Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
March 4, 2026 - For the first time in the sport’s history, the Women’s Wrestling National Championship will be contested under the NCAA banner, and the North Central College women’s wrestling team enters the tournament poised to contend for the inaugural title at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, on March 6-7.
Head coach Joe Norton has built a powerhouse in women’s wrestling and looks to continue that status in the future of NCAA Women’s Wrestling. “[Being NCAA sponsored] means we can be a leader and we’re going to compete for a national title in the first year of being NCAA sponsored in an all-division world,” said Norton. “We’re going in there with a legit chance of winning a national title.”
Season Successes: North Central has consistently ranked in the top three of the NWCA weekly rankings polls. The Cardinals won 14 of their final 16 dual matches with six regular-season first-place finishes, including at the North Central College Invitational.
North Central began the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Duals with two straight victories before handing top-ranked University of Iowa its first loss in program history, 23-21, in the semifinals. In the championship match, the Cardinals avenged their season-opening loss to McKendree with a 21-18 victory to claim the program’s first NWCA National Duals Championship. Staying perfect in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) competition, the Cardinals finished 5-0 in conference duals. At the CCIW Championships, North Central captured the team title for the fourth straight season behind six individual conference champions.
Regional Champs: The Cardinals recently claimed their fourth straight regional championship title in Tiffin, Ohio, totaling 182.5 points to secure the victory. All 10 wrestlers finished in the top three at the NCAA Super Region IV Championships while five walked away as individual regional champions: Sara Sterner (124), Riley Rayome (117), Bella Mir (145), Taylor Graveman (160), and Shenita Lawson (180). Norton was also named the NCAA Super Region IV Coach of the Year.
In Good Company: North Central is one of four teams to qualify a wrestler in each of the ten weight classes and is the only Division III institution to do so, joining the University of Iowa, McKendree University, and Presbyterian College in that feat.
A Crowded Title Race: With programs from all NCAA divisions competing in the inaugural championship, the team race is expected to be tightly contested. North Central enters the tournament alongside national powers Iowa and McKendree. Iowa brings a deep lineup that spent much of the year ranked No. 1, while McKendree has been a longtime national contender with experience on the sport’s biggest stages. The Cardinals proved they can compete with both teams at the NWCA National Duals, handing Iowa its first loss in program history before defeating McKendree in the championship match. With all three teams bringing full lineups and multiple high seeds into the tournament, the inaugural NCAA title could come down to some late-round performances.
Ready for the National Stage: The energy inside Nichols Gymnasium has been electric in the days leading up to the national championships.
“Everyone is requesting different songs, and the women are all dancing and singing. It’s a party,” Norton said. “The women are fired up to get out there. They’re excited."
They know that we have a reputation for being the loudest team in the arena, and they take a lot of pride in that.”
North Central returns more national finalists than any other team at this year’s championships with six. Despite the magnitude of the moment, Norton emphasizes consistency in preparation. “The conversation is about consistency,” Norton said. “We don’t change anything that we’ve done all year. We’re not training harder or more aggressively because it's nationals. We just do the same things that we’ve always done that got us there before and gotten us seeded where we are.” All 10 Cardinals enter the tournament seeded in the top six of their respective weight classes. Sara Sterner holds the No. 1 seed at 124 pounds, while Claire DiCugno and Bella Mir earned No. 2 seeds at 138 and 145 pounds, respectively.
Sterner won her first regional title on Feb. 21 and returns to the national championships after finishing as the runner-up at 131 pounds a season ago. This year, Sterner has compiled a 24-1 record at 124 pounds with 10 pins and seven technical falls. Earlier this season, she broke the program’s career pins record and enters the championships with 50 career falls.
DiCugno has made an immediate impact for the Cardinals while bringing national-level experience. She previously captured the NCWWC National Championship at 136 pounds during the 2023-24 season while competing for King University. In her first season with North Central, DiCugno finished second at the Region IV Championships and carries a 12-2 record into the national tournament, with nine of her wins coming via technical fall.
Mir has posted an 11-1 record this season with nine technical falls while earning her second consecutive Region IV title for the Cardinals. Her only loss of the year came during the NWCA National Duals against Iowa, her former team, and she will look to avenge that early-season defeat on the national stage. Mir finished as the national runner-up at 145 pounds last season.
Also earning top-six seeds for the Cardinals are Madison Avila (5th, 103), Kaelani Shufeldt (3rd, 110), Riley Rayome (3rd, 117), Yele Aycock (6th, 131), Taylor Graveman (6th, 160), Shenita Lawson (4th, 180), and Caroline Ward (3rd, 207). Avila and Lawson enter the national championships tied for the team lead with 14 technical falls this season.
National Debuts: Rayome and Ward are the only two wrestlers in the Cardinal lineup who will be competing on the national stage for the first time in their careers this weekend, though both enter the tournament firmly in title contention as No. 3 seeds at 117 and 207 pounds.
Rayome has had an impressive freshman campaign, compiling a 24-5 record and tying for the third-most pins on the team this season with 10. She captured both CCIW and Regional titles in her first collegiate season and now looks to carry that momentum into her national championship debut. Ward has experienced the championship atmosphere from the sideline in previous seasons but will take the mat herself this weekend. The junior holds a 19-6 record entering the tournament and finished runner-up at the Region IV Championships to secure her place in the national field.
Climbing the Record Books: Several Cardinals enter the national championships, continuing to climb the program’s career record lists. Aycock’s career win total currently stands at 95, placing her fourth in program history, while Avila sits just behind her in fifth with 93 career victories. Aycock also ranks fifth all-time in career technical falls with 42, while Graveman sits seventh with 34.
“We are just excited to keep going and proving that we can do more with less,” Norton said. “We take a lot of pride in that.”
The inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships will be held at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, Friday and Saturday, March 6-7. Competition will begin at 10 a.m. on both days.
Credits:
Steve Woltmann, Mark Black, Justin Hoch, Sophia Helton