Iowa Women's NCWWC Regional Preview
A season full of ‘firsts’ for the Iowa women’s wrestling program will add yet another to its ledger on Friday.
The second-ranked Hawkeyes (16-0) are set to embark upon the inaugural postseason voyage in school history, traveling about two hours westward to Indianola where Simpson College will serve as host to the 2024 NCWWC Region V Championships.
A total of 15 Iowa women across 10 weight classes will seek to punch their tickets to the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC’s) set for March 8th-9th in Cedar Rapids.
***For those new to the women’s collegiate wrestling scene, teams may qualify up to 15 athletes for the national tournament, placing multiple wrestlers in the same bracket(s), each with a chance to win an individual national title (potentially facing one another in the process).***
This Friday’s competition for the Hawkeye women will include eight other programs from Iowa, Illinois and Missouri encompassing a roughly five-hour radius from the host site just south of Des Moines.
Highlighting that group is a quartet of schools ranked 22nd or higher in the latest NCAA Women’s Coaches Rankings – including #4 McKendree (IL), #11 William Jewell (MO), #16 Wartburg (IA) and #22 Lindenwood (MO).
In order to qualify for the national tournament next month, a wrestler needs to finish in the top four of her weight class. That means in this atypical circumstance, a ‘true fourth-place finisher’ will need to be determined.
Per NCAA rules, “A wrestle-off will be conducted to determine a true fourth-place finisher if the fourth and fifth-place wrestlers did not have the opportunity to compete against each other during the tournament. In the rare scenario that they faced off twice, the outcome of their last match will determine the rightful fourth-place finisher.”
Everybody still with me?
(Just breathe and we’ll get through all of this newness together, I promise.)
Again, a top-four individual finish will earn any Hawkeye a berth at NCWWC’s in a few weeks – focus on that and you’ll be just fine.
Six different regional events will take place around the country this weekend, with a total of 240 women qualifying for the national tournament (24 per weight).
Iowa could enter Friday’s qualifier with as many as 14 nationally ranked wrestlers (top 10) among its contingent.
The rest of the field combined projects to have no more than 13, though that figure could be slightly misleading given both a few talented athletes who sit just outside of the latest top 10 at their weights, as well as a couple of others who could be high-level late additions to the field but don’t currently have enough matches to earn a ranking.
Enough of the broad strokes overview of the regional, however. Let’s get into the most compelling part of this weekend (and every weekend for that matter), the action on the mat.
We’re going to go weight-by-weight and highlight both Iowa’s projected entrants as well as the top competition they’re likely to face as they attempt to secure a top-four finish.
As I mentioned previously, there are still a few unknowns with potential unexpected entries/absences, not to mention last minute weight changes that could shake up the field in a number of ways.
For now, we’re just going to forge ahead with the information available. If there’s a notable update prior to Friday’s action I will try to make sure it gets reflected here, otherwise stay tuned to my Twitter feed throughout the qualifier where I’ll keep folks abreast of any important shakeups should they occur.
First up, the lightweights.
101 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #1 Emilie Gonzalez (14-1) AND #2 Sterling Dias (26-2)
Top competition – #5 Lizette Rodriguez (McKendree)
Barring something crazy happening, Iowa fans should feel overwhelmingly at ease with the situation at 101 pounds. And why wouldn’t you when you’ve got the clear-cut top two wrestlers at the weight class?
Outside of one Dias loss against non-collegiate competition, the Gonzalez/Dias duo is undefeated this season against everyone but each other – splitting a pair of decisions back in November. In fact, that holds true dating back to their unattached 2022-23 season as well, during which Dias bested her teammate on three separate occasions.
The lone previous meeting between either of the two and current #5 Lizette Rodriguez was an 11-0 tech. fall win by Dias just over a year ago.
These Hawkeyes are the heavy favorites to go 1-2 not only on Friday in regional action, but again next month at NCWWC’s.
109 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #2 Ava Bayless (24-1)
Top competition – #9 Alyssa Valdivia (William Jewell), Pauline Granados (McKendree)
Another weight that should be pretty tension-free for Iowa, Bayless shouldn’t have much trouble qualifying for the national tournament. The redshirt freshman’s only loss this season was against a top-ranked NAIA foe, and she teched #9 Valdivia 10-0 at the Soldier Salute back in December.
116 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #3 Brianna Gonzalez (28-1) AND #4 Felicity Taylor (20-1)
Top competition – #9 Julia Vidallon (McKendree), #10 Caitlyn Thorne (Lindenwood), Salyna Shotwell (McKendree)
The deepest weight class that we’ve covered thus far also comes with a surprising nugget of information:
Iowa senior Felicity Taylor will rejoin the fray at her natural weight of 116 pounds after having wrestled most of this season up at 123.
Taylor, a four-time national finalist (and 2021 NCWWC champion) at 116, had been presumed to fill the postseason spot at 123 during her final year of collegiate eligibility due to a couple of factors:
- Not only had she done it for much of this season, but to impressive results no less. Taylor was 16-1 with a plethora of high-level wins, including over the current first, fourth, eighth and ninth-ranked wrestlers at the weight class. Her only loss was at NWCA National Duals to current #2 Amani Jones of North Central.
- It probably hurts the Hawkeyes’ team title chances to not have the Spillville, IA native at 123 for the national tournament.
But while it was initially a surprise to hear the news (first reported by Ross Bartachek of IA Wrestle), per a pre-regional interview with Iowa head coach Clarissa Chun this was always the plan.
In his article Bartacheck quotes Chun saying the following about Taylor (subscription required):
“She always was planning on going 116…She was going to go 116 at Missouri Valley and then really was going to go 116 at National Duals, but we really wanted her to stay at 123 for the lineup purposes.”
It’s also important to note that Taylor has 2024 Olympic aspirations, and her weight class for the upcoming Team USA Trials – 53 kilograms (~116.8 pounds) – aligns almost perfectly with the weight she’ll now be back down at for the collegiate postseason run.
Taylor, who lost a best-of-three series back in 2022 that would have made her Team USA’s representative at the Senior World Championships, has yet to qualify for this year’s Olympic Trials. The only opportunities that remain for her to do so are by A) winning an individual national title at NCWWC’s next month, or B) winning the Last Chance Qualifier set for April 5th – just two weeks before the Olympic Trials.
Said Chun (again, per Bartacheck’s article), “That’s also her goal is the Olympic Team Trials. She had a taste of making the national team two years ago and 53 kilos is her weight. 116 is the weight she competed at and won her national title and that’s where she feels at her best.”
Forgetting about what Taylor’s move back down means for the Iowa team at 123 pounds, at 116 it immediately gives them (another) bona fide title contender alongside current #3 Brianna Gonzalez – herself bumping up in weight class this season.
Of the other contenders at Friday’s regional, Gonzalez owns an 8-0 win over McKendree’s Salyna Shotwell from the Missouri Valley Open finals.
#10 Caitlyn Thorne (Lindenwood) will also be worth keeping an eye on this weekend. She was the 2023 NAIA national champion at 116 pounds before transferring to Lindenwood.
Bottom line, one would expect both Gonzalez/Taylor to finish inside of the top four and quite possibly wrestle one heck of a final against one another in the process.
I’d sure sign up for that.
123 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – unranked Ava Rose (22-12)
Top competition – #1 Shelby Moore (McKendree), #10 Nicole Moore (McKendree), Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell)
With Taylor out of the mix at 123 pounds, the pressure (and opportunity) now figures to fall upon true freshman Ava Rose.
The New Jersey native has had somewhat of an up-and-down first season as a Hawkeye, though she’s also shown enough against some top 10 competition in both the NCAA and NAIA for one to believe that a podium finish (top eight) at NCWWC’s is within the realm of possibility.
Of course, she must get there first.
An upset of top-ranked Shelby Moore would be quite the stretch, while the only crossover between a Hawkeye and #10 Nicole Moore was when Emily Frost defeated her via 10-0 tech. fall up at 130 pounds earlier this season.
Rose did, however, split a pair of matches with Waitsman back in December (14-8 and 1-6).
Her ceiling at this regional is probably second place, but that would still be a huge confidence booster heading into the national tournament next month.
Iowa will most likely need a full lineup qualified in order to contend for a team title in Cedar Rapids, and that starts with someone like Rose getting the job done in a big spot on Friday.
130 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #9 Emily Frost (24-11) OR Lilly Luft (24-8) OR Emmily Patneaud (21-7)
Top competition – #2 Cameron Guerin (McKendree), #6 Kylie Rule (Wartburg), #7 Jennifer Soto (McKendree), Cayden Condit (Lindenwood)
Prior to Felicity Taylor’s decision to go back down to 116 pounds, this weight class was my single greatest source of intrigue entering regional action.
In fact, it probably still is.
130 pounds has been occupied for most of this season by Emily Frost. But whether the ninth-ranked Frost maintains her hold on that spot for the postseason seems up in the air.
After a 9-1 start, the true freshman out of Troy, New York is ‘just’ 15-10 in her last 25 matches.
Meanwhile, fellow freshman Lilly Luft (ranked 10th at 136 pounds) has been on the ascent ever since a pair of season-ending injuries to Iowa’s top two options at 136 (Nanea Estrella and Esther Han) forced the coaching staff to find someone else to fill the void.
Luft, a native of Charles City, Iowa, is 17-4 since making the move up a weight class – finishing first, second and third across a trio of high-quality open tournaments, and notching victories over the likes of NAIA #3 Zaynah McBryde of Life University (twice by fall) in the process.
Now why would you move her back down to 130 given her recent run of success at 136, you may ask?
Well, because Emmily Patneaud has entered the mix as another viable option after the coaching staff elected to pull her redshirt in late-January.
A previous All-American (fifth place) for McKendree, the two-time transfer began her Iowa career coming off a serious knee injury that prematurely ended her lone season at Central Methodist the year prior.
Having continued to knock off the rust and regain her form, Patneaud is now 18-5 if you exclude her season-opening debut back in early-December at the North Central Invitational.
She has a pair of losses to Luft in the process (14-3 and 6-0), but very much looks to have reestablished herself as a legitimate All-American threat.
The question for the Iowa coaching staff becomes which combination of these three wrestlers it believes gives it the best chance to maximize its scoring potential across 130 and 136 pounds at NCWWC’s next month.
Additionally, there’s the factor of the weight cut down to 130 for either Luft or Patneaud. Can one or both make it A) within the allowable timeline established by NCAA rules, and B) comfortably enough from a physical standpoint so that they can then outperform what Iowa is already getting from the ninth-ranked Frost?
We won’t get those answers until the full team lineup is officially announced sometime between now and weigh-ins on Friday morning.
All this discussion is even more relevant when one considers that it’ll be no small task for any of these three Hawkeyes just to finish inside of the top four of 130 pounds at the regional.
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Standing in their way figures to be the three-time defending NCWWC champ from McKendree, #2 Cameron Guerin, who’ll potentially be flanked by her seventh-ranked teammate Jennifer Soto.
Tack on #6 Kylie Rule of Wartburg plus the dangerous Cayden Condit (Lindenwood) – who Frost pinned in 41 seconds with her signature headlock at the Trailblazer duals – and whichever Hawkeye toes the line will need to be at/near peak form in order to punch their ticket to the national tournament.
136 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #10 Lilly Luft (24-8) OR unranked Emmily Patneaud (21-7)
Top competition – #5 Alex Szkotnicki (McKendree), Estella Gutches (McKendree)
I’ll save everyone the reading time (and myself the word count) by referring you back to the previous section as it pertains to the machinations which could result in either Luft or Patneaud taking the reins at 136 pounds.
Simply put, whoever ultimately gets the nod here should have a much easier path to qualification.
The only other ranked wrestler in the field is expected to be #5 Alex Szkotnicki, though she could be joined by McKendree teammate Estella Gutches – who has dipped in and out of the rankings throughout the season.
Neither have any past match experience versus Luft/Patneaud, but both did lose via bonus to the since-injured Esther Han back at the Missouri Valley Open.
143 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #2 Reese Larramendy (29-3) AND #4 Ella Schmit (21-6)
Top competition – #3 Athena Wilden (William Jewell), #6 Viktorya Torres (McKendree), Emma Bruntil (McKendree)??
So, I might’ve lied to you earlier…143 might actually be my must-see bracket of the regional.
It appears we’ll have at least four of the top six ranked wrestlers in the country in this loaded field, and things could get even spicier than that (more in a bit).
Iowa’s second-ranked Larramendy pairs with #4 Schmit to give the Hawkeyes a formidable duo at this middle weight.
Of Larramendy’s three career college losses (all this season), one came against a senior-level athlete and the other two against the current number one’s in both NCAA and NAIA – the latter of which she’d avenge a few weeks later.
Schmit, meanwhile, has tasted defeat a bit more often (including a 13-6 loss to Larramendy), but has also amassed a slew of wins over high-caliber opponents – including five this season alone over the current top-four ranked athletes in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll.
Both have also met #3 Wilden (William Jewell) once already this year.
At the Soldier Salute in December Schmit dropped a 10-5 decision to the Cardinal 143-pounder, while Larramendy would win via 10-0 tech. fall the next day.
Add #6 Viktorya Torres of McKendree into the mix and you’ve got a top-four worthy of the NCWWC semifinals.
But that might not be all.
Torres could be joined in the bracket by Bearcat teammate Emma Bruntil, a 2023 senior world teamer at 68 kilograms (finishing fifth) with two previous collegiate national titles (2020-21) to her name as well.
Then again, it may be just as likely that she doesn’t show up at all.
Back in November, Bruntil announced her return to college wrestling after a lengthy hiatus – along with this bold prediction:
From that moment up until now, not only has McKendree shown little as a group to suggest that it will truly challenge for a team title at NCWWC’s, but Bruntil has wrestled a grand total of zero collegiate matches.
Assuming good health, she’s certainly talented enough to win an individual title by only stepping on the mat for the required postseason tournaments.
However, that health is in question after Bruntil injury defaulted both matches a few weeks ago at what was a wrestle-off to determine Team USA’s 68kg representative for the upcoming Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier at the end of this month.
We’ll see what happens on Friday. Either way, 143 pounds is set up to be a phenomenal bracket.
But if Bruntil does join the field it suddenly goes from not just a possibility, but a certainty that at least one of the six or seven best 143-pounders in the country will not be going to NCWWC’s in March.
Buckle up, folks.
155 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #1 Marlynne Deede (5-0) AND #9 Bella Mir (16-0)
Top competition – Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree)
Another pair of high-caliber Hawkeyes who’ve yet to face off in their careers, it’d be a major upset if Deede and Mir didn’t do so for the very first time this Friday.
Deede, an Augsburg grad transfer and the returning NCWWC champion at 155 pounds, has been on a bit of a pitch count this season. Even still, she’s impressed plenty when out on the mat, and enters the postseason as the rightful favorite to repeat.
Her biggest competition could come in the form of Mir, the 2023 Under-20 World Championships fifth-place finisher who didn’t make her official Iowa debut until December. Perhaps in an effort to make up for lost time, the redshirt freshman has proceeded to demolish everything in front of her – going 16-0 with all 16 wins coming via bonus points.
Also in the field could be the highly touted Destiny Rodriguez.
The McKendree true freshman – a 2022 Under-20 world teamer – was considered the #3 pound-for-pound recruit in the country at the conclusion of her high school career. Even though her first college season may not have gone as seamlessly as some would have projected, Rodriguez still has the talent to cause problems if Deede/Mir aren’t ready to go.
170 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #1 Kylie Welker (15-1) AND #3 Haley Ward (26-2)
Top competition – #4 Tristan Kelly (McKendree)
Another weight and what should be another routine qualification process for Iowa wrestlers.
Welker teched her teammate Ward in the finals at the Warrior Open (11-0), but other than that the only loss for each of them was to college graduate and recent senior national teamer Dymond Guilford at the Missouri Valley Open (both by two-point margins).
As for the competition this Friday, Tristan Kelly has been a familiar face at 76 kilograms (~167.6 pounds) on the domestic scene of late – both at age-group and senior levels. That said, Welker has handled her with relative ease in all their recent meetings.
For the true freshman Ward, however, this would be a prime opportunity for the Hawkeye to distinguish herself even further amidst what has been a fantastic inaugural collegiate season thus far.
191 pounds
Projected Hawkeyes in the field – #3 Jaycee Foeller (26-5)
Top competition – Sara Lake/Kennedy Eggering (Lindenwood)
Last but hardly least, we visit 191 pounds where two-time transfer Jayce Foeller (McKendree/Central Methodist) is expected to roll through her bracket without much issue in her first postseason as a Hawkeye.
The third-ranked Missouri native was a national runner-up (both NCAA and NAIA) at each of her previous schools, though I’ll be curious to see where she’s at health-wise after being forced to injury default (apparent leg injury) out of the finals at the Grand View Open just under three weeks ago.
While there won’t be any other ranked athletes in the field at 191 keep an eye on one/both of Lindenwood’s potential entrants – particularly Sarah Lake, against whom Foeller is 2-0 in her career with a pair of decision victories (6-4 and 4-0).
A final note I should mention, this projection at 191 pounds does not include eighth-ranked Iowa freshman Alivia White (21-5).
Unfortunately, even with the ability to bring an allotment of 15 athletes a team with as much talent as the Hawkeyes can still wind up having to leave an All-American caliber wrestler at home come time for the postseason.
White is an excellent wrestler who has a long, excellent career ahead of her. Not only that, but she’s the source of at least two of my favorite moments from this season – which will most definitely be reflected in my end-of-season recap/awards article.
If this ultimately is the end of her first year on the mat as a Hawkeye it has been an absolute pleasure to watch, and I can’t wait to see where things go next.
How to watch
Just about every relevant link/note for Friday’s action (tickets/brackets/etc.) can be found here:
But to recap, the NCWWC Region V Championships will take place inside of Cowles Fieldhouse on the campus of Simpson College starting at 10:00 a.m. (CST) on Friday morning and run throughout the day.
It appears there will be just two mats, the livestreams for which can be found HERE courtesy of Rokfin ($).
If you couldn’t already tell, I’m absolutely stoked to watch/cover this event.
The newness of it all plays a part, to be sure. But at its core we’re about to be treated to some high-level wrestling from some high-level competitors.
What could be any better than that?
