By Tanner Lafever
USA Wrestling

From a ‘Throwdown’ of ranked duals atop a World War II aircraft carrier to ‘Madness’ in Marietta, Georgia, to multiple compelling tournaments stretching from coast to coast – the second week of the women’s college wrestling season hardly lacked for compelling action.

And not to get too far ahead of ourselves in this latest notebook feature, but Week Three promises to be a whale of a time as well.

So, let’s not waste another moment getting to either.

Lakers leave Charleston Harbor with weekend’s best win(s) 

I’m not willing to say that the action on the mat surpassed the one-of-a-kind setting…but the fact that I’d even consider it says something about what took place at the third edition of the Throwdown on the Yorktown.

Competing just off the South Carolina shoreline and atop a World War II aircraft carrier, all four (ranked) NCAA teams in attendance gave wrestling fans something to appreciate.

But it was #7 Grand Valley State that earned top billing with its 3-0 record. Not only did the Lakers defeat #3 Presbyterian (23-20) and #24 Delaware State (27-18), but in the final dual of the weekend they also handed #2 Iowa just its second loss in program history (22-20).

Things got off to a wild start against the Hawkeyes, with Katey Valdez, who was the Colorado winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA) in 2025, using a defensive fall just before the buzzer to defeat Sterling Dias, who was the Nevada winner of the TSHSEA in 2022, in an NCAA semifinal (or beyond) caliber matchup.

The momentum continued for GVSU with three wins by freshmen at 110/124/131 pounds – the latter a come-from-behind pin by Naima Ghaffar after trailing 8-0 to Emily Frost early in the match.

And after an Iowa forfeit at 138, the Lakers suddenly had a 21-6 lead.

Four consecutive wins by the Hawkeyes to close the dual made things interesting. But ultimately, it was too much to overcome.

It’s worth noting that neither team had its full (projected) lineup on hand.

For GVSU, two-time national runner-up Sabrina Nauss, who was the Michigan winner of the TSHSEA in 2024, was among three ranked wrestlers absent. Meanwhile, Iowa was without several past All-Americans (including returning NCAA champ Valarie Solorio), as well as superstar freshman (and reigning World champion) Everest Leydecker, who was the Arizona winner of the TSHSEA in 2026.

But hey, you can only wrestle with/against who’s there, right?

As for the rest of the action, there were plenty of standout individual performances – especially among freshmen.

First-year Delaware State 138-pounder Willow White, who was the Florida and Southeast Region winner of the TSHSEA in 2026, was impressive in a 12-3 victory over #2 Lilly Luft (Iowa), who was the Iowa winner and Midwest Region winner of the TSHSEA in 20234. And immediately thereafter, the same went for Iowa’s Nora Akpan – who defeated #7 Louise Juitt at 145.

And going back to Grand Valley State, there’s been perhaps no freshman in the country who’s gotten off to a better start this season than Julia Horger, who was the Pennsylvania winner of the TSHSEA in 2026.

The young Laker continues to rack up ranked wins – the latest a 10-0 tech. fall over #3 Chloe Dearwester (Presbyterian), who was the Ohio winner of the TSHSEA in 2024, in just 93 seconds.

Look, it’s not a surprise that women’s college wrestling is benefiting in a major way from the annual influx of young talent. Followers of the sport have known this was coming given the continued development and explosive growth at the high school level.

But that doesn’t mean it’s any less fun to watch play out in front of our eyes.

Running Eagles soar at home event(s) 

Some 300 miles inland from the Charleston Harbor, the weekend’s other marquee multi-day event took place in Marietta, Georgia – home of the Life Running Eagles.

There, ‘Eagle Madness’ ensued in both dual and open tournament formats. And it was the hosts who led the way in each.

Life University – ranked #4 in the latest NAIA polls – crowned four individual champions amidst six finalists. That included a head-to-head matchup at 131 pounds, won by #2 Janida Garcia.

No other program – be it top-seven-ranked NAIA teams Wayland Baptist, Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson, or NCAA #10 Emmanuel – produced more than one champ.

A day earlier, Life also claimed top honors in the dual portion of proceedings. Ashley Flavin’s squad went a perfect 4-0 – highlighted by a 32-12 win over #5 Wayland Baptist.

Bonus points at 110, 117 and 124 pounds helped stake the Running Eagles to an early lead, and wins in each of the final three bouts (including two pins) helped shut the door in a top-five NAIA clash.

Northern Michigan makes a point at Midwestern open 

Continuing our journey across the country, Saturday’s Pointer Open saw five ranked NCAA teams send athletes to Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

And among the bunch, the clear standout performance came from #19 Northern Michigan.

We’ve previously mentioned the Wildcats as a program with lots of young talent, and that was on full display last weekend.

NMU won 5/10 weight classes amidst a solid field – and four of those titles came via freshmen:

• Lilly Denson (103)

• Cheyenne Frank (117)

• Kandice Spry (124)

• Belicia Manuel (145)

(A fifth – Kanata Richardson – also finished runner-up at 180.)

Of that group, no individual was more impressive than Lilly Denson. Not only did the Michigan native bonus her way through her bracket, but she punctuated the performance with a 13-1 tech. fall over #2 Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) in the championship bout.

Both #4 North Central and #12 Simpson produced a pair of champions – with the other going to Aurora’s seventh-ranked Sophia Ball (138).

NAIA #1 Grand View shows its stuff in season debut 

Over in the Sunflower State, the Ottawa-Hinderliter Invitational welcomed all manner of ranked teams to a talented tournament field.

Upon its conclusion (and to no surprise), the nation’s top-ranked NAIA team, Grand View, stood out above the rest.

Making their season debut, the Vikings pushed eight athletes into the finals – including a quartet of champions. And that last number was inherently limited due to a pair of Viking-vs-Viking matchups.

A trio of those titles came at consecutive weights, as upperclassmen Tristan Nitta (110), Eliana Martinez (117) and Mayangelie Colon (124) rolled through their respective brackets to the tune of 13/15 wins via tech. fall or pin.

Elsewhere in the tournament, returning NAIA national runner-up Haley Ward (Avila) powered her way to first at 207. And hosts Ottawa – ranked #3 to start the season – saw Hannah Jackson (160) win a 6-5 final.

Also worth mentioning is the performance of #13 Bellevue University – an NAIA program in its inaugural varsity season.

Led by former Providence coach Matt Atwood, the Bruins earned their first-ever open tournament individual titles in program history when Shelby Garten (131) and Elise Twait (145) topped their respective brackets on Saturday.

Oaks edge Red Leafs at Menlo Open 

To wrap up the weekend, a West Coast trek was in order as several ranked teams took on the Menlo Open.

Speaking of inaugural seasons, tournament hosts Menlo made its debut at the NCAA level following a prolonged, frustrating transition from the NAIA ranks.

And the first impression left by the Oaks was a strong one – they led the way with four individual champions. That tally just outpaced Canadian outfit #24 Simon Fraser – which, coincidentally, is in its final season competing at the NCAA level.

Menlo won back-to-back titles at both 110/117 pounds (Kayla McKinely-Johnson and Sophia Darer) and 145/160 (Claudia Heeney, who was the Illinois winner of the TSHSEA in 2026, and Alexandra Lopez).

And both times, Simon Fraser would follow – with Agnia Krakovska (124), Ella Finding (131) and Rupinder Johal (180) all earning top honors for the Red Leafs.

It’ll be fun to see how these two teams on contrasting ends of their NCAA ‘lifespan’ continue to perform over the months ahead.

What to watch for 

Way back in the introduction, I teased what an awesome weekend of wrestling lies ahead of us. And I think it’s fair to say I’m hardly overselling it.

Combined, 45 NCAA/NAIA teams occupy the most recent national rankings for the highest levels of women’s college wrestling.

Of that group, a whopping 71.1 percent of them are entered at either of two high-profile events in the coming days.

If a multi-day tournament is your flavor of choice, may I offer you the prestigious Missouri Valley Open – annually one of the toughest competitions on the college schedule.

20 different ranked NCAA/NAIA squads are set to enter wrestlers – including the current number one team from both divisions (McKendree and Grand View).

#2 Iowa, #5 Lehigh and #9 Quincy add another trio of top-10 NCAA squads to the mix. And on the NAIA side, you can make it a quintet via #3 Ottawa, #5 Cumberlands, #7 Lindsey Wilson, #9 Missouri Valley and #10 Texas Wesleyan.

I mean, come on. Does it get much better than this?

And that’s to say nothing of the other talent that regularly frequents ‘MoVal’ – be it from the high school or senior level(s).

On a comparatively smaller, though no less intriguing scale, the Adrian Women’s Duals/Invite will feature a dozen ranked teams across varied competitive formats.

Among them will be NCAA #4 North Central, #5 King and #7 Grand Valley State – fresh off its impressive weekend. Meanwhile, #2 Indiana Tech adds a national contender from the NAIA side.

And if (somehow) these multi-day events are simply too much for your system, there’s also Sunday’s Blue Hose Challenge, which will draw a trio of top 10 programs from the Southeast.

I’ll say it again, folks. This is going to be awesome.

Weekend schedule 

November 13-14 – Missouri Valley Open (Marshall, MO)

• NCAA: #1 McKendree, #2 Iowa, #5 Lehigh, #9 Quincy, #12 Fort Hays State, #21 Lindenwood, #24 Simon Fraser

• NAIA: #1 Grand View, #3 Ottawa, #5 Cumberlands, #7 Lindsey Wilson, #9 Missouri Valley, #10 Texas Wesleyan, #11 Oklahoma City, #12 Baker, #13 Bellevue, #16 Campbellsville, #18 Providence, #19 Saint Mary, #20 Central Methodist

November 14-15 – Adrian Women’s Duals/Invite (Adrian, MI)

• NCAA: #4 North Central, #5 King, #7 Grand Valley State, #11 Sacred Heart, #12 Aurora, #12 Lock Haven, #17 West Liberty, #19 Northern Michigan, #20 Buffalo State, #21 Gannon, #24 Delaware State

• NAIA: #2 Indiana Tech

November 15 – Blue Hose Challenge (Clinton, SC)

• NCAA: #3 Presbyterian, #10 Emmanuel

• NAIA: #4 Life