Iowa Women's Wrestling wraps up semester at stacked NCC Open

If you thought the Iowa women’s wrestling team was going to coast into Christmas break, think again.

In what continues to be a consistent theme across their 1.5 official seasons on the mat to date, the top-ranked Hawkeyes will once again test themselves against the top competition the sport has to offer.

Up next, the reigning national champions (both tournament and dual) will head three hours eastward to Naperville, Illinois. The latest challenge? An absolutely loaded field at Sunday’s North Central College Open.

At present, 468 wrestlers are registered to compete according to TrackWrestling – a number that may very well increase between now and opening whistle. Those athletes are spread across an impressive 39 schools, as well as a few clubs and ‘unattached’ entries.

Nearly half of those schools (18/39) are ranked in their latest respective NCAA (Top 25) or NAIA (Top 20) Coaches Poll.

And somehow the numbers only grow more impressive the closer you look.

• 10 NCAA/NAIA teams ranked #9 or higher will compete, including each of the top five NCAA programs – #1 Iowa, #2 North Central (IL), #3 King (TN), #4 Grand Valley State (MI) and #5 McKendree (IL)
• #2 Grand View (IA), #3 Providence (MT) and #7 Indiana Tech headline NAIA entrants
• A whopping 88 individuals ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes could take the mat
• As many as 13 wrestlers with a #1 ranking next to their name could be in the field (eight NCAA, five NAIA)

This week, Iowa announced it’ll be sending 17 athletes to Naperville:

The #Hawkeyes that are heading to NCC! 🐥 pic.twitter.com/CFKZq1ssit

— Iowa Women's Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) December 11, 2024

It’s a strong, intriguing mixture of veterans and youth, with no shortage of storylines for Hawkeye fans to follow.

This weekend’s preview will highlight just a few that I’d recommend keeping an eye out for.

103/110 pounds – A gauntlet for two freshman lightweights

One of my favorite traditions for Iowa women’s wrestling is the fact that since the program’s inception it has yet to have a wrestler at its lightest weight class (101/103 pounds) lose to a non-Hawkeye collegiate opponent.

That was true in 2022-23 and 2023-24 with Sterling Dias and Emilie Gonzalez, and it remains so thus far this season with #2 Dias and current top-ranked 103-pounder, freshman Rianne Murphy.

Murphy (17-1) will be back in action this Sunday, coming off the first loss of her college career – the Missouri Valley Open final against star high school senior Makennah Craft. And she’ll be tested in a major way once again.

Other than #2 Dias, as many as eight of the top nine ranked NCAA wrestlers at 103 pounds could be in the field this weekend. Add in the possibility of NAIA’s #1 Erin Hikiji (Providence) among several other top-eight ranked NAIA athletes and this field could arguably be the toughest Murphy enters all season long – including the national tournament.

Meanwhile, fellow freshman Val Solorio (10-5) enters a loaded field of her own at 110 pounds.

So far this season, all but one of Solorio’s defeats have come against either #1 or #2 ranked opponents. And in each of those matches the Pennsylvania native stood right in the fight from start to finish.

Sunday presents another daunting, though assuredly welcomed opportunity.

#1 Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State) could headline the field at 110. The recent U23 World champion could be joined by the likes of #3 Samara Chavez (King) and #4 Kendra Ryan (North Central), plus a host of top-tier NAIA foes.

*Official entries are not yet posted (other than Iowa’s), so these stats/names are based strictly upon the teams entered in Sunday’s tournament.

131 – Opportunity awaits Frost/Patneaud

Presumed top option at 131 pounds, #6 Skye Realin, will not be the lineup for Iowa on Sunday.

Her absence means that A) ‘only’ eight of the top 10 ranked NCAA wrestlers at the weight will be present in Naperville, and B) a couple other Hawkeyes have a great opportunity in front of them.

Sophomore #9 Emily Frost (14-4) is one of those Hawkeyes.

The tall, headlock throwing specialist – a Round of 12 finisher at last year’s national tournament – is a threat to toss any opponent on their dome at a moment’s notice.

Two tech. fall defeats to Realin in as many years (incl. a 10-0 match back in November) could conceivably set the ‘pecking order’ between the two at this weight. However, Iowa can qualify up to 15 athletes for the national tournament. Thus, Frost still has plenty to gain if she can prove to be among the nation’s best at 131.

The same can be said for Emmily Patneaud – a 2022 All-American (5^th) while wrestling for McKendree.

In a lot of ways Patneaud (7-2) is the antithesis of Frost – shorter, compact, technically sound and looking to chip away at her opponents 1-2 points at a time.

It’s an approach that works for her, however. And after a fifth-place finish at U23 World team trials this summer, Patneaud seems to have carried her form into the college season, only losing in non-injury default fashion to a returning NCWWC finalist by 8-2 decision.

Just about every heavy hitter from the NCAA ranks could be in attendance on Sunday (plus NAIA #1 Carolina Moreno of Southern Oregon). So, a podium finish could do a lot to instill confidence in Iowa’s coaching staff that Patneaud and/or Frost can do something similar come March.

138 – Vet/Rook face elite field

It’s a tale of two stories for the Iowa women’s wrestling program at 138 pounds this weekend.

On one end, #3 Nanea Estrella is a wily veteran looking to make a mark in her final season as a collegiate competitor.

The 2022 NAIA national finalist (Menlo) has yet to compete in the postseason since – sitting out 2023 as part of Iowa’s blanket redshirt year and then suffering a torn Lisfanc ligament in her foot that ended her 2024 season.

Now back and regaining her form, Estrella (10-0 with 10 bonus point victories) is arguably one of the favorites to win the title at 138. She could potentially stamp herself as the favorite on Sunday if she can emerge from a bracket featuring past NCWWC champs, #1 Claire DiCugno (King) and #2 Katie Lange (Grand Valley State), as well as NAIA’s top-ranked Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (Providence).

*Estrella does own a previous win over DiCugno via 11-0 tech. fall at the 2022 US Open.

Of course, she’ll have to contend with her own teammate as well in freshman Cadence Diduch.

The 2024 U20 World teamer only just made her Hawkeye debut – notching a quick pair of tech. falls at last Saturday’s Jewell Duals. It’ll be fascinating to see how she stacks up against a field of credentialled collegiate competition in just her second-ever appearance in the Iowa singlet.

145 – Do two Hawkeyes stand alone?

I mentioned in last week’s recap the silliness that is back-to-back Senior World medalist Macey Kilty having yet to ‘earn’ a ranking in her first season of college wrestling.

Rather than rehash the conversation, let’s just operate under the (safe) assumption that she’s a prohibitive favorite at 145 pounds.

That leaves an interesting follow up question: Is fellow Hawkeye Reese Larramendy also in a tier of her own?

After bonus’ing her way to an NCWWC title last March and carrying the current #1 ranking, Larramendy certainly has a case to be made for having separated herself from the rest of the weight class (sans Kilty).

And like so many other instances at the North Central Open, she’ll get the chance to prove it against a hellacious field of opponents.

Larramendy’s foe in the 2024 national final – #2 Aine Drury (King) – could be there, along with ten other top-10 wrestlers from the NCAA/NAIA ranks.

Perhaps most interesting, is that a pair of those wrestlers were Hawkeye teammates with the redshirt sophomore as of this time last year.

NCAA #3 Bella Mir (North Central) and NAIA #5 Esther Han (Providence) both transferred out of the Iowa program this past offseason. Should either of them cross paths with Larramendy on Sunday how might the familiarity manifest itself on the mat?

*Han (below) and Mir (above) were also at separate weight classes from Larramendy during their time in Iowa City.

Finally, if Larramendy can navigate all of those potential challengers she’ll more than likely get chance to see how she stacks up against Kilty in a (probable) finals match.

I realize I began this breakdown stating Kilty is definitively a cut above the competition. But who’s to say Larramendy (a two-time U20 World teamer) doesn’t have other ideas?

180 – Ditto

In truth, I almost could’ve copied and pasted most of my thoughts from 145 pounds here as we look to 180.

Once again, a Hawkeye – #1 Kylie Welker – (rightfully) stands as the presumptive class of the weight.

A bonus point run to the 2024 NCWWC title, plus two World Championship medals (U23 gold and Senior bronze) in late-October tends to earn one such a distinction.

She’ll be joined in the bracket Sunday by a teammate who could easily be the nation’s second-best 180-pounder by season’s end.

#8 Naomi Simon boasts an 18-1 record barely one month into her inaugural collegiate season. Even more impressive, all 18 of those victories have come via tech. fall or pin.

Her only defeat was a nip-and-tuck Missouri Valley Open final against another stud freshman – Grand Valley State’s #3 Sabrina Nauss.

Nauss could be in the field this weekend alongside (potentially) each of the top-six-ranked wrestlers in the country at 180.

Add to the mix NAIA #1 Abby McIntyre (Grand View) and the 18-year-old Simon will have all the opportunities she could want to establish herself as the chief competitor to Welker.

207 – Battle brewing for #2 spot

Three-time national finalist and current #1 ranked Jaycee Foeller sure seems to have a leg up in the race to earn a spot in Iowa’s postseason lineup at 207 pounds.

However, in her absence this weekend, two other Hawkeyes have a prime chance to stake their claim as a second viable option for when qualifying for the national tournament comes around in late-February.

Two-time All-American Katja Osteen (11-5) carries a #5 national ranking with her into Sunday’s tournament.

On her resume thus far is an 11-1 tech. fall over current #6 Jayleen Sekona (Colorado Mesa), as well as several losses by two points or fewer against top NCAA/NAIA opponents ranked third or better – including a 2-0 defeat to Foeller.

Her only loss that fails to qualify for that lofty standard was an actionless 2-1 defeat to another Iowa teammate – sophomore Alivia White – in the Missouri Valley consolations.

White – a top-10 caliber wrestler herself – made her season debut at ‘MoVal’, going 5-2 to take fourth place.

Once again, each gets a golden opportunity this weekend to both separate (from each other) and establish themselves (against the rest of the country) amidst what could prove to be a stacked field at 207 pounds.

#2 Traeh Haynes (North Central) and #3 Sara Lake (Lindenwood) represent the highest possible ranked NCAA opponents, while NAIA #1 Olivia Brown (Grand View) is a title contender herself.

How to watch

Thankfully, it’ll be a straightforward viewing experience for Iowa women’s wrestling once again.

Sunday’s North Central Open will stream exclusively on FloWrestling starting at 9:00 a.m. CT.

It looks like there could be as many as eight separate mats in action, so you may want to pull up your multi-screen option on Flo to avoid missing anything.

*A reminder that all matches are also catalogued on Flo for folks to go back and watch on-demand as desired.

Per usual, I’ll also be covering things on my social media throughout the day – which could be a long one based on the number of preliminary entries.

Short time

I appreciate you guys sticking around through this hefty preview.

(You are still here…right?)

With nothing going on for the Iowa men it felt like a great opportunity to really pour into this women’s-only weekend preview. And it was made all the easier based on the ridiculously talented field that appears set to descend upon Sunday’s North Central Open.

We’ll see how the #1 Hawkeyes handle this latest test. Afterwards, be sure to check back in for my full recap of the event.

As always, thanks for reading and enjoy what should be an awesome day of Iowa women’s wrestling.