The NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Cliff Keen will be held on November 22 in Austin, Texas, and will be streamed LIVE on FloWrestling. Below is a preview of the 191-pound match between Gabby Hamilton (Life) and Sydnee Kimber (McKendree). 

Gabby Hamilton, Life University, SR
2020: Fourth at WCWA Championships (191 pounds)
2022: Second at NAIA Invitational Championships (191 pounds)

Sydnee Kimber, McKendree University, SR
2020: NCWWC champion (191 pounds)
2021: NCWWC champion (191 pounds)
2022: NCWWC champion (191 pounds)

Match history

This is the third match between Hamilton and Kimber with each wrestler winning once. Hamilton was up 8-4 when Kimber injury defaulted at the 2019 UWW Junior World Team Trials. Kimber won by fall with 21 seconds remaining after leading 5-4 at the 2019 Missouri Valley Open.

What You Need To Know?

Hamilton’s body of work is a little skewed due to COVID and injuries. She graduated high school in 2019, defeated Kimber at UWW Juniors in May, won Junior Nationals (Fargo) in July, then placed fourth at the Missouri Valley Open where she was pinned by Kimber in the semifinals. 

She placed fourth in the 2020 WCWA Championships (the final year of the tournament) and won a Mid-South conference title but the NAIA Invitational Championships were canceled due to COVID a week after the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships held its tournament. The Gridley, Illinois, native was out with an injury following the 2021 season and then placed second at the NAIA Invitational Championships in 2022. 

Kimber has been a rock for McKendree’s line-up and is the ultimate closer. She is a three-time NCWWC champion (2020-22) and has been part of the first three national championship teams. A national championship for NCAA women’s programs began in 2020 so Kimber has an opportunity to own a unique piece of history. The Sitka, Alaska, native could become a four-time national champion and a four-time national team champion. 

She also posted an undefeated prep career (90-0) for Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

What You Can Expect?

This match should be competitive based on match history but Kimber enters as the favorite. Kimber dismantled the 191-pound field at the 2022 national championships, picking up two technical superiorities and two falls on the way to her third title. 

Hamilton is tough, though — and she came up clutch at the 2022 NWCA National Duals. The championship came down to 191 pounds and Hamilton was almost knocked out of the tournament — literally. She fell behind 6-4 in the first period when she attempted a headlock and hit her head on the mat during the exchange. 

She continued and secured a dramatic fall in the second period that gave her team the title. Hamilton entered the NAIA Championships seeded fifth but won three matches by fall and one by technical superiority before getting pinned in the finals. 

Kimber shoots off the whistle and usually looks for a half or a bar arm after she scores. Hamilton will have to survive that if she wants to be competitive in this match. She’ll also have to find a way to score. Hamilton likes to use an underhook and she’s not afraid to hit big moves. A four-point throw could make the difference between winning and losing — especially in freestyle where criteria matters. 

Don’t expect this match to end in criteria. There will be too much offensive output from both wrestlers for that to happen. There's nothing like a rubber match, and we have one at the NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Cliff Keen. 

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Hamilton had a dramatic pin at the 2022 National Duals

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Kimber gets to work right away and ends matches early