The inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships are in the books. Here’s whose stock rose after a memorable weekend of wrestling. 

Bella Mir (North Central)

Mir secured three techs and a pin for 25.5 team points. She won the title after finishing fifth for Iowa in 2024 and second for North Central in 2025. 

The Las Vegas, Nevada, native was locked in all weekend, getting her teammates involved after every match. And her post-match theatrics after securing a fall during the finals were a highlight of the tournament. Mir wants to be a UFC champion, and she proved (again) that she’s ready for the spotlight. 

Watch highlights from Mir's finals match. 

Emma Cochran (Simpson) and Sami Lusk (Wartburg)

Cochran and Lusk were teammates and friends at Grand View University (many think they are sisters since they look alike). Now, they are assistants at rival Division III programs in Iowa.

Lusk is at Wartburg in Waverly. Cochran is at Simpson in Indianola. Both were part of successful tournaments for their teams, with the Knights securing three All-Americans and the Storm two. 

Both possess essential coaching qualities, and they can become successful head coaches (if they want).

Sami Lusk (left) and Emma Cochran (right) get mistaken for sisters.

McKendree

The Bearcats put the wrestling world on notice. Yes, based on the seeds, they were expected to win. However, McKendree held up when it mattered most, finishing with three champs, two runners-up, and 10 All-Americans. Only one team can say they are the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships, and that team is McKendree. 

Wartburg

North Central was the best D3 team (again), but Wartburg had a strong showing with seven qualifiers and three All-Americans. The Knights finished 11th with 39.5 points. Gable Hemann (8th at 117), Kylie Rule (5th at 138), and Rewa Chababo (3rd at 207) reached the podium. 

Rewa Chebabo finished third at 207 pounds for the Knights

Teegan Sibble (East Stroudsburg)

How’s this for resilience? Sibble was down 10-1 during her 110-pound consolation match against Wartburg’s Afftynn Stusse before securing a second-period fall. She eventually finished fifth. 

East Stroudsburg's Teegan Sibble has cystic fibrosis, but it won't define her, and it won't stop her from achieving high-level success.

Val Solorio (Iowa)

Securing the 103-pound starting spot for Iowa may have been harder than winning an NCAA title. Solorio had to prove herself week in and week out against returning All-Americans Sterling Dias (2nd in 2024 and 4th in 2025) and Rianne Murphy (3rd in 2025). The Panama City Beach, Florida, native never lost a match to her teammates all season after missing out on the postseason in 2025 when she was at 110. 

Solorio was seeded second and ripped through the 103-pound bracket, winning over the crowd with her engaging personality and uplifting interview. 

Watch highlights from Solorio's 103-pound finals match.

Genesis Ramirez (Aurora)

Ramirez was like a dog on a bone, using her two-on-one match after match. She was seeded seventh, fell to Solorio 7-1 in the quarters in a competitive match, then ripped off four consolation victories to finish third, going 5-1 overall. She defeated the top seed and a returning national champion along the way. Ramirez is another Division III wrestler making her mark against the best competition in the country.

Ramriez got tough at the 2026 NCAA Championships

Grand Valley State

Grand Valley State was without head coach Jake Short, who stayed home for the birth of his second child. Assistants Marlynne Deede and JJ Johnson filled in admirably. The Short-less squad (haha) finished fourth for the second consecutive year in the team’s second season.

The Lakers qualified eight wrestlers and had seven All-Americans. Every All-American finished at or above her seed.

103: Rayana Sahagun — seeded 4th, finished 2nd
110: Sage Mortimer — seeded 2nd, finished 2nd
124: Aspen Blasko — seeded 5th, finished 5th
138: Katie Lange — seeded 1st, finished 1st
145: Maggie Buurma — unseeded, finished 7th
160: Noelle Gaffney — unseeded, finished 8th
207: Sabrina Nauss — seeded 2nd, finished 2nd

Grand Valley State also had two historic firsts. Sahagun became the first wrestler to earn NCAA All-American honors, and Lange became the first to win an NCAA title. 

Short's baby daughter is already working on her Short offense (haha). 

Rayana Sahagun became the first NCAA women's wrestling All-American with her 103-pound quarterfinal win.

Riley Rayome (North Central)

Rayome didn’t get the starting 117-pound spot until late in the season, but she took advantage by reaching the finals against McKendree’s U23 World champion Yu Sakamoto. She fell 4-3, but earned three impressive wins as the three-seed.

Watch highlights from Rayome's 117-pound semifinal win.

Cassia Zammit (West Liberty)

Zammit finished fifth at the 2024 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships for Presbyterian, then missed the podium in 2025 before transferring to West Liberty. She was unseeded at this year’s NCAA Championships, but finished fourth at 131. Her only losses were to Lehigh’s Aubre Krazer, and she was competitive in both. She fell 3-2 in the quarters before getting pinned in the consolation finals after a 3-0 lead. 

Zammit entered unseeded and finished fourth, only losing to Lehigh's Aubre Krazer.

Delaware State (NCAA Division I)

Kenya Sloan didn’t get much time to recruit after starting weeks before the semester began. Sloan has 13 wrestlers on the roster. Icart Galumette (117) pinned returning All-American Alex Waitsman (William Jewell), then went toe-to-toe with returning national finalist Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) in the quarterfinals before getting pinned. She fell in her next match and was eliminated. Louise Juitt (131) went 2-2, with two falls. The Hornets scored nine team points, but let’s see what they can do after a full season of recruiting. 

Kenya Sloan sent two wrestlers to nationals during her rookie season.

Cam Guerin (McKendree)

What else can you say about Cam Guerin? The McKendree star won four National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (2021-24), missed last season with an injury, then returned for her COVID year to win a fifth national title (and her first sanctioned NCAA championship). 

5-For-5: Cam Guerin's Perfect Run