Contact: Matthew Eaker, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, mreaker@noctrl.edu 

NWCA Press Release 

Dec. 3, 2021 - North Central College women's wrestler Yelena Makoyed was named National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Northwest Region Wrestler of the Month this afternoon. 

Makoyed, a Junior from Orangevale, Calif, posted a 5-0 record in November with all of her wins against ranked opponents. She was the 170-pound champion at the Missouri Valley College Open on November 20th. After receiving a first round bye, Makoyed defeated the fourth ranked NCAA wrestler, Cheyenne Bowman of King University. She defeated the No. 1 ranked NAIA wrestler at 191 pounds, Elisa Robinson by a technical fall in the third round before taking out the 20th ranked NAIA wrestler at 155 pounds, Brooke-Lynn Rush in the quarterfinals. 

Makoyed would defeat Texas Wesleyan's Brittyn Corbishley who was ranked fifth in NAIA, by a technical fall in the semifinals and would head into the finals against McKendree's Joye Levendusky. Makoyed would finish the tournament with a 10-0 technical fall win over Levendusky, who was ranked third in the latest NWCA poll. 

Olivia Shore of Tiffin University was recognized as the Northeast Region wrestler of the month, Sage Mortimer of King University earned Southeast Region honors and Cameron Guerin of McKendree University earned Southwest Region honors. All four are now eligible for NWCA National Wrestler of the Month that will be announced on Tuesday, December 7.

Makoyed and the Cardinals are back in action on Sunday as they host the Indiana Tech University Warriors in a dual meet. The matches are set to start at 12:00 p.m. inside Gregory Arena. For live coverage of Sunday's meet, click HERE.

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