train the women who did make the Olympic team. Maroulis used the oh-so-close experience to catapult to No. 1 in the world rankings going into Vegas as well.

“She’s a rising star,” U.S. women’s wrestling coach Terry Steiner told media in Las Vegas. “Today, she rose.”

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