CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) 鈥� The Iowa City area is a fitting place to host the first NCAA women鈥檚 wrestling championships.
鈥淲hat is it they say? 鈥榃restletown USA?鈥欌�� McKendree University coach Alexio Garcia said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a great place for wrestling to be hosted. You go to some places, maybe a hundred people know wrestling. There, everyone lives it.鈥�
The event will be held Friday and Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville, a couple miles from the University of Iowa campus, which is widely regarded as the epicenter of the sport.
鈥淚t really is 鈥榃restletown USA鈥�,鈥� Iowa coach Clarissa Chun said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had World Cup events here. We鈥檙e going to have other big events here. So this is a big deal for our sport.鈥�
Women’s wrestling in January 2025. There are 111 NCAA programs across all divisions. Iowa is among just six in Division I and the only one from a power conference.
The championships aren鈥檛 divided into divisions, so a school like McKendree, a Division II school located in Lebanon, Illinois, is competing against Iowa of the Big Ten. North Central College, a Division III school in Naperville, Illinois, won the National Duals with victories over McKendree and Iowa.
McKendree is ranked No. 1 in the and followed by Iowa and North Central. Each school won regional titles and advanced the maximum 10 wrestlers to nationals.
鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e in this position now is nothing short of pretty amazing,鈥� Garcia said. “I think we鈥檙e all lucky and blessed to be witnessing it, to be honest.鈥�
It鈥檚 an event that Chun and her team have been waiting for since the Hawkeyes began competing in 2023-24.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be pretty electric,鈥� Chun said. “It was pretty cool at regionals to see them get so excited when they saw the NCAA regional trophies. They were like, 鈥業t鈥檚 real. It鈥檚 happening.鈥� We鈥檝e heard about it all year, but to see that and what it looks like puts a little extra on them, the feeling that this is happening.鈥�
Wrestling organizations began a movement in 2017 to The National Collegiate Women鈥檚 Wrestling Championships began in 2020 as a tournament for NCAA programs, the same year the NCAA designated women’s wrestling an emerging sport. The sport can be considered for championship status when at least 40 schools sponsor it at the varsity level.
鈥淲omen鈥檚 wrestling is so competitive,鈥� Chun said. 鈥淪ome of the wrestlers in this tournament have been in the Olympics or on world teams. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 so exciting about the trajectory of where women鈥檚 wrestling is in the United States. Because what is that tagline that the NCAA has? 鈥橭lympians made here.鈥� That鈥檚 the step in the direction that the NCAA can offer.鈥�
McKendree began its women’s wrestling program in 2013 and was a member of the Women鈥檚 College Wrestling Association, which governed NCAA, NAIA and junior college programs.
鈥淥ur culture and environment have grown tremendously,鈥� said Garcia, who is in his fifth season as coach. 鈥淭he town that we live in is really nice. (St. Louis) is about a half-hour away. So it鈥檚 an attractive place. I think what鈥檚 drawing people here to our program at this point is the culture, the attitude.鈥�
Garcia has four wrestlers who are top seeds 鈥� Heather Crull (103), Yu Sakamoto (117), Cameron Guerin (131) and Tristan Kelly (207).
Iowa, which is 49-1 in duals in its three seasons, has three top seeds 鈥� Reese Laramendy (145), Kennedy Blades (160) and Kylie Welker (171). Blades was a silver medalist in the 2024 Olympics.
Garcia understands the significance of this tournament.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for this, to say the least,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of what we鈥檙e going to represent, not just my team, but everyone that鈥檚 going there. I have three daughters of my own, so hopefully 10 years from now they鈥檒l be wrestling in it. And I know that at that point it鈥檚 going to be a lot bigger.鈥�
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