The NCAA's inaugural National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships wrapped up Saturday in Coralville, Iowa.
Let's meet the overall champion and the winners of each weight class, understand why there are so many Division II and Division III wrestling programs and learn about how the national championships translate to the Olympics.
Milestone moments, first champions:
Meet the overall champion and the winners of each weight class.
McKendree is the first team national champion in women's wrestling. McKendree, under coach Alexio Garcia, bested second-place Iowa 171-166 for the title. North Central (Illinois) finished third with 123.5 points, while Grand Valley State (110.5) finished fourth.
Individual champions:
- 103 pounds: Valarie Solorio, Iowa.
- 110 pounds: Audrey Jimenez, Lehigh.
- 117 pounds: Yu Sakamoto, McKendree.
- 124 pounds: Xochitl Mota-Pettis, Quincy.
- 131 pounds: Cameron Guerin, McKendree.
- 138 pounds: Katerina Lange, Grand Valley State.
- 145 pounds: Bella Mir, North Central (Illinois).
- 160 pounds: Kennedy Blades, Iowa.
- 180 pounds: Kylie Welker, Iowa.
- 207 pounds: Tristan Kelly, McKendree.
Elite Scholar-Athlete, awarded to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the finals site of each NCAA championship: Megan Edwards, Elmira.
Driven by Division II and Division III
The growth of women's wrestling has been led by Division II and III programs. Many Division II and III conferences were pioneers for the sport and helped spur growth by offering conference championship opportunities.
Here is the divisional breakdown, based on 2025-26 projected sponsorship data:
- Division III: 59% of women's wrestling programs.
- Division II: 35% of women's wrestling programs.
- Division I: 5% of women's wrestling programs.
In 2028, Division III will have its own women's wrestling championships, as voted by the membership this January.
Why so many Division II and Division III schools?
- High return on investment
McKendree Athletics Director Anthony Francis said his university has benefited immensely by being at the forefront of this new NCAA sport.
"Girls wrestling, at the youth and high school level, continues to grow at a rapid rate, so our administration saw this as a tremendous opportunity to be leaders in the growth of the sport at the collegiate level, while providing new athletic and academic opportunities for women," Francis said.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association poll ranked McKendree No. 1 nationally heading into the tournament before the team went on to win the first NCAA championship. The Division II program, which won national women's wrestling titles from 2020-22, remains one of the sport's most consistent powers.
Gretchen Miron, director of education and external engagement, noted why the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Womenprogram provides a strong opportunity for Division II and Division III schools.
"Starting a women's wrestling program has often been cost-effective, with lower barriers to entry and high interest from athletes, making it an easier sport to add and integrate into athletics programs. DII and DIII schools also tend to offer more broad-based athletics opportunities to increase opportunities for men and women, so the continued investment in women's wrestling tracks with their overall goals," Miron said.
Grand Valley State women's wrestling coach Jake Short has seen the benefits the student-athletes are receiving from all their hard work and dedication to the sport.
"Women's wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in college athletics right now. At first, not every institution was on board, but now many Division II and Division III schools recognized the opportunity and now are investing heavily in building the programs. Schools are willing to put the time, resources and support to help these programs succeed. As these programs continue to grow and succeed, other schools will want to invest as well, which helps the sport," Short said.
- Campuswide benefits
Emerging sports offer smaller schools an opportunity to start the foundation of a sport. For Francis, adding women's wrestling at McKendree made perfect sense.
"It allows institutions to expand participation opportunities for female student-athletes, while increasing enrollment and visibility," Francis said. Our student-athletes represent our institution proudly, traveling all over the world wearing McKendree purple. Many emerging sports are relatively cost-effective, which should encourage institutions to help grow the sport."
Short brought eight wrestlers from Grand Valley State to the championship, with Katerina Lange winning the 138-pound title. He said women's wrestling programs are a win-win situation.
"Women's wrestling continues to have a broad base of interest at the high school level, and more and more young girls want to compete in college. Several DII and DIII schools have added sports programs to help increase enrollment for the student body, and women's wrestling has been an intriguing sport to help achieve that goal," Short said.
Beyond campus: Olympic/Team USA connections
NCAA women's wrestling has become a pipeline for the Olympics, too. Both the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships and the Olympics feature freestyle wrestling, so the championships will prepare athletes for the world stage. The 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics are around the corner, and many women's wrestlers are using their time on campus as a training ground.
Iowa's Kennedy Blades, a 2024 Olympic silver medalist, said half of the members of her national team are college athletes like her.
"LA is only two years out. A lot of us are going to be very young, and some girls are actually going to do great for years because they'll still be in college. That gap really isn't that wide. It goes to show the depth that we have in this generation, and we can bring that to the world stage," she said.
Former King (Tennessee) wrestler and Olympic gold and bronze medalist Sarah Hildebrandt recognizes the importance of college wrestling. Hildebrandt also was a TV commentator for the wrestling championships on ESPN+.
"College wrestling was everything in my development as an Olympian, and I really think it will serve women's wrestling in general and become this really natural pipeline from high school to collegiate level to the Olympic level," Hildebrandt said. "It's really, really important."
Grand Valley State's Sage Mortimer echoed Blades' and Hildebrant's sentiments.
"It's freestyle, so that's going to be great for our Olympic team," Mortimer said. "It's just honestly going to send so many girls into the sport, and it's going to elevate women's wrestling altogether for international competition and inside the States, as well. So that was good for LA 28."
