McKendree University won the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships with a down-to-the-wire finish against the University of Iowa. The Bearcats held an 8.5-point lead entering the finals with five finalists to Iowa’s four. 

The finals started at 138, with Katie Lange of Grand Valley State winning the first-ever individual NCAA women’s title after a 4-1 win over North Central’s Claire DiCugno. It was Lange’s third title (2023, 2025-26). 

North Central helped McKendree’s cause when Bella Mir pinned Iowa’s Reese Larramendy at 145 pounds. It was a rematch of the National Duals, where Larramendy won. Mir holds a 2-1 edge in college after the victory. 

Iowa chipped away at McKendree’s lead with titles from Kennedy Blades (160) and Kylie Welker (180). Blades pinned East Stroudsburg’s Tiffani Baublitz, and Welker teched McKendree’s Destiny Rodriguez, 10-0, giving the Hawkeyes a 160.5 to 157.5 lead. 

McKendree snagged a 163 to 160.5 lead when Tristan Kelly teched Grand Valley State’s Sabrina Nauss, 10-0, at 207, but Iowa took it back (166-163) when Val Solorio teched Grand Valley State’s Rayana Sahagun, 13-1. 

Freshman Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh) pinned returning champ Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State) at 110, but Yu Sakamoto clinched the team title for McKendree when she defeated North Central’s Riley Rayome, 4-3. 

Quincy’s Xochitl Mota-Pettis teched McKendree’s Shelby More, 10-0, at 124, but Cam Guerin put a cherry on the top of the Bearcats’ championship by winning her fifth college national title in six years. Her 5-5 victory over Aurora’s returning champion Lexi Janiak gave McKendree a 171-166 win over Iowa. 

The Bearcats had three champions, two additional finalists, and 10 total All-Americans. 

“It took everybody doing the little things perfectly,” McKendree coach Alexio Garcia said. “We don’t measure ourselves on outcomes. We measure ourselves on the process. Our team bought into the process of what it means to be a family, both on and off the mat. In the end, it paid off.”

Below are the final results from the tournament, along with links to the finals highlights. 

Final Results

138 pounds
1st - Katerina Lange (Grand Valley St.)  dec. Claire DiCugno (North Central, IL), 4-1
3rd - Haylie Jaffe (McKendree) dec. Lilly Luft (Iowa), 5-3
5th - Kylie Rule (Wartburg) dec. Jacinda Espinosa (Lindenwood), 7-2
7th - Aine Moffit (Augustana, IL) dec. Ruby Julien-Newsom (King, TN), 8-1

145 pounds
1st - Bella Mir (North Central, IL) fall Reese Larramendy (Iowa), 2:26
3rd - Liv Wieber (Simon Fraser) fall Madeline Kubicki (Presbyterian), 1:45
5th - Annelise Obermark (Simpson) dec. Alexandra Szkotnicki (McKendree), 11-10
7th - Margaret Buurma (Grand Valley St.) dec. Zoey Haines (Eastern), 15-7

160 pounds
1st - Kennedy Blades (Iowa) fall Tiffani Baublitz (East Stroudsburg), 1:19
3rd - Stella Steigler (King, TN) dec. Savannah Gomez (McKendree), 5-0
5th - May Cuyler (Presbyterian) fall Love Daley (Sacred Heart), 4:09)
7th - Keeley Kehrli (Simpson) fall Noelle Gaffney (Grand Valley St.), 2:44

180 pounds
1st - Kylie Welker (Iowa) tech. fall Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree), 11-0, 3:00
3rd - Shenita Lawson (North Central, IL) dec. Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays St.), 7-2
5th - Isabella Phillips (Gannon) dec. Azariah Moore (Lock Haven), 7-2
7th - Paige Maher (Simon Fraser) fall Mia Gaetjens (Adrian) 34-11, 1:24

207 pounds
1st - Tristan Kelly (McKendree) tech fall Sabrina Nauss (Grand Valley St.), 11-0, 3:43
3rd - Rewa Chababo (Wartburg) dec. Katja Osteen (Iowa), 2-1
5th - Jayleen Sekona (Colorado Mesa) fall Caroline Ward (North Central, IL), 2:52
7th - Maria Aiono (Presbyterian) dec. Josephine Larson (Sacred Heart), 4-1

103 pounds
1st - Valarie Solorio (Iowa) tech fall Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley St.), 13-1, 5:06
3rd - Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) 36-9 won by decision over Madison Avila (North Central (IL)) 29-12 (Dec 6-5)
5th - Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy) 24-13 won by decision over Heather Crull (McKendree) 32-6 (Dec 11-10)
7th - Alexis Winecke (Wis.-Stevens Point) 42-12 won by decision over Mia Zuniga (Colorado Mesa) 23-9 (Dec 11-9)

110 pounds
1st - Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh) fall Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley St.), 1:50
3rd - Gabriele Tedesco (McKendree) medical forfeit Nyla Valencia (Iowa)
5th - Teegan Sibble (East Stroudsburg) inj dft. Chloe Dearwester (Presbyterian), 0:00
7th - Avery Kibelbek (King, TN) tech fall Adriana Gomez (Colorado Mesa), 10-0, 3:38

117 pounds
1st - Yu Sakamoto (McKendree) dec. Riley Rayome (North Central, IL), 4-3
3rd - Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) dec. Karissa Turnwall (Emmanuel, GA), 4-2
5th - Carleigh Czerneski (Adrian) dec. Jenna Anderson (Presbyterian), 7-4
7th - Abigail Cooper (Lehigh) dec. Gable Hemann (Wartburg), 7-1

124 pounds
1st - Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Quincy) tech fall Shelby Moore (McKendree), 10-0, 5:49
3rd - Sara Sterner (North Central, IL) dec. Lorianna Piestewa (Colorado Mesa), 10-5
5th - Aspen Blasko (Grand Valley St.) tech fall Virginia Foard (King, TN), 10-0, 2:29
7th - Savannah Witt (Eastern) dec. Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian), 11-4

131 pounds
1st - Cameron Guerin (McKendree) dec. Alexis Janiak (Aurora), 5-5
3rd - Aubre Krazer (Lehigh) fall Cassia Zammit (West Liberty), 2:48
5th - Abigail Mozden (Mount Union) tech fall Janida Garcia (Emmanuel, GA), 0:19
7th - Karlee Brooks (Iowa) tech fall Makayla Paclib (Pitt.-Johnstown), 10-0, 3:28

Team Standings

1            McKendree       171.0
2            Iowa     166.0
3            North Central (IL)           123.5
4            Grand Valley St.             110.5
5            Presbyterian     83.5
6            Lehigh 54.5
7            King (TN)            45.5
8            Colorado Mesa               41.5
9            Quincy 41.0
10          East Stroudsburg           40.0
11          Wartburg           39.5
12          Simon Fraser    37.5
13          Aurora 33.5
14          Emmanuel (GA)              29.5
15          Sacred Heart    21.5
16          Adrian 21.0
17          Simpson            20.5
18          Eastern              20.0
19          Fort Hays St.     19.5
20          West Liberty     18.0
21          Mount Union     15.0
22          Lock Haven       14.5
23          Gannon              13.5
24          Augustana (IL) 10.5
25          Lindenwood      10.0
26          Western New Eng.         9.0
27          Delaware St.     8.5
28          Wis.-Stevens Point        7.0
29          York      5.5
30          Felician              5.0
31          William Jewell 4.5
32          Chadron St.      4.0
32          Pitt.-Johnstown              4.0
34          Dubuque           3.5
35          Bridgeport         3.0
35          Mount Olive      3.0
35          Norwich             3.0
35          Tiffin     3.0
39          Frostburg St      2.5
39          New England Col.          2.5
39          Northern Mich.               2.5
39          Ursinus              2.5
43          Ill. Wesleyan     1.0
44          D`Youville         0.5
44          Elmira 0.5