History was made at the first-ever NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, with North Central College playing a major role. The Cardinals eventually earned the third-place team trophy, one individual championship, and seven All-Americans.
Bella Mir earns a pinfall to become a national champion
North Central entered the second day of competition in third place behind the University of Iowa and McKendree, with seven of the team’s ten qualified wrestlers advancing to the semifinals.
After cruising through the semifinals, North Central senior Bella Mir faced Reese Larramendy from Iowa in the 145-pound championship match. Two minutes into the opening round, Mir secured a pinfall victory over her former teammate, earning her first national championship medal after finishing as the runner-up in 2025.
Freshman Riley Rayome also won her semifinal matchup by a 12-2 tech fall, advancing to the 117-pound championship match in her first collegiate season. The young Cardinal faced U23 World Champion Yu Sakamoto of McKendree in the finals, eventually falling in a 4-3 decision after an intense battle.
Claire DiCugno was the third NCC wrestler to make the championship match at 138 pounds against Grand Valley’s Katarina Lange after a 10-0 tech fall victory in the semifinals. DiCugno eventually fell to Lange by a 4-1 score, finishing as the national runner-up.
Seven All-Americans for the Cardinals
Four other Cardinals were named NCAA All-Americans by finishing in the top six.
Senior Madison Avila earned her fourth All-American selection, wrapping up her career with a fourth-place finish at 103 pounds.
At 124 pounds, Sara Sterner fell in the semifinals, but wrestled her way to a third-place finish by defeating Lorianna Piestewa of Colorado Mesa 10-5. The grad student also became a four-time All-American.
Shenita Lawson battled in the 180-pound weight class, falling in the semifinals before defeating Isabella Renfro fromFort Hays State 7-2 in the third-place match, earning her second career All-American honor.
Caroline Ward finished in sixth place at 207 pounds, earning her first career All-American selection.
A controversial disqualification
North Central was hurt by a controversial decision in the quarterfinals on Friday. Kaelani Shufelt was disqualified during her 110-pound quarterfinal match with Chloe Dearwester from Presbyterian. Shufelt took a 2-0 lead in the first period, when Dearwester suffered an elbow injury, causing the referee to pause the match. While examining her injury, officials discovered a bitemark on Dearwester’s arm, and DQ’d Shufelt for brutality.
However, there is no video evidence of Shufelt, who wears a mouthguard during matches, biting her opponent. After a lengthy review, the disqualification was upheld, and the Cardinals had all the points Shufelt had earned removed from their team score.
McKendree University wins first NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championship
At the end of the two-day event, McKendree University narrowly edged out the University of Iowa to win the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championship. McKendree secured the title with 171 team points, ahead of the Hawkeyes with 166 and the Cardinals in third with 123.5.
Before the start of the tournament, North Central head coach Joe Norton was named the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Coach of the Year.
