Women's NAIA Conference Recap (2/28/2024)

Over the weekend, NAIA schools competed at their respective conference tournament to claim qualifying spots for the NAIA national tournament in March. Similar to NCAA Men’s Wrestling, there are a predetermined number of qualifiers at each weight in each conference allocated based on rankings. Remaining spots are filled with At-Large bids decided upon by a committee. Here are the results from each conference including team scores and athletes qualified for nationals. Each team score is followed by only their automatic qualifiers. 

Kansas Collegiate Conference

#17 Hastings were champions at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference scoring 175.5 points, and securing four qualifiers, led by two champs: Reagen Gallaway and Victoria Guinard. In second by just 1.5 points was #20 Ottawa with 174 points,  as well as 3 automatic qualifiers and two champions of their own in Addison Saporito and Peyton Hand.

 #19 Doane rounded out the top three with 142.5 team points, 3 qualifiers, and a first place finish from Cristelle Rodriguez.

Two additional champs were Alexsys Jacquez and Lessly Sandoval from St. Mary’s. The last three were all from different schools with Esther Walker of Midland, Gianna Moreno of Friends and Allyssa Johnson of Jamestown all helping their team claim spots at nationals. The Kansas Collegiate Conference accounts for 19 qualifying spots for Nationals. 

Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight:

101 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #5 Esther Walker (Midland University)

2nd Place -#16 Karina Vang (Doane)

3rd Place - #17 Zoe Omura (Midland University)

109 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - #2 Alexsys Jacquez (St. Mary)

National At-Large - Rayana Sahagun (Jamestown)

Conference Wild Card - #19 Aynsley Fink (Ottawa) 

116 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - #19 Addison Saporito (Ottawa)

National At-Large - #20 Markayla Lottie (Avila) 

123 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #1 Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane)

2nd Place - #4 Emily Paulino (Midland University)

3rd Place - #13 Larissa Kaz (Hastings)

130 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - Peyton Hand (Ottawa)

Conference Wild Card - #12 Alisha Van Scoy (St. Mary)

136 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - #13 Gianna Moreno (Friends) 

Conference Wild Card - #17 Kaydince Turner (Hastings) 

Conference Wild Card - #19 Aileen Lester (Ottawa)

Conference Wild Card - Bridgette Sotomayor (Doane) 

143 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place - #10 Reagen Gallaway (Hastings) 

2nd Place - #20 Livia Swift (Ottawa) 

Conference Wild Card - # 14 Randie Scoon (Ottawa) 

155 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - Allyssa Johnson (Jamestown)

Conference Wild Card - #19 Aspen Barber (Doane) 

National At-Large - #17 Lisa Hoeflich (Hastings) 

170 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - Victoria Guinard (Hastings)

Conference Wild Card - #13 Aime Hernandez-Perez (York)

National At-Large - #17 Siara Arrington (Ottawa) 

191 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place  - #4 Lessly Sandoval (St. Mary) 

2nd Place - #16 Kenisha Jacsaint (Doane) 

3rd Place - #7 Marissa Patterson (Hastings) 

4th Place - Melissa De La Torre (Morningside)

5th Place - #3 Agatha Andrews (Jamestown) 

National At-Large - #12 Shan Briggs (Avila)

Final Team Scores

1. Hastings, 175.5, 4 qualifiers
2. Ottawa, 174.0, 3 qualifiers
3. Doane, 142.5, 3 qualifiers
4. St. Mary, 88.0, 2 qualifiers
5. Friends, 86.5, 1 qualifiers
6. Midland, 78.5, 3 qualifiers
7. Jamestown, 73.5, 2 qualifiers
8. Avila, 55.0
9. York, 38.0
10. Morningside, 21.5, 1 qualifier
11. Dakota Wesleyan, 21.0

Heart of America Conference

#3 Grand View claimed another Heart of America Conference title after scoring 185 team points and qualifying 11 wrestlers including two individual champs: Krista Warren and Abby McIntyre.

Coming in second was #8 William Penn with 171.5 team points, 7 qualifiers and 4 individual champs. Champs for the Statesmen were Mia Palumbo, Joanna Vanderwood, Devin Patton and Adaugo Nwachukwu. 

Coming in a bit of a distant 3rd was #13 Missouri Valley with 1137.5 points, however the team still had 5 qualifiers including two champs in Sage Beltran and Elise Falcetti. Rounding out the first place finishers from other schools were Katherine Heath of Baker and Joanna Hendricks of Waldorf. The Heart of America Conference accounts for 29 of the national allocations.

Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight:

101 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place Match - #18 Sage Beltran (Missouri Valley)

Conference Wild Card - #14 Teya Garner (William Penn)

109 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place Match - #1 Mia Palumbo (William Penn)

2nd Place - #9 Tristan Nitta (Grand View)

3rd Place - #10 Judy Sandoval (Grand View)

4th Place - #11 Hailey Holland (Missouri Valley)

5th Place - #12 Kylee Slyter (Baker)

116 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place - #3 Katherine Heath (Baker)

2nd Place - #17 Catherine Steinkamp (William Penn)

123 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #9 Joanna Vanderwood (William Penn)

2nd Place - #2 Maya Davis (Grand View)

3rd Place - #7 Catharine Campbell (Grand View) 

Conference Wild Card - #17 Allison Hynes (Central Methodist) 

130 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - #7 Devin Patton (William Penn)

National At-Large - #17 Madeline Santana (Missouri Valley)

Conference Wild Card - #18 Nonnie Justice (Central Methodist) 

136 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place  - #1 Adaugo Nwachukwu (William Penn)

2nd Place - #2 Andrea Schlabach (Grand View)

3rd Place - #14 Lilly Gough (Central Methodist)

4th Place - #16 Aniseta Acosta (Missouri Valley)

National At-Large - Willow Barnes (Missouri Valley)

Conference Wild Card - Marish Wahl (Dickinson State)  

143 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #6 Krista Warren (Grand View)

2nd Place - #12 Madison Diaz (Grand View)

3rd Place - #11 Isabelle Hawley (William Penn)

4th Place - #4 Serenity De La Garza (Missouri Valley)

Conference Wild Card - #17 Maria Slaughter (Missouri Valley)

Conference Wild Card - Naida Abdijanovic (William Penn)

155 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place  - Elise Falcetti (Missouri Valley)

2nd Place - Haidyn Snyder (Grand View)

170 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place  - #2 Abby McIntyre (Grand View) 

2nd Place - #1 Ashley Lekas (William Penn)

Conference Wild Card - #20 Jaclyn Daley (Baker)

191 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place - #2 Joanna Hendricks (Waldorf)

2nd Place #8 Jannell Avila (Baker)

3rd Place - #13 Olivia Brown (Grand View)

4th Place - #10 Andjela Prijovic (Grand View)

5th Place - #11 Elisa Robinson (Baker)

Final Team Scores

1. Grand View, 185.0; 11 qualifiers
2. William Penn, 171.5; 7 qualifiers
3. Missouri Valley, 137.5; 5 qualifiers
4. Baker, 101.0; 4 qualifiers
5. Central Methodist, 80.0; 1 qualifier
6. Waldorf, 75.0; 1 qualifier
7. Dickinson, 40.0
8. William Woods, 30.5

Sooner Athletic Conference

#6 Texas Wesleyan reclaimed their title as conference champs with 179.5 team points and 11 of the 30 available qualifying spots from the conference. They also had 3 individual champs in Jasmine Howard, Elizabeth Duvall and Mea Mohler.

#10 Missouri Baptist scored 168.5 points and had 8 automatic qualifiers and 5 champs: Alyssa Quezaire, Juliana Diaz, Tiyahna Askew, Joessette Partney and Faith Macharia. In third was #7 Oklahoma City with 122.5 points and 7 qualifiers including individual champion Sophia Smith. The final individual champion was Samyra Thomas of Jarvis Christian.The Sooner Athletic Conference is allocated for 30 NAIA nationals qualifying spots.

Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight:

101 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #6 Alyssa Quezaire (Missouri Baptist)

2nd Place - #7 Audalie Cruz (Wayland Baptist)

3rd Place - #9 Sofia Abramson (Oklahoma City)

109 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place - #4 Jasmine Howard (Texas Wesleyan)

2nd Place - #17 Alyssa King (Missouri Baptist)

Conference Wild Card - #6 Eliana Martinez (Oklahoma City)

116 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #2 Juliana Diaz (Missouri Baptist)

2nd Place - #1 Avery Ashley (Oklahoma City)

3rd Place - #5 Camille Fournier (Texas Wesleyan)

Conference Wild Card - #18 Jo’Neisha Kennedy (Wayland Baptist)

123 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place - #3 Sophia Smith (Oklahoma City)

2nd Place - #16 Carolina Rios (Texas Wesleyan)

130 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #5 Elizabeth Duvall (Texas Wesleyan)

2nd Place - #6 Janiah Jones (Missouri Baptist)

3rd Place - #15 Destiny Campbell (Oklahoma City)

4th Place - #15 Bryce White (Oklahoma City)

Conference Wild Card - #19 Chloe Herrick (Missouri Baptist)  

136 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #8 Tiyahna Askew (Missouri Baptist)

2nd Place - #6 Mattison Parker (Texas Wesleyan)

3rd Place - Keilani Guillermo (Wayland Baptist)

National At-Large - #12 Natalia Posada (Oklahoma City)

Conference Wild Card - Jalynn Patino (Texas Wesleyan) 

143 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #4 Mea Mohler (Texas Wesleyan)

2nd Place - #13 Marissa Jimenez (Oklahoma City)

3rd Place - #15 Makayla Munoz (Oklahoma City)

155 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place - #8 Josette Partney (Missouri Baptist)

2nd Place - #4 Taydem Khamjoi (Texas Wesleyan)

3rd Place - #15 Leilani Hernandez (Texas Wesleyan)

4th Place - #11 Presley McCandlish (Oklahoma City)

5th Place - #11 Anastasia Hardin (Missouri Baptist)

170 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #11 Faith Macharia (Missouri Baptist)

2nd Place - #12 Kaley Rice (Texas Wesleyan)

3rd Place - #22 Aalyah Villarreal (Texas Wesleyan)

Conference Wild Card - #15 Mahogoney Casel (Wayland Baptist)  

191 pounds (2 allocations)

1st Place - #6 Samyra Thomas (Jarvis Christian)

2nd Place - #18 Tiffany Curry (Texas Wesleyan)

Conference Wild Card - #15 Payton Sholander (Wayland Baptist)

Conference Wild Card - #19 Ryann Rumsey (Oklahoma City)

Conference Wild Card - Emma Shreiber (Missouri Baptist) 

Final Team Scores:

1. Texas Wesleyan, 179.5, 11 qualifiers
2. Missouri Baptist, 168.5, 8 qualifiers
3. Oklahoma City, 122.5, 7 qualifiers
4. Wayland Baptist, 92.0, 2 qualifiers 
5. Jarvis Christian, 22.0
6. Central Christian, 20.0

Mid-South Conference

#2 Life kept their Mid-South Conference champions streak going with 187 team points, 11 qualifiers, and an impressive 5 individual champions: Anna Krejsa, Sarah Savidge, Zaynah McBryde, Jamilah McBryde and Latifah McBryde.

#13 Indiana Tech finished in second with 134 team points, and 7 qualifiers and  Tehani Soares as their only individual champ.  #9 Cumberlands was third with 131 points, 

Other individual champions were Stefana Jelacic of Lourdes, Tehani Soares of Indiana Tech, Icart Galumette of Campbellsville, Chamira Cooper of Cumberlands and Maquoia Bernabe of Cumberlands, showing just how many schools in this conference have top talent on their rosters. The Mid-South Conference account for 39 NAIA National allocations.

Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight:

101 pounds (6 allocations)

1st Place - #2 Stefana Jelacic (Lourdes)

2nd Place - #8 Makayla Young (Indiana Tech)

3rd Place - #10 Devyn Gomez (Life)

4th Place - #14 Shanna Morris (Lourdes)

5th Place - #13 Riley Banyas (Campbellsville)

6th Place - #4 Elizabeth Dosado (Cumberlands)

109 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #8 Tehani Soares (Indiana Tech) 

2nd Place - #5 Diana Gonzalez (Life) 

3rd Place - #13 Gracie Elliott (Cumberlands)

4th Place - Gabrielle Medeiros (Campbellsville)

Conference Wild Card - #15 Valeria Ahumada (Siena Heights)

116 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #7 Icart Galumette (Campbellsville)

2nd Place -  #9 Ariana Martinez (Life)

3rd Place - Emma Jones (Indiana Tech)

4th Place - Stefany Perez (Siena Heights) 

123 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #5 Anna Krejsa (Life)

2nd Place - #11 Kaitlin Castro (Cumberlands)

3rd Place- Trinity Howard (Montreat) 

National At-Large - #12 Josie Davis (Campbellsville)  

Conference Wild Card - #18 Isabelle Silva (Indiana Tech)

Conference Wild Card - Cameron Ortiz (Campbellsville)  

130 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place- #2 Sarah Savidge (Life)

2nd Place - #10 Ellyana Kuzma (Indiana Tech)

3rd Place - #11 Olivia Messerly (Campbellsville)

4th Place - #12 Riley Dalrymple (Life)

136 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #3 Zaynah McBryde (Life) 

2nd Place - #9 Gabriella Perez (Campbellsville)

3rd Place - #10 Angie Prado (Life)

National At-Large - #18 Carley Anderson (Indiana Tech)

Conference Wild Card - Addison Messerly (Campbellsville)  

143 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #1 Jamilah McBryde (Life)

2nd Place - #9 Micah Fisher (Cumberlands)

3rd Place - #19 Maia Crumb (Indiana Tech)

Conference Wild Card - #2 Emma Walker (Campbellsville)  

155 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #2 Latifah McBryde (Life) 

2nd Place - #16 Kendra Thompson (Campbellsville)

3rd Place - #20 Cydney Bassett (Indiana Tech)

Conference Wild Card - #14 Ariana Pereira (Cumberlands) 

170 pounds (6 allocations)

1st Place  - #9 Chamira Cooper (Cumberlands)

2nd Place - #7 Bo Geibe (Siena Heights)

3rd Place - #6 Gabrielle Holloway (St. Andrews)

4th Place - #15 Saiheron Preciado-Meza (Cumberlands)

5th Place - #14 Grace Doering (Indiana Tech) 

6th Place - Payton Curley (Lourdes)

Conference Wild Card - #4 Maggie Graham (Life)

191 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #9 Maquoia Bernabe (Cumberlands)

2nd Place - #5 Madeline Welch (Life)

3rd Place- #14 Naomi Duenas (Cumberlands)

Final Team Scores:

1. Life, 187.0; 11 qualifiers
2. Indiana Tech, 134.0; 7 qualifiers
3. Cumberlands, 131.0; 8 qualifiers
4. Campbellsville, 127.5; 6 qualifiers
5. Siena Heights; 62.0; 2 qualifiers
6. Lourdes, 61.0; 3 qualifiers
7. Brewton-Parker 33.0
8. St. Andrews, 31.5; 1 qualifier
9. Rochester, 18.0
10. Montreat, 13.0; 1 qualifier

Cascade Collegiate Conference

#1 Menlo wins a close conference title at the Cascade Collegiate Conference with 176.5 points, 12 qualifiers and four champs: Ajazee Zaballos, Alana Vivas, Desiree Jones, and Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson.

Close behind was #4 Southern Oregon with 172.5 team points, 11 qualifiers, and individual champions Carolina Moreno, Caitlyn Davis, and Shenita Lawson.

Finally, #5 University of Providence finished in 3rd with a team score of 144 points from their 10 qualifiers and 3 champs: Erin Hikiji, Paige Morals and Waipuilani Estrella-Beachamp.

The Cascade Collegiate Conference represented the highest number of NAIA national allocations, with 43 awarded from this conference tournament.

Here is a breakdown of qualifying wrestlers at each weight:

101 pounds (3 allocations)

1st Place - #1 Erin Hikiji (University of Providence) 

2nd Place - #3 Kayla Mckinley-Johnson (Menlo College) 

3rd Place - #11 Liana Ferreira (Southern Oregon University)

Conference Wild Card - #19 Karly Scoot (Southern Oregon)

Conference Wild Card - #20 Abbeygael Cabuag (Vanguard)

109 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #7 Paige Morales (University of Providence)

2nd Place - #3 Emma Baertlein (Southern Oregon University) 

3rd Place - Nizhoni Tallman (Evergreen State)

4th Place - #16 Liv Villanueva (Southern Oregon University) 

Conference Wild Card - #14 Angie Dill (Vanguard) 

116 pounds (6 allocations)

1st Place - #6 Ajayzee Zaballos (Menlo College)

2nd Place - #12 Marissa Kurtz (Southern Oregon University)

3rd Place - Irma Retano (Eastern Oregon University)

4th Place - #11 Arieana Arias (University of Providence)

5th Place - #15 Isabelle Asuncion (University of Providence) 

6th Place - #14 Kaylee Annis (Southern Oregon University)

Conference Wild Card - #14 Kaylee Annis (Southern Oregon)

123 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place - #6 Alana Vivas (Menlo College)

2nd Place - #9 Haley Narahara (Menlo College)

3rd Place - #8 Fernanda Lopez (Southern Oregon University)

4th Place - #19 Ellabelle Taylor (Evergreen State) 

5th Place - #14 Alicia Frank (University of Providence)

Conference Wild Card - #15 Loretta Lopez (Vanguard) 

Conference Wild Card - #20 Paige Chafin (Eastern Oregon)

130 pounds (6 allocations)

1st Place - #1 Carolina Moreno (Southern Oregon University)

2nd Place - #3 Louisa Schwab (Menlo College) 

3rd Place - #4 Alyssa Randles (University of Providence)

4th Place - #8 Lillian Avalos (Vanguard)

5th Place - Erica Grant (Evergreen State)

6th Place - #9 Paige Respicio (University of Providence)

National At-Large - #14 Anna Rodriguez (Eastern Oregon)

136 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place - #4 Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp (University of Providence)

2nd Place - #7 River Todd (Vanguard)

3rd Place - #11 Desinee Lopez (Southern Oregon University)

4th Place - #5 Stephanie Chavez (Menlo College)

5th Place - Samantha Barragan (Menlo College)

Conference Wild Card - #15 Piper Hall (Vanguard)

143 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #7 Desiree Jones (Menlo College) 

2nd Place - #7 Alexandra Lopez (Menlo College)

3rd Place - #3 Bella Amaro (Southern Oregon University)

4th Place - #16 Kailey Rees (University of Providence) 

155 pounds (5 allocations)

1st Place - #1 Caitlyn Davis (Southern Oregon University)

2nd Place - #3 Shannon Workinger (Menlo College)

3rd Place - #6 Flor Parker Borrero (Evergreen State)

4th Place - #7 Liv Wieber (Eastern Oregon University)

5th Place - #5 Sadie Antoque (University of Providence) 

170 pounds (4 allocations)

1st Place - #8 Shenita Lawson (Southern Oregon University)

2nd Place - #5 Lily El-Masri (Vanguard)

3rd Place - #3 Kalila Shrive (Menlo College) 

4th Place - #19 Abena Adu (Vanguard)

Conference Wild Card - #10 Katelyn Lewis (Providence)

National At-Large - Kacey Lee-Pua (Providence)

191 pounds (1 allocation)

1st Place - #1 Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson (Menlo College)

National At-Large - #17 Trinity Tafoya (Eastern Oregon)

Final Team Scores:

1. Menlo, 176.5; 12 qualifiers
2. Southern Oregon, 172.5; 11 qualifiers
3. University of Providence, 144.0; 10 qualifiers
4. Vanguard, 82.0; 4 qualifiers
5. Eastern Oregon, 72.0; 2 qualifiers
6. Evergreen State, 69.5; 4 qualifiers
7. Simpson University, 10.5