Seeds have been released for the women's freestyle division at the Midlands Championships on December 30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. North Central has the largest roster and the most wrestlers (5) seeded first. 

Three-time NCWWC (NCAA) champion (2021-23) Yelena Makoyed will compete for the first time this season after announcing her return to college competition. Makoyed is seeded first at 170 pounds. 

Several high school stars are entered, but the 101-pound bracket has the most intrigue. Madison Nieuwenhuis, a high school sophomore from Plainwell, Michigan, is the top seed with Lizette Rodriguez, Rianne Murphy, and Maddie Avila rounding out the top four. 

Avila, a 2023 NCWWC champion, and Rodriguez, a three-time NCWWC third-place finisher, are college stars, while Murphy is a high school senior at Wyoming Seminary. Nieuwenhuis and Murphy faced off at FloWrestling's Who's Number One and in the finals of Super 32 with Nieuwenhuis winning both matches by criteria. 

Rodriguez defeated Murphy at the Bearcat Open in February but Murphy defeated Avila at Midlands last year. The semifinal round for this weight should be the most exciting of the tournament if the seeds hold. 

Kendra Ryan and Kaelani Shufeldt are the top two seeds at 109 pounds after splitting matches at the recent US Nationals where Ryan finished third and Shufeldt was fourth. 

North Central's Amani Jones (123) and Aurora's Lexi Janiak (130) are the top seeds after winning bronze medals together at the  2023 U20 World Championships over the summer. 

Midlands Pre-seeds

101 Pounds
1. Madison Nieuwenhuis – Unattached
2. Lizette Rodriguez – McKendree
3. Rianne Murphy – Wyoming Seminary
4. Maddie Avila – North Central
5. Chiara Barbieri – Presbyterian
6. Lisa Pastoriza – Wyoming Seminary
7. Genesis Ramirez – Aurora
8. Kiona Conner – McKendree

109 Pounds
1. Kendra Ryan – North Central
2. Kaelani Shufeldt – Lock Haven
3. Pauline Granados – McKendree
4. Alexis Winecke – Stevens Point
5. Angelina Graff – North Central
6. Kayla Batres – Unattached
7. Taylor Whiting – Team Nazar
8. Amelia Murphy – Wyoming Seminary

116 Pounds
1. Sydney Petzinger – North Central
2. Salyna Shotwell – McKendree
3. Chloe Ayres – Princeton
4. Janessa George – North Central
5. Abby Nelson – Stevens Point
6. Amaya Yoshizumi – North Central
7. Charlize Shuler – Presbyterian

123 Pounds
1. Amani Jones – North Central
2. Carissa Qureshi – Unattached
3. Shelby Moore – McKendree
4. Alyssa Mahan – Presbyterian
5. Emma Bacon – Wyoming Seminary

130 Pounds
1. Alexis Janiak – Aurora
2. Salome Walker – North Central
3. Sara Sterner – North Central
4. Nichole Moore – McKendree
5. Taina Fernandez – Unattached
6. Cassia Zammit – Presbyterian
7. Riley Hanrahan – Team Nazar
8. Ngau Shoua Whitethorn – Stevens Point

136 Pounds
1. Alex Szkotnicki – McKendree
2. Marisol Nugent – Sunkist Kids
3. Yele Aycock – North Central
4. Viktorya Torres – McKendree
5. Taylor Graveman – North Central
6. Alondra Morales – North Central
7. Amor Tuttle – Stevens Point
8. Niya Gaines - North Central

143 Pounds
1. Alexis Gomez – Gomez RTC
2. Kendall Bostelman – North Central
3. Maddie Kubicki – Presbyterian
4. Solana Mottola – McKendree
5. Riley Aamold – North Central

155 Pounds
1. Noelle Gaffney – Northern Michigan
2. Tiera Jimerson – North Central
3. Maddie Hayden – Unattached
4. Antonia Phillips – Aurora

170 Pounds
1. Yelena Makoyed – North Central
2. Jade Herzer – Stevens Point
3. Henlee Haynes – Presbyterian

191 Pounds
1. Brittyn Corbishley – North Central
2. Traeh Haynes – North Central
3. Caroline Ward – North Central
4. Sydney Manos – Aurora
5. Logan Ryan – Albion
6. Brooke Huffman - Unattached