Kaelani Shufeldt picks up opponent over her shoulder
©Steve Woltmann

Women's Wrestling

Five Firsts Propel Cardinals at Midlands Championships

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

Results

EVANSTON, Ill. (Dec. 30, 2025) - In the final meet of the 2025 portion of its schedule, the third-ranked North Central College women's wrestling team produced 17 place-finishers and five individual champions at the Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The Cardinals won the meet as a team with 173.5 team points on Tuesday, Dec. 30. 

Life University took second as a program with 150 points while Indiana Tech was third with 81 points. Aurora finished fourth with 72.5 points and Lehigh was fifth with 55 points to close out the top-five teams in the 18-team field.

Fourth-ranked Kaelani Shufeldt had an exceptional day on the mats, recording two wins by pin and two more by technical fall to claim the 110-pound weight class victory. Shufeldt opened the day with a presiding 12-2 technical fall over Sharon Moreno of Aurora to earn a spot in the quarterfinal match where she defeated teammate Eliana Paramo with a 2:01 pin. In the semifinal match, Shufeldt took down Riley Karwowski (Wyoming Seminary) in a 10-0 technical fall before meeting Kayla Batres (Unattached) in the first place match. Shufeldt came away with the win by pin (4:02) to complete a 4-0 day.

Third-ranked Sara Sterner picked up another tournament win with a 5-0 record in the 124-pound weight class. Sterner, who became the program's all-time pins leader at the Cardinals' home tournament a few weeks ago with 46, added to that total today with one win by pin to go along with three tech falls, and a decision. A 10-0 tech fall over Emily Caton (Otterbein) kicked off Sterner's day. She needed just 16 seconds to pin Alexa Cilliotta (Lehigh) in the second round and continued her run with an 11-0 tech fall over Emma Engels of Aurora. Sterner's closest match of the day was a 7-2 decision over Calli Gilchrist (Brown) before capping off the day with an 11-0 tech fall against Rose Kaplan (Indiana Tech) in the first-place match.

In the 180-weight class, fourth-ranked Shenita Lawson took first-place on four-straight technical fall wins. Lawson did not allow a single point scored against her until the first-place match where she met teammate Jael Miller. Miller, who ultimately finished as the runner-up in the 180 bracket, made it to the first-place match with one pin, one tech fall, and one decision to finish the day 3-1 with her only loss being to Lawson in a 12-2 tech fall. 

Claire DiCugno, wrestling in a Cardinal singlet for the first time, claimed the 138-pound bracket win in a quick 4-0 day. After a first round bye, DiCugno cruised to four-straight technical fall wins, fitting for the graduate student who set the career tech fall record at her previous institution during her undergraduate years. Two of DiCugno's wins were over ranked opponents including teammate and fifth-ranked Grace Stem and No. 9 Sophia Ball of Aurora. 

Stem received a bye in the opening round of the 138-weight class before claiming her first time of the day with a 14-4 technical fall against Charlotte Gilfoil (Lock Haven). A quarterfinal matchup against Kryssceah Ravelle (Lehigh) saw Stem earn the 12-1 technical fall win to advance to the semifinal where she recorded a 2:14 pin against Zaynah McBryde (Life). Stem's only loss of the day was to teammate DiCugno in the first-place match. 

At 117-pounds, Mikayla Garcia posted a runner-up finish with a 3-1 record on the day. Garcia matched up with Hollis Nelson of UW-Stevens Point to start the day, where Garcia earned the 2:17 pin to advance to quarterfinals. A 10-0 technical fall win over Angela LoRusso (Bulldog Wrestling Club) sent Garcia to the semifinal where she won by an 8-1 decision over Taylor Whiting (Unattached). Garcia's only loss of the day came in the finals at the hands of No. 2 NAIA ranked Salyna Shotwell of Life University.

Also wrestling in the 117-pound bracket, newly fifth-ranked Riley Rayome turned in a third place finish on a 4-1 day. Rayome kicked off the day with a 10-0 technical fall over Journie Rodriguez of Lock Haven before pinning Hailey Hatfield of Otterbein (2:32) in the quarterfinals. Shotwell (Life) scored the pin against Rayome in the semifinal, sending the freshman to the consolation bracket. Rayome faced Rodriguez once more, this time taking the win by fall (1:41). In the third-place match, Rayome secured a 5-2 decision win against Taylor Whiting (Unattached) to close out her day. 

Ninth-ranked Yele Aycock placed third at 131-pounds with a 5-1 record on the day. A pin over Cera Philson (UW-Stevens Point) early in the day sent Aycock to the second round to face Kira Cole of Otterbein. A tough battle saw the match end in a 2-2 decision win by criteria in favor of Aycock. In the quarterfinal match, Aycock claimed a 6-2 win by decision over No. 5 (NAIA) Olivia Mottley (Life) before falling to No. 6 Aubre Krazer (Lehigh) in a 10-1 decision in the semifinal — Aycock's only loss on the day. In the consolation bracket, Aycock came back with a 10-0 technical fall win and followed it up with a 5-2 decision win in a rematch with Mottley in the third-place match.

North Central had four wrestlers in the 207 bracket, with three placing in the top-four. Freshman Tirza TwoTeeth won the weight class with a 3-0 record. TwoTeeth recorded two wins by pin over Hennessy Balderrama (McMurray) (0:41) and Madeline Welch (Life) (2:00) and recorded a 10-2 decision win over teammate Dasia Yearby. Yearby ultimately finished third with a 3-1 record on the day, with all three of her wins being by pin. Caroline Ward finished fourth overall with a 2-2 record.

Madison Avila (103) , Lynn Horn (138), and Sydney Perry (160) each turned in fifth-place finishes in their respective weight classes, while Natalie Klavetter (145), and Elizabeth Rosenstiel (160) each placed sixth.

North Central closed out the 2025 portion of its schedule and is set to return to action in the New Year when the Cardinals travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the NWCA National Duals for a two-day event on Jan. 9-10.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Madison Avila

Madison Avila

103
Senior
Yele Aycock

Yele Aycock

131
Graduate Student
Mikayla Garcia

Mikayla Garcia

117
Sophomore
Shenita Lawson

Shenita Lawson

180
Senior
Eliana Paramo

Eliana Paramo

110
Sophomore
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
Claire DiCugno

Claire DiCugno

138
Graduate Student
Lynn Horn

Lynn Horn

131
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Madison Avila

Madison Avila

Senior
103
Yele Aycock

Yele Aycock

Graduate Student
131
Mikayla Garcia

Mikayla Garcia

Sophomore
117
Shenita Lawson

Shenita Lawson

Senior
180
Eliana Paramo

Eliana Paramo

Sophomore
110
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
Claire DiCugno

Claire DiCugno

Graduate Student
138
Lynn Horn

Lynn Horn

Freshman
131