The McKendree Bears captured the first NCAA women’s wrestling national championship, edging season-long powerhouse Iowa in the inaugural tournament.
WOMEN'S WRESTLING: How the sport became the 91st NCAA championship event
The teams entered the finals separated by just 8.5 points, with third-place team North Central — who beat Iowa earlier this year in a dual — down 31.5 points for the Hawks. McKendree advanced five wrestlers to the championship matches, while Iowa and Grand Valley State had four. The Cardinals of North Central pushed three into the championship bouts.
POV: History being made. 📸🏆
— NCAA (@NCAA)
The Hawkeyes needed to be nearly perfect in the finals to hold off McKendree, but an upset loss at 145 pounds by fall created an uphill battle for Iowa. Senior world team members Kennedy Blades and Kylie Welker put the Hawks back in the mix at 160 and 180 pounds with their dominant performances by pin and tech, but McKendree was too deep. The Bearcats picked up individual wins at 207, 117 and 131, with Yu Sakamoto’s win at 117 sealing the team victory.
Here’s what you need to know about the women who made history on this stage and took home top honors in the first NCAA women’s wrestling tournament:
Individual Champions
138 pounds
No. 1 Katie Lange of Grand Valley State became the first NCAA women’s wrestling champion when she defeated No. 2 Claire DiCugno of North Central, 4-1, in a matchup of returning NCWWC champions. Lange secured the third national title of her collegiate career, adding to championships she won in 2023 with Augsburg and in 2025 with Grand Valley State.
145 pounds
No. 2 Bella Mir of North Central set the crowd on notice when she upset No. 1 Reese Larramendy of Iowa with a fall in a rematch of last year’s championship bout. After finishing as runner-up in 2025, Mir claimed her first national title against her former teammate and ended Larramendy’s 35-match undefeated season.
NORTH CENTRAL: How the Cardinals topped the Hawks in a dual tournament earlier this year
160 pounds
No. 1 Kennedy Blades of Iowa pinned No. 3 Tiffani Baublitz of East Stroudsburg to capture her second straight national championship. Blades made the win look easy as she shot out to her offense and quickly secured the fall after an early feet-to-back takedown. She now adds an NCAA championship to her resume that also includes an Olympic silver medal, a senior world bronze medal, a U23 silver medal and a world junior gold.
180 pounds
No. 1 Kylie Welker of Iowa strolled out to the mat with confidence for her first NCAA title match and recorded an 11-0 technical fall over No. 2 Destiny Rodriguez of McKendree to win her third collegiate national championship. Welker went undefeated with four victories during the tournament and kept her undefeated season intact with the win. She proved why she’s an essential part of Iowa’s 1-2 punch at heavyweight.
207 pounds
No. 1 Tristan Kelly of McKendree defeated No. 2 Sabrina Nauss by 11-0 technical fall to secure her second consecutive national title at 207 pounds. Telly and Nauss moved with athleticism, though, putting on a show at the heaviest weight class. Kelly previously placed third at the national tournament twice before her back-to-back championships.
103 pounds
No. 3 Val Solorio of Iowa kept the Hawks in the fight when she defeated No. 4 Rayana Sahagun of Grand Valley State by a 13-1 technical fall to win the national title. Solorio’s run also included victories over Rebekah Jean-Baptiste of Emmanuel, Genesis Ramirez of Aurora and Trinity Pendergrass of Quincy. Her win caps off a year in which she was a consistent presence in Iowa’s lineup.
110 pounds
No. 1 Audrey Jimenez of Lehigh pinned No. 2 Sage Mortimer of Grand Valley State to secure her first national title. The win marked Jimenez’s fifth victory over Mortimer and the first national championship in Lehigh program history.
A first period FALL in the finals!!
— Lehigh Sports (@LehighSports)
Audrey Jimenez of is a National Champion!!!
117 pounds
No. 1 Yu Sakamoto of McKendree defeated No. 3 Riley Rayome of North Central, 4-3, to win the national title and clinch the team championship for McKendree. Sakamoto, a 2024 U23 world champion for Japan, previously placed third at the 2025 national tournament while competing for Northern Michigan.
124 pounds
No. 3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis of Quincy defeated No. 4 Shelby Moore of McKendree by technical fall to win the national title and help Quincy finish in the top 10. Mota-Pettis is a 2023 U.S. Open champion and now claims a national title as well.
131 pounds
No. 1 Cam Guerin of McKendree defeated No. 3 Lexi Janiak of Aurora in a 5-5 decision to win the national title, claiming the 131-pound crown from the returning champion. Guerin earns her fifth career national championship.
A New Era
The championship marked a historic milestone for women’s wrestling as the sport crowned its first NCAA team champion. With individual standouts across multiple programs and a tightly contested race between McKendree and Iowa, the inaugural tournament set the stage for a new era of collegiate women’s wrestling.
