The women’s freestyle college wrestling season has several high-profile tournaments this weekend. 

High school Taina Fernandez will compete in the Princeton Open on Sunday. The 15-year-old won two college opens and finished second at last year’s Princeton Open. Expect other high-profile high schoolers to participate in tournaments throughout the country. 

Below is the complete list of college opens with links to Trackwrestling and FloArena brackets. 

Saturday, November 2
Trojan Open
Luther Hill Invitational
Pointer Open
Maverick Open
University of Dubuque Invitational
Tiffin Women’s Open
SFU Open

Sunday, November 3
Princeton Open
East Stroudsburg Open
Menlo Open
McMaster Open

NWCA All-Star Classic

The 2024 NCWA All-Star Classic is on Saturday, November 16 on FloWrestling. Below are previews for the five women’s freestyle matches and an interview with Grand View’s Maya Davis, competing at 124 pounds. 

110: Kendra Ryan (North Central, NCAA) vs Stefana Jelacic (Lourdes, NAIA)
124: Amani Jones (North Central, NCAA) vs Maya Davis (Grand View, NAIA)
131: Vicky Baez-Dilone (King, NCAA) vs Carolina Moreno (Southern Oregon, NAIA)
145: Aine Drury (King, NCAA) Jamilah McBryde (Life, NAIA)
160: Cheyenne Bowman (King, NCAA) vs Latifah McBryde (Life, NAIA)

Grand View's Maya Davis is pulling triple duty before her match with Amani Jones at the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 16.

Season Previews

Below are links to season previews for the upcoming season.

Iowa Preview
King Preview
North Central Preview
McKendree Preview
Grand Valley State Preview
Colorado Mesa
Life Preview
Lindsey Wilson Preview
Providence Preview

Marquee Duals

Mark these high-profile women’s freestyle duals on your calendar. 

Friday, November 8: Iowa (NCAA) at Life (NAIA)
Saturday, November 9: Adrian Duals
Sunday, December 8: Grand Valley State (NCAA) at North Central (NCAA)
Wednesday, December 18: King (NCAA) at Lock Haven)
Saturday-Sunday, January 10-11: NWCA National Duals
Saturday, January 18: Grand Valley State (NCAA) at Iowa (NCAA)
Sunday, January 19: Providence (NAIA) at Southern Oregon (NAIA)
Saturday, January 25: College Duals in Albany, New York
Sunday, January 26: McKendree Duals
Tuesday, February 11: William Penn (NAIA) at Grand View (NAIA)

King No More

Jason Moorman built King University in Bristol, Tennessee, into a women’s wrestling powerhouse. The Tornado won four WCWA Championships (2014-17) and was in title contention this year. 

Now, Moorman is gone. The shocking news happened days before the start of the season. There are more questions than answers, but here is what we know. 

Taking Simpson By Storm

FloWrestling hit the road to visit the Simpson College women’s wrestling team in Indianola, Iowa. Led by former Iowa wrestling star Jeff McGinness, Simpson is a program on the rise. Click here for interviews with coaches and athletes during the trip. Below is the interview with McGinness. 

Super 32 And Preseason Nationals

Two of the biggest women’s high school tournaments took place in October. Below are Super 32 and USA Wrestling Preseason National Champions with interview links. Click here for Super 32 takeaways.

Super 32 Champions (Freestyle)
95: Hailey Delgado
100: Jaclyn Bouzakis
106: Kayla Batres
112: Reagan Mathers
118: Epenesa Elison
124: Everest Leydecker
132: Taina Fernandez
138: Riley Hanrahan
148: Violette Lasure
160: Kaili Manuel
175: Jael Miller
200: Josephine Larson

Preseason Nationals Champions (Modified Folkstyle)
95: Easton Dadiomoff
100: Piper Montoya
105: Katey Valdez
110: Aubree Gutierrez
115: Riley Rayome
120: Caley Graber
125: Sierra Chiesa
130: Samantha Sachs
135: Landri VonGonten
140: Aleksandra Bastaic
145: Violette Lasure
155: Angelina Jiang
170: Jael Miller
190: Evelyn Vargas
207: Mia Cienega
235: Ariana Chavez

Riley Rayome’s Whataburger Singlet

Riley Rayome's Whataburger singlet was a hit! Rayome wore the singlet at USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals.

“I got this in sixth grade at a dual tournament,” Rayome said. “It’s been sitting in my closet so let’s rip it out. I didn’t want to wear my Texas singlet. I wear it all the time. I want to wear a new singlet, and everyone seems to love it, and I love it. It’s nice."

We Are The Champions!

The U.S. women’s freestyle team won the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania. Below are the top five team scores and full team results. Click here for full results and match archives.

Top Five Team Scores
USA - 136
Japan - 129
Ukraine - 124
China - 95
Russia - 87

Team USA
50 kg: Sage Mortimer — Gold
53 kg: Elena Ivaldi — 8th
55 kg: Amani Jones — Bronze
57 kg: Sofia Macaluso — 5th
59 kg: Skye Realin — 15th
62 kg: Macey Kilty — Silver
65 kg: Adaugo Nwachukwu — 12th
68 kg: Brooklyn Hays — 5th
72 kg: Kylie Welker — Gold
76 kg: Yelena Makoyed — Gold

World Championship Fever

The Senior World Championships for non-Olympic weights were in Tirana immediately after the U23 World Championships. Click here for full results and match links.

55 kg: Areana Villescusa - 5th
59 kg: Jacarra Winchester - 14th
65 kg: Macey Kilty - Bronze
72 kg: Kylie Welker - Bronze

Women’s Spotlight: Ella Poalillo 

Sophomore Ella Poalillo reflects on her third-place Super 32 finish and areas she can improve.