Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication
 
NWCA Preseason Team Rankings
NWCA Preseason Individual Rankings
 
MANHEIM, Pa. (Oct. 16, 2025) – Following a season that saw North Central College women's wrestling take second at last year's National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCWWC), the Cardinals enter the 2025-2026 season ranked third as a program according to the annual National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) preseason coaches' poll rankings, its first NCAA rankings poll ahead of the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships that will be held in March. North Central has nine individuals ranked in their respective weight classes.
 
The Cardinals totaled 84 points in the preseason poll to sit third while 2025 national champion, the University of Iowa, tops the poll with 109 points. McKendree University's 88 points narrowly edged out North Central, as the Bearcats took second in the poll. Grand Valley State University took fourth with 77 points and Presbyterian College rounded out the top-five with 57 points.
 
North Central closed out the 2025-26 season with a runner-up finish at the NCWWC National Championships with two national champions in recent graduates Sydney Petzinger and Amani Jones. The Cardinals produced 12 All-Americans a season ago and enter this season with nine wrestlers individually ranked in their weight classes, the second most in the nation behind Iowa's 10.
 
For the second consecutive year, Madison Avila has entered the season ranked third in the 103-pound weight class. Avila earned her third All-American honor at last year's championships with a seventh-place finish. Kaelani Shufeldt looks to make an impact for the Cardinals this season, coming in ranked third at 110-pounds.
 
Entering her fourth season donning the Red and White, Sara Sterner ranks fourth in the 124-weight class. Sterner became a three-time All-American with a hard-fought runner-up finish at the 2025 Championships. After not competing in the 2024-25 season, Yele Aycock returns for her fifth year as the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the 131-weight class. Aycock is a two-time All-American, netting her most recent honor with a runner-up finish at the 2024 National Championships at 136-pounds.
 
In the 138-weight class, junior Taylor Graveman ranks fourth after claiming her second straight All-American honor with a fifth-place finish a season ago. She finished the season with a  23-9 record.
 
Bella Mir comes in as the Cardinals sole top-ranked wrestler at 145 pounds. Mir had multiple tight battles at the national championships on her way to a runner-up finish and All-American nod. She finished the season with a 22-3 record while recording 11 pins and eight technical falls.

Moving up weight classes this season, Sydney Perry ranks seventh in the 160-weight class. Perry lead the team with a 32-5 record in the 2024-25 season at 145 pounds and achieved her first All-American honor with an eighth-place finish at the championships.
 
Shenita Lawson earned All-American status with a fourth-place finish in the 180-weight class at the national tournament. This year, she ranks third nationally according to the preseason poll after a season that saw her post a 27-6 record with a team-leading 15 technical falls.
 
Rounding out the Cardinals' ranked individuals is Dasia Yearby who ranks seventh in the 207-weight class. Yearby made her nationals debut last season after posting 29-4 overall and notching a team-leading 17 pins.
 
North Central is set to begin its 2025-26 season at the Pointer Open, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday, Nov. 1. To view the full season schedule, click HERE.