Iowa enters the inaugural NCAA women's wrestling championship with 10 qualifiers, including three No. 1 seeds, and legitimate title contenders across multiple weights.
Below is everything you need to follow Iowa from Friday morning through Saturday night.
103 pounds: No. 2 Valarie Solorio (31-2)
- Opening Match: Rebekah Jean-Baptiste (Emmanuel)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 1 Heather Crull (McKendree)
Sophomore Solorio is a steady force for Iowa, entering as the No. 2 seed. She has been a dominant opener for the Hawkeyes and has taken just two losses, only one of which — her loss to McKendree’s Crull — is on her official record, given that her other loss came against high schooler Jaclyn Bouzakis. She’s teched and pinned her way through regionals, but has not wrestled Jean-Baptiste yet in her career.
110 pounds: No. 5 Nyla Valencia (23-3)
- Opening Match: Kellie Kennedy (Otterbein)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 4 Gabriele Tedesco (McKendree)
Valencia opens with a matchup against Kennedy, an athlete who is 22-16 on the year as a sophomore. This will be Valencia’s first postseason, after missing out most of her first two varsity seasons due to injury. If she finds momentum Friday morning, she’s capable of a deep run.
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117 pounds: No. 5 Brianna Gonzalez (9-2)
- Opening Match: Josey Wehr (Eastern)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 4 Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell)
During the season, Gonzalez captured the Missouri Valley Open championship at 117 pounds, including multiple technical falls and a pin in the title match. She’s someone who has experienced success on both the college and world levels, placing at the NCWWC Tournament the last two years and making the U20 world team, but she’s still looking for her first collegiate national title.
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She’s in a tough position in the bracket, though, as she could face Waitsman — one of only two athletes with a win over her this year — in the second round.
124 pounds: Cali Leng (34-7)
- Opening Match: No. 4 Shelby Moore (McKendree)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 5 Aspen Blasko (Grand Valley State)
Leng is the wild card for the Hawks and the only underdog, according to seeds, in the first four rounds. She’s an underrated threat in Iowa’s lineup, but she’ll need to be on her game to make it past Moore to try to go on a run. Leng is 0-2 against her opening opponent in Moore, with both matches ending in a decision, 6-2 and 8-2. If she advances, she could see Linda Holeman or Aspen Blasko, the latter of whom she’s split matches with in her career.
131 pounds: No. 4 Karlee Brooks (33-4)
- Opening Match: Makayla Paclib (Pitt-Johnstown)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 5 Abigal Mozden (Mount Union)
She captured the 131-pound title at the Luther Hill Open and has competed consistently against nationally ranked opponents throughout the season. The top-ranked opponent in her bracket is Cameron Guerin, one of only three athletes to beat Brooks this year. She has never wrestled Paclib, nor has she seen either of her projected quarterfinal opponents, Abigal Mozden or Piper Cadden, in collegiate competition. This will be Brooks’ first postseason for the Hawks; she sat behind graduated senior Emmily Patneaud in 2025.
Alumni Spotlight
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Karlee Brooks
NCAA Women's Region V Champion at 131lbs
Congratulations Karlee!
138 pounds: No. 4 Lilly Luft (18-6)
- Opening Match: Kalyse Hill (Mount Olive)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 5 Jacinda Espinosa (Lindenwood)
Luft doesn’t face a top-two seed until the semis, giving her a realistic path to championship contention if she stays healthy and in control, despite six losses on the year. Three of Luft’s losses came by injury default this year, all at the Grand View Women's Open. She took fifth at the NCWWC National Championships in 2024 and is in a position to match or improve on that performance, based on her seed for this year’s event.
Iowa’s Title Contenders
These three Hawkeyes enter as No. 1 seeds and favorites to win it all:
145 pounds: No. 1 Reese Larramendy (33-0)
- Opening Match: Nichole Moore (Fort Hays State)
- Projected Quarterfinal: Madeline Kubicki (Presbyterian)
Undefeated, Larramendy enters as a clear favorite and could anchor Iowa’s title push with a dominant run. She won the NCWWC tournament in 2024 and took third in 2025; now she’s looking for her first NCAA title. Of all of her matches this year, she’s won by tech or pin in all but five of them, including a 3-1 win over Madeline Kubicki in the opening week of the season. The best version of Larramendy is an age-group world contender — this is her chance to show it on the collegiate stage.
160 pounds: No. 1 Kennedy Blades (15-0)
- Opening Match: Vida Beckel (Emmanuel)
- Projected Quarterfinal: Keeley Kehrli (Simpson)
Kennedy is in championship-or-bust territory. As a top seed with a spotless record, Blades is expected to deliver maximum team points. She won the NCWWC tournament in 2025 with the Hawks, just seven months after winning an Olympic silver medal. Her dominance is unparalleled, as she comes into the tournament with a 100% bonus rate. She’s also shut out of her last five opponents in the opening 90 seconds of those matches. This is Blades’ weight. She’s on track to make history for the Hawks.
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180 pounds: No. 1 Kylie Welker (17-0)
- Opening Match: Genevieve An (Lehigh)
- Projected Quarterfinal: Kara Kuge (Wisconsin Stevens Point)
Another unbeaten No. 1, Welker’s consistency makes her one of Iowa’s safest bets for a finals appearance. She teched or pinned her way through regionals and carries a 94.12% bonus rate, with her lone decision coming against Jael Miller on Nov. 11. The Miller win is also the only match where Welker gave up any points in a match where she did not pin her opponent. Miller, though, is not in the bracket. Welker previously teched her opening round opponent, An, and her potential quarterfinal opponent (if the bracket goes chalk), Kuge. She’s someone who brings leadership, confidence and experience into this first NCAA championships for Iowa.
Final Hawkeye to watch:
207 pounds: No. 5 Katja Osteen (22-1)
- Opening Match: No. 8 Maria Aiono (Presbyterian)
- Projected Quarterfinal: No. 4 Rewa Chababo (Wartburg)
A sleeper contender, Osteen comes in as the No. 5 seed with her only loss coming against Rewa Chababo of Wartburg at regionals 4-1. She could see Chababo again in the quarterfinals. Despite the five-seed, her record suggests she’s capable of pushing into the semifinals and possibly higher if she can overcome the Chababo hurdle. .
