Clear your calendar. The biggest and toughest women’s college wrestling tournament of the year is November 18-19. 

The Missouri Valley Invitational is loaded. This marquee event features many of the top teams from NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA programs.

Campbellsville — 2022 NAIA team champions — will be there.

McKendree — 2022 NCWWC (NCAA) team champions — will be there.

Indian Hills — 2022 NJCAA team champions — will be there. 

Two current Division I women’s programs (Lindenwood and Sacred Heart) will be in attendance, and Iowa is sending seven unattached wrestlers. 

So far, 49 teams are scheduled to participate along with a handful of elite high school girls. This is a tournament you won’t want to miss. 

Click here for five things you should know about the tournament.

Hawkeye vs Hawkeye

Speaking of the Hawkeyes, Dan Gable’s coaching tree has extended into women’s college wrestling. Two of his best wrestlers — Mike Mena and Jeff McGinness — are currently leading programs that will face each other on November 20 at the Lions Duals. 

Mena (head coach at Lindenwood) was an All-American from 1994-97, placing seventh, third, and fifth at 118 pounds before reaching the 1997 NCAA tournament finals his senior year at 126 pounds. He moved into the 126-pound weight class when McGinness (head coach at Simpson) took a redshirt season. McGinness placed fifth as a freshman in 1994 before winning NCAA titles in 1995 (at 126 pounds) and 1998 (at 142 pounds). 

"We are super excited to wrestle Simpson College on November 20 at the Lion Duals," Mena said. "Coach Jeff McGinness and I were on the 1995 and 1996 national championship teams together at Iowa. I was 118 and he was 126, so we trained together daily.

"Now, 25 years later, our collegiate women's wrestling teams will collide on the mat for the first time in women's wrestling history. It's pretty cool where the sport of wrestling is today and that it continues to bring people together."

The Life Of A King

Life University won duals against Avila (46-1) and Presbyterian (29-16) on November 11 before hosting the Eagle Madness tournament the following day. Running Eagles coach Ashley Flavin saw 19 of her wrestlers compete at the tournament with one champion, four finalists, and 14 placers. 

“We are always a bit apprehensive going into the first competition of the year since it is difficult to gauge how the practice room will translate over to the competition,” Flavin said. “Our freshman showed why they were the #1 recruiting class in the NAIA and #2 overall.

“Friday night we extended our dual consecutive win record to 15-0. This is a very strong team and we have only begun to tap into their potential.”

King University proved they are worthy to be crowned as team champions by the season’s end. The Tornado had 12 place winners, including seven champions and nine finalists. 

High school stars Shelby Moore (123), Janida Garcia (136), and Valerie Hamilton (136) entered the tournament, as well. Moore and Hamilton placed second and Garcia placed third. 

For full results, click here.

Individual champions
101 pounds: Jessica Corredor (King)
109 pounds: Sage Mortimer (King)
116 pounds: Samara Chavez (King)
123 pounds: Vayle Baker (King)
130 pounds: Zaynah McBryde (Life)
136 pounds: Paige Wehrmeister (Presbyterian)
143 pounds: Viktorya Torres (King)
155 pounds: Tiffani Baublitz (King)
170 pounds: Cheyenne Bowman (King)
191 pounds: Katelyn Lewis (Brewton Parker)

Zaynah McBryde was named MSC wrestler of the week

North Central Is For Real

Joe Norton has lots of reasons to smile after a weekend where the team decimated the field at the Adrian Duals and the Adrian Open. The Cardinals went 7-0 in duals and crowned seven of 10 champions. These numbers speak volumes.

North Central at the Adrian Duals (7-0)
vs Indiana Tech, won 29-18
vs Tiffin, won 49-0
vs Northern Michigan, 29-17
vs Sacred Heart, 41-6
vs McKendree, 33-12
vs Hiram, 45-1

Adrian Open Top 10 Team Scores (out of 21 teams)
North Central College, 422.5
Indiana Tech University, 234.0
Adrian College, 148.5
Sacred Heart, 107.5
Wisconson Stevens Point, 98.5
McKendree, 95.0
Northern Michigan University, 82.0
Siena Heights, 55.5
Emory & Henry, 50.5
Elmira, 48.0

Individual champions
101 pounds: Sydney Kutzke (Indiana Tech)
109 pounds: Sydney Petzinger (North Central)
116 pounds: Jaslynn Gallegos (North Central)
123 pounds: Payton Stroud (McKendree)
130 pounds: Cameron Guerin (McKendree)
136 pounds: Yele Aycock (North Central)
143 pounds: Kendall Bostelman (North Central)
155 pounds: Malea Palahniuk (North Central)
170 pounds: Yelena Makoyed (North Central)
191 pounds: Traeh Haynes (North Central)

For full results, click here.

“It was a tremendous weekend for our program,” Norton said. “This is the fourth year for women’s wrestling at North Central and we won more duals on Saturday (7) than we did in the entire first two years of our program combined (6 total). 

“McKendree is a team that we have been looking up to from day one. They came into our place and beat us 44-3 in January of 2021. That was a win that we looked forward to for a long time, but our eyes are forward and we are looking at the rest of the season with the challenge of going undefeated in dual meets and capturing the NCWW National Championship in March.”

North Central dominated the Adrian Duals and the Adrian Open

Short-handed McKendree Falls Thrice

McKendree went 2-3 at the Adrian Duals with wins over Tiffin (28-13) and Northern Michigan (36-4), and losses to Sacred Heart (24-19), Indiana Tech (30-18), and North Central (33-12). The Bearcats return as the reigning three-time national collegiate women’s wrestling (NCAA) champions after dropping only one dual during the previous three seasons. 

Noticeably absent from the line-up were returning NCWWC champions Alara Boyd (143) and Sydnee Kimber (191). Both are competing in the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 22. 

Is Southern Oregon Primed For History?

The 2023 NAIA Championships will be the first sanctioned women’s wrestling championships in college history, and Gabby Weyrich has built a team ready to contend for the inaugural title. Southern Oregon notched six titles and pushed nine to the finals at the Mike Clock Open over the weekend. 

For full results, click here.

Individual champions
101 pounds: Esthela Trevino (Southern Oregon)
109 pounds: Alexia Seal
116 pounds: Natalie Reyna (Southern Oregon)
123 pounds: Carolina Moreno (Southern Oregon)
130 pounds: Victoria Baez-Dillone (Umpqua CC)
136 pounds: Bella Amaro (Southern Oregon)
143 pounds: Emily Se (Southern Oregon)+
155 pounds: Shannon Workinger (Menlo)
170 pounds: Joye Levendusky (Southern Oregon)
191 pounds: Grace Kristoff (Southern Oregon)

Women’s Spotlight

Get to know three-time All-American Marissa Gallegos of Colorado Mesa as she attempts to win a national title this season.