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

NWCA Release
 
MANHEIM, Pa. (March 16, 2026) – Following a historic season and the first NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships, the North Central College women's wrestling team placed 20 Cardinals on the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-America list.
 
A total of 540 student-athletes representing 92 institutions were recognized for their academic success in the classroom while competing throughout the season. North Central tied with Presbyterian College for the second-most honorees with 20, just behind Wartburg College's 21 selections.
 
Senior Sara Sterner (124) and graduate student Yele Aycock (131) join an exclusive group of Cardinals who have earned Scholar All-America honors four times, becoming the fifth and sixth individuals in program history to do so. Sterner, a sociology major, went 28-2 this season and earned All-America honors as the third-place finisher at this year's national championship. Aycock, who is working toward her master's degree in sports leadership, posted a 19-11 record this season while earning a spot in the national lineup. Dasia Yearby (207), a sociology major, and Amaya Yoshizumi (117), a journalism major, round out the senior class earning Scholar All-America honors. Yearby earns the honor for the second time in her career after posting a 22-8 record in her senior campaign with 14 pins. Yoshizumi produced a 9-7 record in her senior season.

Taylor Graveman (160) collected her third Scholar All-America nod as a psychology major. The junior made the NCAA lineup and compiled a 21-10 record on the year. Also earning the award for the third time in their careers were Bella Bolek (124) and Taylor Miess (138). Bolek, a nutrition major, posted a 17-11 record during her junior campaign. Miess, a philosophy major, finished 27-13 in her junior season and tied for the team lead with 22 pins. Juniors Carissa Qureshi (124), a political science major, and Grace Stem (138), a psychology major, each earned the distinction for the first time.

Three sophomores claimed the honor for excellence in the classroom and on the mats, including Mikayla Garcia (117), Gracie Guarino (124), and Eliana Paramo (110). All three earned the distinction for the second straight year. Garcia, an exercise science major, finished the season with a 22-8 record while recording 11 technical falls and eight pins. Guarino, also an exercise science major, went 14-7 in her second season for the Cardinals. Paramo, a nutrition major, compiled a 22-8 record in her sophomore year with 10 technical falls and seven pins.

Eight Cardinals from the freshman class earned Scholar All-America honors, including Milana Borrelli (131), Mackenzie Conklin (207), Jael Miller (180), Layla Morris (124), Riley Rayome (117), Elizabeth Rosenstiel (145), Mallory Winner (160), and London Woods (131). The freshman class enjoyed significant success this season, led by College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) champion Jael Miller, who recorded a 23-5 record, and Rayome, who finished 27-6 and earned All-America honors as the NCAA national runner-up.

The Cardinals finished the season in third place at the inaugural NCAA Championships with seven All-Americans and one national champion. North Central also won its first NWCA National Duals title and claimed team championships at both the Region IV Championships and the CCIW Championships.