February 17, 2026
|
Women's Wrestling
By Andrew Hipps
Six regional tournaments for NCAA women's wrestling take place this weekend. The top three finishers in each weight class will qualify for the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships, set for March 6-7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
All 10 of the 'best potential matchups' would take place in Region 4 or Region 6. Those two regionals include three of the nation's top four teams, No. 1 McKendree, No. 3 North Central and No. 4 Grand Valley State.
McKendree's Heather Crull, a true freshman from Indiana, moved up to No. 1 at 103 pounds last week after beating previous No. 1 Val Solorio of Iowa at the For Her Duals. She has not lost to a wrestler competing in the 2026 NCAA postseason. Mia Zuniga, a returning All-American, transferred from King to Colorado Mesa this season. Zuniga has multiple top-10 wins, which has helped her climb to No. 3 in the rankings. These two wrestlers have not met in college.
Grand Valley State's Sage Mortimer is one of America's top young women's wrestlers. She has competed at 117 pounds for most of the season, where she split a pair of matches with fellow U23 world champion Yu Sakamoto of McKendree. Mortimer is back at 110 pounds for the postseason. North Central's Kaelani Shufeldt, a national finalist two years ago for Lock Haven, was a Midlands champion in late December. Mortimer and Schufeldt met in November, with Mortier winning that match by fall.
The aforementioned Yu Sakamoto has been dominant this season, with the exception of a loss to Mortimer, which she avenged at the NWCA National Duals. Sakamoto placed third at the national tournament last season while at Norther Michigan before transferring to McKendree this season. William Jewell's Alex Waitsman is a returning All-American and hasn't lost a match since mid-December.
Top-ranked Sara Sterner of North Central is a returning national finalist and three-time All-American. Her only loss this season came by fall against Grand Valley State's Aspen Blasko, a returning All-American. That match came two weeks after Sterner defeated Blasko 8-5. Barring any upsets, the rubber meeting take place this weekend in Region 4.
Aurora's Lexi Janiak, a U23 world bronze medalist, begins her postseason in search of her second straight national title. Janiak is expected to face North Central's Yele Aycock, a three-time national finalist, this weekend. The two wrestlers were in the same weight class at the Midlands Championships in late December but did not meet. Both lost to Lehigh freshman Aubre Krazer at the Midlands.
Grand Valley State's Katie Lange and North Central's Claire DiCugno are both collegiate national champions. Lange is a two-time national champion, winning titles in 2023 and 2025. DiCugno won a national title in 2024 at King before transferring to North Central. Lange and DiCugno met at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, with DiCugno winning that match 6-1.
No. 1 McKendree is loaded with talent and has been shuffling its lineup all season. Jaffe, a U17 world bronze medalist and U20 world team member, earned a spot in McKendree's postseason lineup at 145 pounds after competing at 138 pounds all season until the final competition. She was a national runner-up at 138 pounds last season as a freshman. Wieber placed third at the NAIA national tournament last season competing for Eastern Oregon. She transferred to Simon Fraser this season and enters the postseason ranked No. 4.
King's Stella Steigler was a national qualifier two seasons ago at Lock Haven and did not compete last season. She has been on a roll this season, climbing to No. 3 at 160 pounds, and has not lost a match since early November. Graveman is a multiple-time All-American and moved up two weight classes this season after placing fifth at 138 pounds last season. The South Dakota native has adjusted well to the new weight class and enters the postseason ranked No. 6 after winning a CCIW title.
Fort Hays State's Isabella Renfro, a round of 12 finisher last season as freshman, has won three tournament titles and was undefeated through the first three months of the season. She took her first and only loss on Feb. 7 to Iowa redshirt Naomi Simon, a 2025 All-American and U20 world medalist, at the Grand View Open. Renfro's most notable win this season came by fall over McKendree's Destiny Rodriguez in the finals of the Missouri Valley Open in late November. The two wrestlers are expected to meet again this weekend at the regional tournament.
Savannah Isaac of Tiffin was the NAIA national champion at 207 pounds last season as a freshman for Life University. Isaac found new home at Tiffin University, located in her home state of Ohio. The four-time Ohio state champion did not compete during the first semester but has been dominant since returning to competition in January. Nauss was a national runner-up last season as a freshman at 180 pounds, falling in the national finals to Iowa's Kylie Welker. She has competed at both 180 pounds and 207 pounds and ultimately decided to move up for the postseason. Nauss has proven she can compete with the best wrestlers at 207. Her only NCAA loss this season at 207 pounds came to returning national champion Tristan Kelly of McKendree on criteria.
