Change is inevitable. The year changes, the weather changes, and yes even top wrestlers change weights!
The end of 2022 saw the two NCWA Women's powerhouse teams battle it out in the Las Vegas Desert Duals. While the dual was pretty one-sided with Ottawa - Arizona coming out on top over Grays Harbor College 32-4, the top of the individual rankings didn't move very much...as the saying goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same...
The #1-ranked wrestlers in the NCWA Women's division are as follows: 101 - Hermelinda Mendoza (Jr, Ottawa-Arizona, 7-1), 109 - Daniela Suttles (Jr, Grand Canyon, 3-3), 116 - Brenna Andres (Sr, Winona State), 123 - Lauren Stone (Jr - Florida), 130 - Viveca Pannell (So, MIT, 6-3), 136 - Grace Miller (Jr, Grays Harbor, 12-5), 143 - Jocelyn Fierro (So, Grays Harbor), 155 - Maggie Palmore (Jr, Tampa), 170 - Maile Ka-ahanul (Jr, Liberty), 191 - Sarah Sams (Jr, MIT, 3-2), and 235 - Katie Moore (Jr, Stony Brook). Mendoza, Andres, Stone, Miller, Fierro, Palmore, Sams, and Moore are all returning National Champions at their respective weight classes. Pannell was previously ranked #2 at 123 but with a move to 130 is favored to win that weight.
The top-10 teams look similar to the first rankings of the year with the exception of newcomers Grand Canyon (AZ) and Pacific Lutheran (WA): #1 Ottawa - Arizona (62), #2 Grays Harbor (59), #3 Big Bend CC (26), #4 MIT (21), #5 Washington State (19), #6 Grand Canyon (15), #7 Western Washington (12), and 3 tied at #8 Colorado State, Pacific Lutheran, and Washington (9). While 7 of the #1 ranked wrestlers individually hail from East of the Mississippi, the overwhelming balance of power for teams lies out west with three teams representing the West Coast Conference and six teams representing the Northwest Conference (in fact all from the State of Washington).
For a full list of the newest NCWA Women's Division rankings click on READ MORE!