National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Preview

It’s going down in Tiffin, Ohio this weekend.

The NCAA women’s wrestling season was jammed into the first two months of 2021. The season was highlighted by a few key dual meets and dual tournaments as well as individual performances at the Captain’s Cup and wrestling cards throughout the country at various RTC’s. The post season began this season with four regional qualifiers that determined the brackets at the NCWWC. We enter the championships with a lot of questions about the competitiveness of teams and individuals, however, many of those questions will be answered after this weekend.

The top trending storyline is that No. 1 McKendree has positioned themselves for a repeat as tournament champions.  The Bearcats swept through the Southwest regional and have four No. 1 ranked wrestlers followed by four ranked No. 2. The closest dual for the Bearcats this season was against No. 2 King University at the Tornado Duals, and tomorrow we will see an improved line-up for both teams. With Brenda Reyna at 136, the middle of their line-up shifted up and the top-ranked Bearcats at each weight is as follows: Lizette Rodriguez No. 2 at 101; Natalie Reyna No. 3 at 109; Felicity Taylor No. 1 at 116; Payton Stroud No. 4 at 123; Cameron Guerin No. 1 at 130; Brenda Reyna No. 2 at 136; Emma Bruntil No. 1 at 143; Alara Boyd No. 2 at 155; Joye Levendusky No 2 at 170; Sydnee Kimber No. 1 at 191.

No. 2 King University enters the tournament with a strong line-up, as well. Jaclyn McNichols (101), Cheyenne Sisenstein (123), and Ana Luciano (136) are all seeded No. 1 at their respective weight classes. McNichols had a standout performance at the King Duals where she defeated 2020 champion Pauline Granados, Emmanuel’s Angelina Gomez and Jennesis Martinez from Colorado Mesa. McNichols and Martinez was a rematch from the 2020 NCWWC third place bout. Martinez won 2-1 a year ago. Sisenstein, a 2020 U23 finalist, is a returning NCWWC finalist at 123 pounds. Luciano also finished as runner-up at U23 Nationals in the fall and has looked sharp all season. She won by technical fall over Brenda Reyna at the Tornado Duals, 12-2. All three of these No. 1’s are looking to claim their first titles. No. 2 Allison Petix hasn’t wrestled Cam Guerin yet this season and hopes to come out on top her senior season. At 143, Ashlynn Ortega (No. 2) could meet Emmanuel’s Felicity Bryant in the semi-finals. Aleeah Gould (109) and Tavi Heidelberg (191) are also seeded No. 2.

Augsburg’s Emily Shilson is the clear favorite at 109 pounds. She bested No. 2 Aleeah Gould (King) at the Captains’ Cup by technical fall. Shilson went undefeated in 2020 as a freshman, winning the WCWA and NCWWC and is looking to keep her college record that way again in 2021. Marlynne Deede is seeded No. 3 at 155 for the Auggies.

North Central has two returning finalists. No. 1 Yelena Makoyed (170) and Amanda Martinez (No. 4 at 130). 

The top two seeds at 116 pounds are Tiffin’s Sugey Ceja and Felicity Taylor.  If they end up meeting, it will surely be a fun match. Both were finalists in 2020, but Ceja is up this season from 109.

The 123 pound weight class will be a battle the entire day. A potential match-up between No. 3 Asia Nguyen-Smith and No. 2 Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa) could be very exciting.  

Emmanuel senior Kayla Marano is ranked No. 1 at 155 pounds and is looking to win her first NCWWC title. Marano is a 2020 U23 champion.

The NCWWC brackets are filled with returning champions, multiple-time college All-Americans, age-group World team members and standout wrestlers, and it will be a great day of wrestling.  

Matches begin Saturday, March 6^th, at 8am CT / 9am ET and will be streamed free of charge on TrackWrestling. Visit our 2021 NCWWC hub for all of the related headlines and an overview of the brackets.