Team race undecided heading into landmark first NCAA women’s finals
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by Tanner Lafever
Alexis Janiak of Aurora celebrates her semifinal win at the 2026 NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships.
Photo Gallery: 2026 NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships
CORALVILLE, Iowa – The finals are set for the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships, and a two-horse team race is still in the balance.
Following a busy Saturday morning session, McKendree (157.5) now holds an 8.5-point edge over Iowa (149) – and can hit a max score of 181.5 compared to Iowa’s 173 if everything breaks right this evening.
The Bearcats also lead the field with five finalists – Yu Sakamoto (117), Shelby Moore (124), Cameron Guerin (131), Destiny Rodriguez (180) and Tristan Kelly (207).
Second-place Iowa will have a quartet of athletes wrestling on tonight’s elevated stage – three of whom are past national champions.
That tally is matched by Grand Valley State, which punched four finals tickets of its own during Session III. The Lakers can crown multiple champions for the second time in the program’s two-year existence.
Meanwhile, North Central’s three finalists match its current standing in the team race – 11 points ahead of GVSU.
Those four programs combined to produce 16 of the 20 wrestlers fans will see on Saturday night.
The rest of the finals field hails from Lehigh (Audrey Jimenez), East Stroudsburg (Tiffani Baublitz), Quincy (Xochitl Mota-Pettis) and Aurora (Alexis Janiak).
Among numerous moments and achievements from a busy Session III, here are a few that stood out:
As we continue to bank future trivia questions from this weekend, Valarie Solorio became the latest answer when the Iowa sophomore pinned her semifinal opponent at 103 pounds.
With her 0:40 fall, Solorio made history as the first-ever women’s NCAA finalist – and was joined shortly thereafter by Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley State), who coincidentally became the first-ever NCAA All-American less than 16 hours prior.
A few weight classes above, McKendree’s Cameron Guerin continued her march toward a historic fifth national title – defeating Abigal Mozden (Mount Union) via 14-4 technical fall.
The victory set up what will be the last bout of Saturday night’s finals, pitting Guerin against returning 131-pound national champion Alexis Janiak (Aurora).
Janiak – a three-time age-level World medalist – defeated decorated Lehigh freshman Aubre Krazer via 4-0 decision in the opposite semifinal.
Among a stacked championship card, some of the best wrestlers in the world will put their skills to the test.
At 110 pounds, Senior World teamer Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh) meets U23 World champion Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State).
Mortimer advanced to the final via medical forfeit, while Jimenez overcame a second-period deficit to defeat #5 Nyla Valencia (Iowa), 13-2.
Another U23 World champion takes the stage at 117, as #1 Yu Sakamoto (McKendree) faces North Central freshman, #3 Riley Rayome.
Sakamoto won a semifinal shootout (17-10) against Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa), while Rayome impressed with a 12-2 tech. fall of #2 Karissa Turnwall (Emmanuel).
Move to 124 and we’re in for a treat when 2023 US Open champion Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Quincy) meets returning national finalist Shelby Moore (McKendree).
Moore defeated #1 seed Sara Sterner (North Central) via 7-4 decision to reach her second consecutive final.
A battle of champions will be on display at 138 pounds when the top two seeds meet.
#1 Katerina Lange (Grand Valley State) topped the podium in 2023 and 2025, while #2 Claire DiCugno (North Central) did the same in 2024.
Lange bested Iowa’s Lilly Luft in a 4-3 semifinal thanks to a feet-to-back throw early in the second period. DiCugno dispatched 2025 runner up Haylie Jaffe, 11-0, showcasing her scrambling ability in several highlight-reel sequences.
Moving to the upperweights, top-seeded Hawkeyes Reese Larramendy (145), Kennedy Blades (160) and Kylie Welker (207) all prevailed by wide semifinal margins.
Larramendy’s tech. fall victory over #5 Alexandra Szkotnicki (McKendree) earned her a return trip to the finals – where she won it all in 2024. This time, she’ll face former Iowa teammate Bella Mir – the #2 seed and returning national finalist, who transferred to North Central prior to last season.
As for Blades, the Olympic silver medalist had a real semifinal scrap on her hands, not extending her lead to a comfortable margin until the waning moments of a 9-1 decision over #4 Stella Steigler (King). She’ll face three-time All-American Tiffani Baublitz (East Stroudsburg) for an NCAA title after the latter upset #2 seed Savannah Gomez (McKendree), 2-1.
Kylie Welker continued her bonus-point run at 180 pounds, pinning #4 Shenita Lawson (North Central) in less than two minutes. Her finals foe – #2 Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree) – also won by fall, sticking #3 Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) just before intermission.
And last but certainly not least, tonight’s 207-pound final features two more wrestlers who are familiar with the championship stage.
#1 Tristan Kelly (McKendree) has yet to wrestle a full six minutes en route to the final – where she’ll look to win back-to-back titles.
Standing opposite her will be #2 Sabrina Nauss (Grand Valley State), who placed runner-up to Welker at 180 a year ago and has pinned each of her three opponents this weekend.
A reminder that tonight’s NCAA finals will commence at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Xtream Arena.
For those who can’t be in attendance, ESPN+ is your streaming home for this must-see championship lineup.
**A replay of the championship broadcast will also air on ESPNU at 8:00 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 8**
#1 Katerina Lange (Grand Valley State) vs #2 Claire DiCugno (North Central)
#1 Reese Larramendy (Iowa) vs #2 Bella Mir (North Central)
#1 Kennedy Blades (Iowa) vs #3 Tiffani Baublitz (East Stroudsburg)
#1 Kylie Welker (Iowa) vs #2 Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree)
#1 Tristan Kelly (McKendree) vs #2 Sabrina Nauss (Grand Valley State)
#2 Valarie Solorio (Iowa) vs #4 Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley State)
#1 Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh) vs #2 Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State)
#1 Yu Sakamoto (McKendree) vs #3 Riley Rayome (North Central)
#3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis vs #4 Shelby Moore (McKendree)
#1 Cameron Guerin (McKendree) vs #3 Alexis Janiak (Aurora)
#4 Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley State) dec. #1 Heather Crull (McKendree), 7-7
#2 Valarie Solorio (Iowa) FALL #6 Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy), 0:40
#1 Audrey Jimenez (Lehigh) tech. fall #5 Nyla Valencia (Iowa), 13-2
#2 Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State) MFF #6 Chloe Dearwester (Presbyterian)
#1 Yu Sakamoto (McKendree) dec. #5 Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa), 17-10
#3 Riley Rayome (North Central) tech. fall #2 Karissa Turnwall (Quincy), 12-2
#4 Shelby Moore (McKendree) dec. #1 Sara Sterner (North Central), 7-4
#3 Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Quincy) tech. fall #7 Lorianna Piestewa (Colorado Mesa), 10-0
#1 Cameron Guerin (McKendree) tech. fall #5 Abigal Mozden (Mount Union), 14-4
#3 Alexis Janiak (Aurora) dec. #2 Aubre Krazer (Lehigh), 4-0
#1 Katerina Lange (Grand Valley State) dec. #4 Lilly Luft (Iowa), 4-3
#2 Claire DiCugno (North Central) tech. fall #3 Haylie Jaffe (McKendree), 11-0
#1 Reese Larramendy (Iowa) tech. fall #5 Alexandra Szkotnicki (McKendree), 13-1
#2 Bella Mir (North Central) tech. fall #6 Annelise Obermark (Simpson), 10-0
#1 Kennedy Blades (Iowa) dec. #4 Stella Steigler (King), 9-1
#3 Tiffani Baublitz (East Stroudsburg) dec. #2 Savannah Gomez (McKendree), 2-1
#1 Kylie Welker (Iowa) FALL #4 Shenita Lawson (North Central), 1:53
#2 Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree) FALL #3 Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State), 2:53
#1 Tristan Kelly (McKendree) tech. fall #4 Rewa Chababo (Wartburg), 11-0
#2 Sabrina Nauss (Grand Valley State) FALL #3 Caroline Ward (North Central), 1:54
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