This sixth, and final, National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships will showcase the best women’s college wrestlers from NCAA programs. The event will be hosted in one of the best wrestling arenas in the nation, Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, March 7-8. Fans will be able to follow the action live on FloWrestling.
The last? Absolutely! The coalition of wrestling organizations which has run this tournament is handing the car keys over to the NCAA, which on January 17, 2025, announced that women’s wrestling had been approved as its 91st national championships. The first official NCAA Tournament is set for the winter of 2026, meaning this is the final time the wrestling family will need to run this event. It is a time of great celebration among the women’s wrestling community.
No. 1 University of Iowa, the only Power Four program in NCAA Div. I, is the defending champion and is heavily favored to repeat in Coralville (which is the town next to their home in Iowa City). The Hawkeyes qualified all 15 wrestlers to compete in nationals and swept all 10 champions at the Region 7 Tournament. Six Iowa wrestlers have No. 1 seeds at the nationals: Rianne Murphy (103), Brianna Gonzalez (117), Macey Kilty (145), Kennedy Blades (160), Kylie Welker (180) and Jaycee Foeller (207). Welker is a returning champion, having won last year at 170. There are three other Hawkeyes who won 2024 NCWWC titles in the field, but not seeded No. 1: Emilie Gonzalez (now at 110), Ava Bayless (now at 110) and Reece Larramendy (now at 145). If some of these Hawkeyes sound familiar to Team USA fans, they should be. Blades was a 2024 Olympic silver medalist, Kilty has won two Senior World medals for the USA and Welker is a past U20 World champion and Senior World Team member. Coach Clarissa Chun has attracted an all-star team to Iowa, and they are performing at a high level.
No. 2 North Central College is one of the great stories in women’s college wrestling, an NCAA Div. III school which has become a powerhouse competing against colleges at all levels, including NCAA Div. I and II, as well as NAIA programs. North Central won the NCWWC national team title in 2023, the only Div. III team to ever win a women’s college national title (including during the WCWA days). Coach Joe Norton has a talented team with great depth. Senior Amani Jones is a returning NCWWC champion, a three-time All-American and two-time age-group World medalist for Team USA. The team also features a 2023 NCWWC champion, Madison Avila at 103. North Central had three champions in highly competitive Region 5 – Jones, Bella Mir (145) and Traeh Haynes (207). Mir is an All-American transfer from Iowa. Where North Central gets its boost is its depth, with 15 national qualifiers, all capable of All-American status. Last year, North Central led Iowa going into the gold-medal finals, and only an amazing performance by the Hawkeyes kept North Central from repeating as national champions. Their fans will be chanting “Fear the Bird,” and the team aims to give Iowa a run for its money again.
No. 3 McKendree, which ran three straight NCWWC titles from 2020-22, is hitting its stride as it comes into the national championships. McKendree dominated Region 6 with eight regional champions. For the first time in ages, McKendree does not have a No. 1 seeded athlete, but the team is young and capable of putting wrestlers into the finals and perhaps getting some national champions. McKendree athletes with high NCWWC seeds include No. 2 Gabriele Tedesco (103), No. 2 Kaylynn Albrecht (160), No. 2 Tristan Kelly (207), No. 3 Shelby Moore (124), No. 3 Alex Szkotnicki (131) and No. 3 Haylie Jaffe (138). All of these athletes have been successful in USA Wrestling programs. If these athletes match or beat their seeds, and a few other McKendree wrestlers make a run, Alexio Garcia’s team can surprise people with their finish.
It is hard to believe that No. 4 Grand Valley State is a first-year program, but coach Jake Short’s team is talented and deep and truly believes it can win at the national level right now. There are two Lakers with No. 1 seeds, both transfer stars, Sage Mortimer (110) and Katerina Lange (138). Mortimer was a 2024 U23 World champion for Team USA and an All-American for McKendree. Lange won a 2023 NCWWC national title for Augsburg. When Short signed Mortimer and Lange to this team, a ton of other talented athletes came on board. Grand Valley only lost to North Central by 1.5 points in the Regional 5 Tournament. Regional champions were Mortimer, Lange, Rayana Sahagun (103), Elleni Johnson (160) and Sabrina Nauss (180). This team is loaded and aiming to have its best performance at its first NCWWC nationals.
No. 5 King has had an interesting season, especially after long-time coach Jason Moorman left at the start of the season, and the team was led by interim coach Gracie Figueroa. King has one of the deepest histories in women’s college wrestling, with four WCWA national titles from 2014-2017, and an alumni who won a 2024 Olympic gold medal, Sarah Hildebrandt. King placed second to Presbyterian by 11 points in Region 3. However, the top individuals coming to nationals for King are capable of scoring big points. 2024 NCWWC runner-up Aine Drury (145) was one of six King wrestlers to win regional titles, joined by Avery Kibelbek (103), Samara Chavez (110), Clare Booe (117), Montana Delawder (124) and Anna Dicugno (131). Each of these athletes are capable of a run to the finals. If a few other King athletes step up, King can climb higher in the standings.
Rounding out the top 10 teams in the final NCWWC poll were No. 6 Presbyterian, No. 7 Lindenwood, No. 8 Aurora, No. 9 Colorado Mesa and No. 10 (tie) Simon Fraser and Northern Michigan.
This will be the largest NCWWC in history, with 320 entries, as the top four athletes from eight regionals have advanced to Coralville. It will have the most teams ever entered, and, as the coaches will tell you, the highest level of quality and depth in the brackets as ever before.
2025 NCWWC Schedule
Friday, March 7
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Championship First Round, Championship Second Round & First Wrestle Back
5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Championship Quarterfinals, and Second and Third Wrestleback
Saturday, March 8
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Championship Semifinals, Fourth and Fifth Wrestleback, Consolation Semifinals, and 3rd/5th/7th Placement Matches
6:00 p.m. - Championship Finals
Returning and past champions in the field
2024 champion at 101 – Emilie Gonzalez (Iowa), now at 110
2024 champion at 109 – Ava Bayless (Iowa), now at 110
2024 champion at 123 – Amani Jones (North Central), now at 124
2024 champion at 143 – Reese Larramendy (Iowa) now at 145
2024 champion at 170 – Kylie Welker (Iowa), now at 180
2023 champion at 143 – Katerina Lange (Grand Valley State)**, now at 138
2023 champion at 101 - Madison Avila (North Central), now at 103
2022 champion at 101 - Olivia Shore (Otterbein)***, now at 103
** Lange won her national title for Augsburg
*** Shore won her national title for Tiffin
No. 1 seeded athletes for 2024 NCWWC
103 – Rianne Murphy (Iowa)
110 – Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State)
117 – Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa)
124 – Amani Jones (North Central)
131 – Alexis Janiak (Aurora)
138 – Katerina Lange (Grand Valley State)
145 – Macey Kilty (Iowa)
160 – Kennedy Blades (Iowa)
180 – Kylie Welker (Iowa)
207 – Jaycee Foeller (Iowa)
Top five ranked teams going into the 2025 NCWWC (with points from coaches poll)
1. Iowa, 130 points
2. North Central, 88 points
3. McKendree, 74 points
4. Grand Valley State, 65 points
5. King, 46 points
6. Presbyterian, 45 points
7. Lindenwood, 19 points
8. Aurora, 17 points
9. Colorado Mesa, 16 points
10. Simon Fraser and Northern Michigan, 12 points.
2025 NCWWC Regional champions
Region 1 – Elmira College
Region 2 – Lock Haven
Region 3 – Presbyterian
Region 4 – Gannon
Region 5 – North Central
Region 6 – McKendree
Region 7 – Iowa
Region 8 – Colorado Mesa
Top five teams from 2024 NCWWC
1. Iowa, 204 points.
2. North Central, 198 points
3. King, 163 points
4. McKendree, 106 points
5. Colorado Mesa, 68.5 points
All-Time NCWWA Team Champions
2020 – McKendree
2021 – McKendree
2022 – McKendree
2023 – North Central
2024 - Iowa
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