Women's College Notebook: King Impresses, Missing Menlo, Heading To The Desert

One of the historic powers in women’s college wrestling has found itself at somewhat of a crossroads over the past 14 months.

King University won ten national team/duals titles between 2014 and 2023 – and was a consistent championship contender in many other years as well. But with the departure of long-time head coach Jason Moorman to Tarleton State just before last season, the Tornado program has (understandably) been in flux.

As such, the 2025-26 team was unranked in the preseason NCAA Coaches Poll, with plenty of questions as to how first-year head coach Bret Fry and a largely new-look roster would fare.

Well, I’d consider it to be a pretty great start thus far.

In just 1.5 months, King has ascended to #6 in the national rankings – led by a quartet of wrestlers ranked in the top six at their respective weight classes.

Three of them – #4 Virginia Foard (131), #6 Stella Steigler (160) and #3 Elianna Bommarito (207) – reached the finals at Sunday’s North Central Invite, with both Steigler and Bommarito capping impressive title runs.

After the initial uncertainty entering this new era of King University wrestling, it’s great to see this historic program continue to succeed in its latest iteration.

While this is a ‘college’ notebook, I’d be remiss not to highlight several wrestlers whom – though they may not be among its ranks just yet – will be major factors on the NCAA/NAIA levels in the years to come.

(Because they’ve proven to be so already.)

High school seniors Morgan Turner (110) and Olivia Davis (145) both won titles at the North Central Invite – and were joined in the finals by fellow Class of 2026 prospect Madison Nieuwenhuis (second at 103).

Tack on podium finishes by juniors Jaclyn Bouzakis (fourth at 110) and Janiya Johnson (sixth at 160), and that’s five different high school placers at one of the toughest college tournaments in the country.

As further proof of the national growth of the sport, these five hail from five different states as well – ranging from Illinois to California to Michigan to Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

One final takeaway from the North Central Invite struck me after seeing the school that finished tied for seventh in the team standings with 49.5 points.

That school was Menlo College (CA) – a former NAIA powerhouse that’s currently in its second year of a transition period into NCAA (Division II) status.

Said ‘transition period’ means the Oaks are ineligible for postseason competition, making events like Sunday important reminders as to what wrestling fans are missing out on in their absence.

For context, Menlo’s last competitive season (2023-24) featured an NAIA national championship and a runner-up finish at National Duals. And from 2022-24, 23 Oaks wrestlers earned All-American honors – with the team never finishing lower than fourth.

This weekend, three different Menlo athletes reached the podium – led by 124-pounders Haley Narahara and Louisa Schwab.

It was awesome to watch them and their team match wits against the best from around the country. But it was also a tad melancholy to know that come National Duals and the NCAA Championships post-New Year, those championship events will be without Menlo’s presence for a second-consecutive year.

Here’s hoping we won’t have to live in that reality much longer!

If you didn’t catch Thursday night’s dual between NCAA #1 Iowa and NAIA #3 Grand View, I’d highly encourage you to go back and do so.

Staged at Waukee Northwest High School just outside of Des Moines, the Hawkeyes/Vikings matchup followed a premier Iowa high school dual between #1 Raccoon River and #2 Ankeny – which featured a dramatic finish.

Ultimately, the Hawkeyes proved to be too much, winning all eight contested matches while the two teams traded forfeits at 160/180 pounds.

But while the final margin of 32-10 was vast, the action was far more competitive from match to match.

In fact, Grand View wrestlers opened the scoring in four-consecutive bouts at one point. And in two others, Hawkeyes had to score in the final 11 seconds to secure a victory.

The dual was also broadcast live via a historical staple of wrestling in the state – Iowa PBS (formerly Iowa Public Television). It’s also available for free via the Iowa PBS YouTube video below:

With Christmas fast approaching, expect a brief lull as it pertains to high-profile events during the heart of the holiday season.

But before that happens, keep a close eye on Wednesday’s Desert Duals.

Five different ranked NCAA teams will be in Las Vegas – including #3 Grand Valley State (MI), #5 Colorado Mesa, #7 Presbyterian (SC), #8 Simon Fraser (Canada) and hosts #16 Wartburg (IA).

Not only will the competition be fierce out in Sin City, but the experience should benefit several of the teams in attendance, who will also be at National Duals in early January (9-10).