North Central is on a season-long National Duals tour, and its latest test is a home dual against #8 Wartburg on Thursday, January 29, at 6 p.m. And, lucky enough, it’s live on FloWrestling.

The Cardinals are 12-2 this season, dropping duals to #3 McKendree (24-18) on November 8 and #3 Grand Valley State (23-21) on November 23. North Central went on a tear after that, winning the NWCA NCAA-All-Divisions tournament with four wins, including victories over #1 Iowa (23-21) and #2 McKendree (21-18) on January 10.

After that, they defeated top-ranked Life University (28-13), NAIA National Duals champion, on January 15 during FloWrestling Night in America. Wartburg won the Division III tournament at the National Duals, so this is an unprecedented stretch for the Cardinals as they attempt a historic first. 

Probable Line-ups
103: #8 Chloe Sheffield OR Jacey Mason (W) vs Maddie Avila (NCC)
110: Afftynn Stusse OR Ava Gardner (W) vs #2 Kaelani Shufeldt (NCC)
117: Gable Hemann (W) vs #8 Mikayla Garcia (NCC)
124: Sophie Bowers OR Leah Chandler (W) vs #1 Sara Sterner (NCC)
131: Kenzie Childers OR Cailyn Whittier (W) vs #5 Yele Aycock
138: Kylie Rule (W) vs #2 Claire DiCugno (NCC)
145: #5 Aniyah Kelly (W) vs #2 Bella Mir (NCC)
160: May Prado (W) vs #2 Taylor Graveman (NCC)
180: Erika Peterson (W) vs #7 Jael Miller (NCC)
207: #6 Rewa Chababo (W) vs Caroline Ward OR Dasia Yearby (NCC) 

D1 Presbyterian vs D1 Lehigh vs D1 Sacred Heart

There are only six current D1 women’s wrestling programs (Kent State is on the way), and two will face off on Friday, January 30, at 7 p.m. ET live on FloWrestling. Presbyterian (17-3) travels to Bethlehem to face Lehigh (14-1). This is the first dual between these two teams, and the results will have postseason seeding implications. 

Lehigh travels to Fairfield, Connecticut, for a dual against Sacred Heart (15-4) on Sunday, February 1, at noon ET. Adams State, Chadron State, Colorado Mesa, Simon Fraser, and Texas Woman’s

RMAC Championships

How about another great women’s wrestling event that’s live on FloWrestling? Check out the RMAC Championships on Saturday, January 31, at noon ET. Adams State, Chadron State, Colorado Mesa, Simon Fraser, and Texas Woman’s square off for conference supremacy. Better get in on the action before Simon Fraser leaves the NCAA for Canada’s U Sports division. 

Top High School Showdowns

Landri Von Gonten and Kailin Sebert are ranked #4 nationally. They are headed for two possible postseason showdowns. Click here to learn more.

Five top teams will compete at the Women’s National High School Dual Showcase on Saturday, January 31. Click here to learn more. 

January tournaments help Nike All-America candidates separate themselves as the 2026 prep season is in full swing. Learn more about this week’s spotlight picks. 

For Her Duals and Grand View Open

It’s never too early to get excited about two of college wrestling’s best events. 

The Grand View Open — the best open tournament in the country before the postseason — is on Saturday, February 7, in Des Moines, Iowa, and the For Her Duals is on February 8 in Coralville, Iowa. 

The For Her Duals is an eight-team dual tournament featuring four NAIA teams on one side of the bracket and four NCAA teams on the other side.

Each team will wrestle the other three teams in its group to determine placements. In the finals, teams will be matched based on their bracket placements:

1st NAIA vs. 1st NCAA, 2nd vs. 2nd, 3rd vs. 3rd, 4th vs. 4th.

NCAA: Iowa, McKendree, Ursinus, William Jewell
NAIA: Life, Williams Penn, Indiana Tech, Ottawa

Click here for additional details. 

Bearcats On The Prowl

No. 2 McKendree made a statement with a 40-4 win over #4 Grand Valley State on Saturday, January 24, at the inaugural GLVC Duals. This was a rematch of a 25-13 semifinal win at the NWCA National Duals on Saturday, January 10. 

Below are box scores from both duals, and a full replay of the GLVC dual in Allendale, Michigan. 

GVLC Duals: McKendree 40, Grand Valley State 4, January 24, 2026
103: Katey Valdez (M) over Rayana Sahagun (GVSU) Fall 2:43
110: Gabby Tedesco (M) over Kiely Tabaldo (GVSU) Fall 4:25
117: Yu Sakamoto (M) over Sage Mortimer (GVSU) TF 18-7
124: Shelby Moore (M) over Aspen Blasko (GVSU) TF 11-0
131: Cameron Guerin (M) over Emily Medford (GVSU) TF 11-0
138: Haylie Jaffe (M) over Katie Lange (GVSU) Dec 2-1
145: Alexis Gomez (M) over Hannah Palise (GVSU) TF 10-0
160: Savannah Gomez (M) over Noelle Gaffney (GVSU) Dec 5-1
180: Destiny Rodriguez (M) over Rihanna Venegas (GVSU) Fall 0:36
207: Tristan Kelly (M) over Sabrina Nauss (GVSU) Dec 4-4    

Full Replay

National Duals: McKenree 25, Grand Valley State 13, January 10, 2026
103: Heather Crull (M) over Rayana Sahagun (GVSU) Dec 9-0
110: Gabby Tedesco (M) over Kiely Tabaldo (GVSU) Dec 5-0
117: Sage Mortimer (GVSU) over Yu Sakamoto (M) TF 14-3
124: Aspen Blasko (GVSU) over Shelby Moore (M) Dec 4-1
131: Cameron Guerin (M) over Emily Medford (GVSU) Dec 10-9
138: Katie Lange (GVSU) over Haylie Jaffe (M) Dec 2-1
145: Duda Batista (M) over Maggie Buurma (GVSU) Dec 4-2
160: Jasmine Robinson (M) over Noelle Gaffney (GVSU) Dec 9-4
180: Tristan Kelly (M) over Sabrina Nauss (GVSU) TF 10-0
207: Destiny Rodriguez (M) over Aaliyah Grandberry (GVSU) Dec 4-0

Indiana Tech Weathers The Storm

Indiana Tech hosted the Women’s Warrior Open on January 23-24, one of the premier in-season college tournaments. The threat of a massive snowstorm (it arrived, by the way) kept many of the best teams and individuals away, but that didn’t stop Paul Rademacher from hosting the event. 

His Warriors won five individual titles, if you count Zoey Haney and Makayla Young as 103-pound co-champs (they didn’t wrestle in the finals). 

Here are the champions at each weight.

103: Zoey Haney and Makayla Young (Indiana Tech)
110: Kylie Robledo (Baker)
117: Carleigh Czerneski (Adrian)
124: Rose Kaplan (Indiana Tech)
131: Abigal Mozden (Mount Union)
138: Kinnley Smith (Indiana Tech)
145: Paige Wehrmeister (Unattached)
160: Bo Geibe of (Indiana Tech)
180: Tavia Heidelberg (Unattached)
207: Isabel Anaya (Manchester)

Women’s Wrestling Weekly: The Show (Ep. 65)

Topics covered:
— The Karissa Turnwall Rabbit Hole
— Karissa Turnwall could decide the NCAA team race.
— 117 and 131 are loaded.
— Folkstyle wrestling gets you in more positions.
— Is Xochitl Mota-Pettis going down to 124?
— Is there gamesmanship at 180 and 207?
— Trying to make sense of McKendree’s 40-4 win over Grand Valley State.
— Is it a two-time race for the 2026 NCAA Championships?
— Cam Guerin is a gamer.
— Four great 103-pounders will watch from the stands.
— Circle February 8 and the For Her Duals.
— Wartburg vs North Central on Thursday, January 29
— Division III is splitting from D1 and D2.
— Gearing up for Zabreb Open.
— Why Real American Freestyle is a good product.
— National Duals photobomb.

Women’s Spotlight: Sara Pauls

Upcoming Tournaments

Friday, January 30
Spire Classic

Saturday, January 31
Loras Open
Midland Warrior Open
RMAC Championships

Sunday, February 1
MAC Championships
JCU Open
MPSF Championships
Mountaineer Open

Weekend Results

Friday, January 23 and Saturday, January 24
Warrior Women’s Open

Saturday, January 24
Georgia Open

Sunday, January 25
CCIW Championships