Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
 
NWCA Team Rankings
NWCA Individual Rankings
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MANHEIM, Pa. (Jan. 15, 2025) – The North Central College women's wrestling team has maintained its slot as the No. 3 team in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Rankings, while the Cardinals see a lot of positive movement in the individual rankings as three wrestlers lock in the top ranking in their respective weight classes.
 
The top seven teams in the rankings remained the same, with Iowa landing the No. 1 spot with 120 points based on its individual rankings. McKendree University stayed No. 2 with 102 points, followed closely by North Central with 101 points. Grand Valley State University was fourth with 67 points and was trailed by King (41) in fifth, Presbyterian (36) in sixth, and Colorado Mesa (28) in seventh. Wartburg (23) moved up to eighth while Lehigh (21) and Aurora (10) closed out the top-10 rankings.
 
Kaelani Shufeldt locked in the No. 1 ranking at 110 pounds for the first time this season, making the jump from fourth in the last installment. Since the Dec. 19 rankings release, Shufeldt has compiled an 8-0 record through three competitions to bring her season total to 19-4. She won the 110 weight class at the Midlands Championships with a 4-0 record on the day before helping North Central to an exceptional NWCA National Duals title. Shufeldt won all three of her bouts at the duals, including upset wins over then No. 1 Gabrielle Tedesco (McKendree) and then No. 2 Nyla Valencia (Iowa).
 
Sara Sterner climbed into the top ranking at 124 pounds after winning the Midlands Championships with a 5-0 record that featured three technical falls, a pin and a decision. Sterner notched a pair of ranked wins in the National Duals, the first being a pin against then-fifth-ranked Cali Leng (Iowa) followed by a 3-3 decision win on criteria over top-ranked Shelby Moore (McKendree) in the final. Sterner, the program's all-time career pins leader (48), is 20-1 on the season.
 
Moving up and dominating in the 207 weight class, Shenita Lawson takes the top spot in the new weight class after ranking fourth at 180 pounds in the last NWCA rankings release. Lawson won the 180 weight class with four straight technical falls at the Midlands Championships at the end of December. She most recently won the 180-pound bout in the Cardinals' dual against Quincy in the NWCA National Duals quarterfinal before notching a dramatic win at 207 pounds in the dual finals. With North Central trailing heading into her bout, Lawson notched the 2-2 decision win on criteria over Tristan Kelly (McKendree), the 207 national champion a season ago, to secure the Cardinals' first NWCA National Duals title in program history.

At 103 pounds, Madison Avila has maintained her hold on the No. 7 ranking. Avila currently sits 16-9 on the year. Riley Rayome moved up one spot in the rankings and now sits fourth at 117 pounds. Rayome finished third at the Midlands Championships in December and notched an upset win over then-fourth-ranked Brianna Gonzalez (Iowa) at the NWCA National Duals.
 
Yele Aycock lands the fifth-spot at 131 pounds, after being ninth in the last release. Aycock finished third at the Midlands Championships with a 5-1 record on the day. She recorded two upset wins during the Cardinals run for the NWCA National Duals title both by way of decisions over the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked wrestlers at the time.
 
Claire DiCugno has made a big impact for the Cardinals since joining the squad at the start of the semester. DiCugno comes in at the No. 3 spot at 138 pounds following a first-place finish at the Midlands Championships, claiming all four wins on the day by way of technical falls. She added three wins at the National Duals including a decision win over the second-ranked wrestler, Haylie Jaffee of McKendree.

Bella Mir slipped to No. 2 in the rankings after hanging on to the top spot at 145 pounds all season. Mir defeated Siobhan Rogers (Quincy) in a 13-2 technical fall in the quarterfinal of the National Duals before facing a tough battle with then-second ranked Reese Larramendy (Iowa) in the semifinal with Larramendy claiming the decision win. Mir came back with a decision win in the final to end the weekend 2-1 while her overall season record sits at 6-1.

Taylor Graveman came in at No. 7 at 160 pounds after putting together a 3-4 record since the last rankings release. At 180 pounds, Jael Miller landed the No. 5 ranking after a second-place finish at the Midlands Championships with a 3-1 record. Her only loss at Midlands came at the hands of teammate Lawson. Miller added a 1-2 recorded at the National Duals, bringing her season record to 21-5.
 
Additionally, the NCAA has released the standings for the 2026 NCAA Women's Wrestling Awards. These will be awarded in March during the very first Women's Wrestling Championship with the three awards honoring the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes who have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. 
 
As of Jan. 14, North Central has three wrestlers in the standings. Miller ranks ninth in technical falls (10), while Taylor Miess is fifth in pins (13), and Natalie Klavetter is ninth