The Iowa women’s wrestling squad clinched the national dual championship at the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, over the weekend. 

The Hawkeyes defeated King University in the semifinal round, before advancing to the finals against North Central College, who won last season’s event. 

Iowa defeated North Central by a narrow score of 21-20 to clinch the national title in its first season as a program. 

“This is what we want for women’s wrestling. It was a very competitive match, and to have two top programs battling is what is good for the sport,” Iowa head coach Clarissa Chun told Hawkeye Sports. 

Semifinals 

Iowa got off to a fast start in the semifinal match against King, and the momentum carried the Hawkeyes to a 31-8 victory. 

Sterling Dias knocked off Mia Zuniga in the 101 match to give Iowa an early advantage. Ava Bayless responded with a win over Danielle Garcia via decision to pad the Hawkeyes’ lead. 

Brianna Gonzalez and Felicity Talor earned victories via decision at 116 and 123 pounds, respectively.

Iowa then hit a speed-bump as King’s Victoria Baez-Dilone handed the Hawkeyes their first defeat of the day with a dominating victory over Emily Frost.  

The Tornado continued their sudden surge when Claire DiCugno dispatched Lilly Luft via technical fall. 

But, Reese Larramendy showed some resilience and got Iowa back on the winning side with a 7-0 triumph over Yasmine Oliveira. 

From there, the Hawkeyes put the dual on cruise control to clinch a spot in the finals. 

National champs 

In the other semifinal, No. 1 seeded North Central College handily defeated McKendree University, 32-9, to advance to the finals. 

The highly-anticipated bout between the Cardinals and No. 2 Hawkeyes didn’t disappoint as it came down to the wire. 

Dias got the Iowa faithful on its feet with a dominating 11-0 victory over Maddie Avila to give the Hawks an early lead. Dias finished the weekend 4-0. 

Bayless joined the party with a win over Jaslynn Gallegos at 109 pounds. It looked like the Hawkeyes would take over the dual, a common theme of this season. 

But, the Cardinals had other ideas. 

Sydney Petzinger got North Central on the board with a win over Brianna Gonzalez in the 116 bout. At 123 pounds, top-ranked Amani Jones knocked off Felicity Taylor, 12-3, to give the Cardinals more momentum. 

Frost and Luft lost their respective matches at 130 and 136, and the Hawkeyes were officially in some trouble, with only a few bouts to go. 

But, Iowa had some fight left in them. 

Larramendy dispatched Alara Boyd at 143 pounds, and Marlynne Deede fed off of the surge with a critical fall over London Houston. 

At 170, Kylie Welker defeated Yelena Makoyed, 11-3, to give Iowa a 20-17 lead and set up the biggest bout of the day. 

The 191 battle between Jaycee Foeller and NC’s Traeh Haynes was one-sided, as Haynes earned a 6-1 victory. 

But, Foeller picked up a crucial passivity point, which may occur when one’s opponent is not actively attempting to score or fleeing the mat. This allowed the Hawkeyes to cross the finish line 21-20 and clinch the national championship. In freestyle wrestling, an individual can earn a team point if they lose a match by decision or technical superiority but still score. 

Though Iowa looked dead in the water for a while, Chun emphasized how hard her wrestlers work every day. The Hawkeyes lost five matches but recorded a point in all 10, showing a resilience that has defined this group all season.

“Every point matters,” Chun said. “Without Marlynne’s pin or Jaycee’s passivity point, who knows what could have happened. Any team can win on any given day, and today was our day.”