Jax Realin wraps up Augustana opponent's legs
©Steve Woltmann

Women's Wrestling

Qureshi, Ward Highlight Cardinals’ Day at Pointer Open

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

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Nov. 7, 2026) – The North Central College women's wrestling team traveled 34 Cardinals to compete at the Pointer Open hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday. Seven Cardinals advanced to the championship match of their brackets while five more competed in third-place bouts. 

In her first match donning the Red & White Anna DiCugno pinned Jamie Cook of Northern Michigan at the 3:36 mark to earn a spot in the 131-pound quarterfinal. DiCugno went on to defeat Kylee Kurszewski (Wartburg) via a 10-0 technical fall before claiming a 7-1 decision against UW-Stevens Point's Amelia Adams. DiCugno met Carissa Qureshi in the 131-pound final where Qureshi secured the win via a 10-0 technical fall. Qureshi earned her spot in the final with back-to-back pins over Emma Gruenhagen (Unattached) and teammate Me'Kala James early in the day. She then took down Emme Engels of Aurora via a 10-0 tech fall before winning the bracket against DiCugno. 

Caroline Ward claimed the 207 weight class bracket win with a 3-0 record on the day. She opened with an 8-1 win over Mia Cienega of Wartburg and won her semifinal bout by pinning Aarianna Bloyd of Simpson (0:43). In the championship match, Ward met teammate Tirza TwoTeeth. TwoTeeth notched two pins early in the day over Elizabeth Kalinay (Wartburg) and Maddie Hayden (Northern Michigan). She earned her spot in the final after a 12-2 technical fall against Autumn Calvert of Simpson. A close battle between the Cardinals resulted in a 5-0 decision win for Ward to win the weight class while TwoTeeth finished second. 

At 110 pounds, Bri Graves went 2-1 on the day recording two decision wins before falling in the 1st-place match to Isabel Kaplan of Simpson via a 15-4 technical fall as Graves took second place in her bracket. 

Also earning second place finishes in their weight classes was Mikayla Garcia at 117 pounds and Jax Realin at 138 pounds. Garcia finished the day 3-1 after earning a pin in her first match of the day before claiming two technical falls in the quarter and semifinal rounds. Realin also finished 3-1 on the day, opening with a 4-3 decision against Wartburg's Kiara Djoumessi and following it up with an 11-0 technical fall over Cailyn Whittier (Wartburg) in the quarterfinal. Realin closed out the day with a pair of ranked matchups. Realin defeated third-ranked Kylie Birchman (Wartburg) via a 5-0 decision but fell to seventh-ranked Sophia Ball (Aurora) in the first-place match. 

Third-place finishes came from Tylene Tran at 110 pounds (4-1), Me'Kala James at 131 pounds (5-1) and Aleksandra Bastaic at 145 pounds (5-1).

North Central is set to host its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 10 for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin dual against Illinois Wesleyan University at 6 p.m. at Gregory Arena inside Merner Field House. 
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Players Mentioned

Mikayla Garcia

Mikayla Garcia

117
Junior
Bri Graves

Bri Graves

103
Junior
Carissa Qureshi

Carissa Qureshi

131
Senior
Jax Realin

Jax Realin

131
Sophomore
Tirza TwoTeeth

Tirza TwoTeeth

207
Sophomore
Caroline Ward

Caroline Ward

207
Senior
Aleksandra Bastaic

Aleksandra Bastaic

145
Freshman
Anna DiCugno

Anna DiCugno

131
Junior
Me

Me'Kala James

131
Freshman
Tylene Tran

Tylene Tran

110
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Mikayla Garcia

Mikayla Garcia

Junior
117
Bri Graves

Bri Graves

Junior
103
Carissa Qureshi

Carissa Qureshi

Senior
131
Jax Realin

Jax Realin

Sophomore
131
Tirza TwoTeeth

Tirza TwoTeeth

Sophomore
207
Caroline Ward

Caroline Ward

Senior
207
Aleksandra Bastaic

Aleksandra Bastaic

Freshman
145
Anna DiCugno

Anna DiCugno

Junior
131
Me

Me'Kala James

Freshman
131
Tylene Tran

Tylene Tran

Freshman
110