Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
Oct. 31, 2025 — The North Central College women’s wrestling team boasts a nearly 50-woman roster and the top-ranked recruiting class across all divisions as the Cardinals prepare for the 2025-2026 season in pursuit of another impressive showing on the national stage — the inaugural NCAA Championship for the sport.
Head coach Joe Norton and his coaching staff brought in the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country. The rankings accounted for 11 women that were ranked in their weight classes in high school but left off three standout transfers who come with exceptional experience at the collegiate national level. “The newcomers are really raw and a lot of them just need to learn to compete with the people in this room without giving the women in the room too much credit because of what we are,” said Norton.
“Their attitudes are great, their presence in the room is great, and they are awesome students.”
The 48-woman roster not only boasts a strong group of newcomers, but the program’s reach across the country is equally impressive. North Central’s team spans coast-to-coast with 23 different states represented on the roster.
A season ago, the Cardinals claimed the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship trophy and their third straight title since the CCIW began hosting a championship in 2023. Following their fourth regional championship title, North Central turned in a runner-up finish at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC), coming away with two individual national champions and 12 All-Americans.
In addition to their success on the mat, North Central produced 24 Scholar All-Americans last year with many of the wrestlers studying in the sciences: chemistry, physics, pre-med, and physical therapy, all while carrying high grade-point averages. “It shows why they are good at wrestling. They hold themselves to really high standards in everything that they do.”
North Central enters the 2025-26 season ranked third according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Preseason Coaches’ Poll while nine wrestlers ranked individually in their respective weight classes with one top-ranked wrestler in junior Bella Mir at 145 pounds.
Mir finished as the runner-up at last year’s national championship earning the second All-America nod of her career. She finished the season with a 22-3 record while recording 11 pins and eight technical falls. Earlier this month, Mir placed eighth for Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Serbia and is set to take on Latifah McBryde of Life University, an NAIA institution, on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic.
Yele Aycock and Sara Sterner return to the program as fifth-year seniors and look to lead the next group of Cardinals. Both return as national finalists and were ranked in the top-five in their respective weight classes in the NWCA preseason rankings. Aycock is the second-ranked wrestler in the 131-weight class. A two-time All-American, Aycock achieved her most recent honor with a runner-up finish at the 2024 National Championships at 136-pounds as she did not compete in the 2024-25 season. Sterner ranks fourth in the 124-weight class after she became a three-time All-American with a hard-fought runner-up finish at the 2025 Championships.
Other Cardinals making appearances in the NWCA preseason rankings were Maddie Avila as No. 3 at 103-pounds, Kaelani Shufeldt as No. 3 at 110-pounds, Taylor Graveman as No. 4 at 138-pounds, Sydney Perry as No. 7 at 160-pounds, Shenita Lawson as No. 3 at 180-pounds, and Dasia Yearby as No. 7 at 207-pounds.
Expected to make a big impact for the Cardinals who were not in last year’s lineup are Shufeldt and sophomore Mikayla Garcia. Shufeldt transferred to North Central as a national runner-up at Lock Haven Commonwealth University, but did not compete during the 2024-25 season. Garcia, only a sophomore, spent her first season with the Cardinals behind and learning from recent graduate-turned-coach, Sydney Petzinger, a four-time All-American and 2025 National Champion at 117-pounds.
Despite graduating a lot of seniors last season, Petzinger, along with two-time national champion Amani Jones, four-time All-American Kendra Ryan, and CCIW Champion and national qualifier Emma Grimm join the North Central coaching staff to lead the next wave of Cardinals.
The new additions to the team and to the staff will help North Central work towards the program’s goals that have stayed consistent through the years.
“Win the conference, win the regional, compete for a national title, have 10 All-Americans and be the best Division III team again.”
North Central will open the 2025-26 season this Saturday, Nov. 1 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointer Open.
Credits:
Steve Woltmann, Dee Torres, Justin Hoch