North Central College women’s wrestling once again found itself among the best programs in the country at the NCWWC Nationals in Iowa. One year after finishing at the National Champions, the Cardinals finished the 2024 season as the runner up, just behind the University of Iowa.
North Central takes the opening day lead
NCC entered the tournament with 15 individual qualifiers following a regional championship victory. Following the opening rounds, North Central took a first place lead into the semifinals with 127.5 points with Iowa in second with 113.
In the semifinal round, three Cardinals earned spots in championship matches, while Iowa was able to send eight wrestlers into the championship rounds.
Amani Jones wins her first National Championship
Junior Amani Jones was able to hold off Virginia Foard from King University to win her first National Championship at 123-pounds by the score of 3-1 to help the Cardinals maintain a slim advantage.
Yele Adcock advanced to the title match at 136-pounds, however the junior from North Central was defeated via technical fall by Claire DiCugno, wrestling from King University, to finish as the Nationals runner up for a second straight season.
Iowa pulls ahead to win the 2024 National Championship
At 170 pounds, North Central legend Yelena Makoyed looked to defend her title against Kylie Welker from Iowa. In front of the hometown fans, Welker proved why she is one of the best wrestlers in the country, defeating the three-time National Champion 11-0 via technical fall. The victory clinched a first place team finish for Iowa as a team.
Iowa finished the tournament with 204 points, followed by North Central in second with 198 points. King University took third place (163 points), while McKendree University finished in fourth place (106 points). Colorado Mesa University (68.5) rounded out the top five in the team standings.
North Central earns 14 All-Americans
In total, North Central ended the NCWWC National Championships with 14 All-Americans.
Maddie Avila – fourth place at 101 pounds
Jaslynn Gallegos – 5th place at 109 pounds
Kendra Ryan – 4th place at 109 pounds
Sydney Petzinger – 4th place at 116 pounds
Amani Jones – 1st place at 123 pounds
Sarah Sterner – 4th place at 130 pounds
Salome Waler – 7th place at 130 pounds
Yele Aycock – 2nd place at 136 pounds
Taylor Graveman – 7th place at 136 pounds
Alara Boyd – 3rd place at 143 pounds
London Houston – 3rd place at 155 pounds
Yelena Makoyed – 2nd place at 170 pounds
Brittyn Corbishley – 5th place at 191 pounds
Traeh Haynes – 3rd place at 191 pounds
Cardinal wrestlers will now turn their attention to the U.S. Women’s Nationals in Spokane, Washington beginning April 12th.
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