Sara Sterner holds off opponent at NCC Invite 2025
©Steve Woltmann

Women's Wrestling

Cardinals Claim Fourth Consecutive NCC Invite Title

Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302

Dec. 14, 2025 - The North Central College women's wrestling team captured its fourth consecutive North Central College Invitational title on Sunday at the Wilde Res/Rec Center after totaling 139 team points. The Cardinals totaled 14 place finishes and one individual champion in Sara Sterner. 

The University of Iowa and the University of Providence tied with 76.5 points apiece. Providence earned the second-place title via tiebreaker, while Iowa finished third overall.

In the 124-pound weight class, fourth-ranked Sara Sterner opened the day with back-to-back pins. Her first came at the 4:03 mark against Jada Hernandez of William Jewell College, followed by a quick 1:29 pin over Bella Devoto of Adams State. In her third bout, Sterner defeated Angelina Cassioppi of Chadron State by a 9-3 decision before securing an 11-0 technical fall over Rose Kaplan of Indiana Tech in the quarterfinal. Facing Iowa's Isabella Gonzales in the semifinal, Sterner racked up her third pin of the day at 2:26 to advance to the finals, where she claimed the 3-3 decision win on criteria over Molly Allen (Oklahoma State Club). 

At 110 pounds, fourth-ranked Kaelani Shufeldt opened the day with a 2:02 pin of Aurora's Sharon Moreno. Shufeldt then faced Makenzie Smith of Indiana Tech, where she delivered a 10-6 decision win to advance to the quarterfinal. Shufeldt defeated No. 7 Teegan Sibble (East Stroudsburg) by a 13-3 technical fall. She continued her run with a 5:45 pin against  Jaclyn Bouzakis (Unattached) in the semifinal. Shufeldt faced a tough matchup in the final, suffering a 10-7 decision loss to Morgan Turner (Unattached) to finish runner-up with a 4-1 record on the day. 

Riley Rayome opened the 117-pound bracket with a pair of 10-0 technical falls victories over Morgan Johnson of Colorado Mesa and Joely Slyter of Providence. She then defeated eighth-ranked Taylin Long of Aurora in a 10-2 decision in the quarterfinal, followed by a 10-3 decision over Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell) in the semifinal. Rayome faced Clare Booe (West Point Wrestling Club) in the finals, where Booe earned the 10-0 technical fall win. Rayome concluded the day 4-1 with a runner-up finish.

Fifth-ranked Grace Stem received a first-round bye in the 138-pound bracket before recording back-to-back 10-0 technical falls over Marissa Sanabria (Lindenwood) and Eleanor Dean (Oklahoma State). In her closest match of the day, Stem edged Lilly Luft of Iowa, getting the 6-5 decision at the buzzer to reach the finals. Stem ultimately finished runner-up after falling by a 10-0 technical fall to Claire DiCugno (Unattached).

Third-ranked Shenita Lawson opened the tournament at 180 pounds with a 12–2 technical fall over Clarissa Wangen (Northern Michigan). She followed with another 12–2 technical fall over teammate Jael Miller in the quarterfinals. Lawson advanced to the finals after a hard-fought 2–1 decision win over Kathryn Hingano (Southern Oregon) in the semifinals. Iowa's Katja Osteen handed Lawson her only loss of the day with a 10–1 decision in the finals, as Lawson placed second.

Miller finished the tournament with a 5-1 record and a third-place finish, with her only loss coming against Lawson. Miller recorded three pins and three ranked wins on the day. She opened with an 11-0 technical fall win over Maddison Ward (Grand Valley State) before dropping to the consolation bracket following her loss to Lawson in the quarterfinal match. Miller responded with a 1:29 pin over No. 9 Makayla Rivera (Lindenwood) and a 9-5 decision over No. 8 Isabella Phillips (Gannon). In the consolation semifinal, she pinned No. 6 Abbie Miles (Northern Michigan) before earning a third-place finish with her third pin of the day, this time over Hingano (1:44).

At 160 pounds, Sydney Perry received an opening-round bye before defeating Love Daley (Sacred Heart) by an 8-5 decision. Perry followed with a ranked win over No. 10 Sophia Bassino (Northern Michigan) in an 8-3 decision. She fell in the semifinals to Stella Stiegler by pin (4:49) but rebounded with a 3–2 decision over Janiya Johnson (Unattached). Perry concluded the tournament with a fourth-place finish after dropping a 6–5 decision to Bassino in the third-place match.

Fifth-ranked Caroline Ward posted a 4–1 record and a third-place finish at 207 pounds, recording two pins along the way. Ward opened with a 3:00 pin over Malia Martin (Lindenwood), followed by a 5:49 pin against Esther Peters (Chadron State). She suffered her only loss in the semifinals to No. 3 Eliana Bommarito (King) by pin (1:16) before closing the tournament with 6–1 and 5–0 decision victories to secure third place.

Also competing at 207 pounds, freshman Tirza TwoTeeth and senior Dasia Yearby finished fourth and fifth, respectively. TwoTeeth posted a 4–2 record, with both losses coming against ranked opponents. She earned a ranked victory with a 6–2 decision over No. 7 Aaliyah Grandberry (Grand Valley State). Yearby finished 3–2 on the day, good for fifth-place, while earning wins by fall, technical fall, and decision.

Seventh-ranked Madison Avila received a first-round bye at 103 pounds before edging Liana Ferreira (Southern Oregon) by a 4-3 decision. Avila followed with a 5-4 decision win over ninth-ranked Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) in the quarterfinals. She fell in the semifinals to Madison Nieuwenhuis (Unattached), 3-1, and then dropped another 3-1 decision to Zoey Haney (Indiana Tech), sending her to the fifth-place match against teammate Zurri Zamora. Zamora opened the day with a 12-2 technical fall over Brianna Vollendroff (Chadron State) before earning a 10-6 decision over Makayla Young (Indiana Tech). She fell to Nieuwenhuis by a 10-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals but rebounded with an 11-1 technical fall over No. 9 Genesis Ramirez (Aurora). Zamora later suffered a pin loss to No. 8 Mia Zuniga (Colorado Mesa), setting up the fifth-place bout. Avila earned a 10–0 technical fall win to place fifth, while Zamora finished sixth.

Fourth-ranked Taylor Graveman endured a long wait before opening competition at 160 pounds, where she secured a late 5:04 pin over Alexandra Lopez (Menlo). Graveman followed with a dominant 12–1 technical fall over Bo Geibe (Indiana Tech) before dropping a 7–4 decision to Daniella Nugent (Oklahoma State Club). She later fell to Bassino in an 11–11 decision on criteria, sending her to the fifth-place match. Graveman closed the day with a 1:19 pin over Janiya Johnson (Unattached) to finish fifth with a 3–2 record.

North Central will take a short break before returning to action at the Midlands Championships on Tuesday, Dec. 30, in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The event, hosted by Northwestern University, will be held at the NOW Arena.
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Players Mentioned

Madison Avila

Madison Avila

103
Senior
Taylor Graveman

Taylor Graveman

138
Junior
Shenita Lawson

Shenita Lawson

180
Senior
Sydney Perry

Sydney Perry

145
Sophomore
Kaelani Shufeldt

Kaelani Shufeldt

110
Senior
Sara Sterner

Sara Sterner

124
Graduate Student
Caroline Ward

Caroline Ward

207
Junior
Dasia Yearby

Dasia Yearby

207
Senior
Zurri Zamora

Zurri Zamora

103
Sophomore
Jael Miller

Jael Miller

180
Freshman
Riley Rayome

Riley Rayome

117
Freshman
Grace Stem

Grace Stem

138
Junior

Players Mentioned

Madison Avila

Madison Avila

Senior
103
Taylor Graveman

Taylor Graveman

Junior
138
Shenita Lawson

Shenita Lawson

Senior
180
Sydney Perry

Sydney Perry

Sophomore
145
Kaelani Shufeldt

Kaelani Shufeldt

Senior
110
Sara Sterner

Sara Sterner

Graduate Student
124
Caroline Ward

Caroline Ward

Junior
207
Dasia Yearby

Dasia Yearby

Senior
207
Zurri Zamora

Zurri Zamora

Sophomore
103
Jael Miller

Jael Miller

Freshman
180
Riley Rayome

Riley Rayome

Freshman
117
Grace Stem

Grace Stem

Junior
138