NAIA women's wrestling championship
Annual college wrestling tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The NAIA women's wrestling championship is an annual tournament hosted by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to determine the national champion of collegiate women's wrestling among its members in the United States.[1]
| |
| Sport | College wrestling |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| Country | United States |
Most recent champion | Life (2nd) |
| Most titles | Campbellsville Menlo Life (2) |
| Website | NAIA.com |
The tournament consists of both a team national title and individual titles at various weight classes. The NAIA voted to approve women's wrestling as its 28th national championship on April 9, 2022.[2] Prior to this, there had been three NAIA women's wrestling national invitational championships. The winners of the Invitational Championships are still recognized as National Champions.[3]
The 2020 National Invitational was canceled due to COVID-19.[4]
The reigning national champions are Life, who won their second title in 2026.
Results
| Year | Host city | Team championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Points | Runner-up | Points | ||
| 2019 | Jamestown, North Dakota | Menlo | 230.5 | Oklahoma City | 154.5 |
| 2021 | Campbellsville | 185 | Life | 134.5 | |
| 2022 | Campbellsville (2) | 189 | Southern Oregon | 158.5 | |
| 2023 | Southern Oregon | 160 | Life | 139.5 | |
| 2024 | Menlo (2) | 172 | Life | 138 | |
| 2025 | Wichita, KS | Life | 190.5 | Grand View | 120.5 |
| 2026 | Life (2) | 169 | William Penn | 158.5 | |
2023
The 2023 championship took place March 10–11, 2023 at the Harold Newman Arena, on the campus of the University of Jamestown, in Jamestown, North Dakota. It was the first sanctioned collegiate women's wrestling championship.[5] The team championship was won by Southern Oregon University, led by first year head coach, Gabrielle Weyhrich.[6]
Team results
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Oregon | 160 |
| 2 | Life (GA) | 139.5 |
| 3 | Grand View (IA) | 123.5 |
| 4 | Menlo (CA) | 123 |
| 5 | Providence (MT) | 102 |
| 6 | Cumberlands (KY) | 98 |
| T7 | Central Methodist (MO) | 92.5 |
| T7 | Iowa Wesleyan | 92.5 |
| 9 | Texas Wesleyan | 78.5 |
| 10 | Campbellsville (KY) | 66 |
Individual results
| Weight | Champion | School | Result | Runner-up | School | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Ira Navarro | University of Providence | 2-1 | Erin Hikiji | University of Providence | [7] |
| 109 | Peyton Prussin | Life | Fall (1:51) | Mia Palumbo | Iowa Wesleyan | |
| 116 | Caitlyn Thorne | Central Methodist | 10-0 (3:40) | Camille Fournier | Texas Wesleyan | |
| 123 | Carolina Moreno | Southern Oregon | 6-2 | Alana Viva | Menlo College | |
| 130 | Lexie Basham | Texas Wesleyan | 6-3 | Sarah Savidge | Life | |
| 136 | Adaugo Nwachukwu | Iowa Wesleyan | 15-2 (4:46) | Mea Mohler | Texas Wesleyan | |
| 143 | Emily Se | Southern Oregon | 3-2 | Alexis Gomez | Grand View | |
| 155 | Kaylynn Albrecht | Baker | 11-8 | Latifah McBryde | Life | |
| 170 | Dymond Guilford | Cumberlands | Fall (3:59) | Joye Levendusky | Southern Oregon | |
| 191 | Grace Kristoff | Southern Oregon | Fall (5:59) | Jaycee Foeller | Central Methodist |
Recognition
- Coach of the Year – Gabrielle Weyrich (Southern Oregon)[8]
- Outstanding Wrestler – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Iowa Wesleyan)
- Team Sportsmanship – Providence
2024
The 2024 NAIA championship took place March 8-9, 2024 at the Harold Newman Arena, on the campus of the University of Jamestown, in Jamestown, North Dakota. It was the second annual competition and Menlo College won the team championship with 172 points.[9]
Team scores
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menlo (CA) | 172 |
| 2 | Life (GA) | 138 |
| 3 | Southern Oregon | 134 |
| 4 | William Penn (IA) | 111.5 |
| 5 | Grand View (IA) | 106 |
| 6 | Texas Wesleyan | 98.5 |
| 7 | Providence (MT) | 90.5 |
| 8 | Missouri Baptist | 87.5 |
| 9 | Campbellsville (KY) | 54 |
| 10 | Cumberlands (KY) | 53 |
Individual results
| Weight | Champion | School | Result | Runner-up | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Stefana Jelacic | Lourdes | 12-3 | Erin Hikiji | Providence |
| 109 | Mia Palumbo | William Penn | 3-1 | Jasmine Howard | Texas Wesleyan |
| 116 | Juliana Diaz | Missouri Baptist | 7-6 | Camille Fournier | Texas Wesleyan |
| 123 | Cristelle Rodriguea | Doane | 10-0 (1:38) | Maya Davis | Grand View |
| 130 | Carolina Moreno | Southern Oregon | 11-0 (4:07) | Sarah Savidge | Life |
| 136 | Adaugo Nwachukwu | William Penn | Fall (2:16) | Zaynah McBryde | Life |
| 143 | Jamilah McBryde | Life | 10-0 (2:50) | Emma Walker | Campbellsville |
| 155 | Caitlyn Davis | Southern Oregon | 4-2 | Latifah McBryde | Life |
| 170 | Ashley Lekas | William Penn | 4-2 | Abby McIntyre | Grand View |
| 191 | Tavia Heidelberg-Tillitson | Menlo | 4-3 | Joanna Hendricks | Waldorf |
Recognition
- Coach of the Year – Michael Ayala (Menlo College)[12]
- Outstanding Wrestler – Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane University)
- Team Sportsmanship – University of Providence
Team titles
| Team | # | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Campbellsville | 2 | 2021A, 2022A |
| Life | 2 | 2025, 2026 |
| Menlo | 2 | 2019A, 2024 |
| Southern Oregon | 1 | 2023 |
- A = Women's wrestling first approved for championship status beginning in 2023.
See also
- NCAA wrestling championships (Division I, Division II, Division III)