The top-ranked Iowa women’s wrestling program took a successful trip to Illinois on Sunday at the North Central College Invitational. Six Hawkeyes placed in the top five, including fifth-year Katja Osteen, wrestling at the 180-pound weight class, who collected her first title since last season’s Grand View Open on Feb. 1, 2025.

Iowa nabbed eight ranked wins over the course of competition, four of which came courtesy of the Osteen, who hails from Simi Valley, California. Meanwhile, three of the Hawkeyes’ six placing wrestlers were first-years.

At 117 pounds, first-year Harlee Hiller placed fourth, collecting ranked wins that included a 10-6 decision over North Central and, after a 2:21 bout, a fall over Aurora. 

First-year Isabella Marie Gonzales placed fifth in the 124-pound bracket, posting wins over Colorado Mesa, Tarleton State, and Indiana Tech.

At 131 pounds, first-year Bella Williams placed the highest of Iowa’s first-years, nabbing a third-place finish in her bracket. After losing, 6-0, to No. 4-ranked Virginia Foard of King, Williams found her footing with an 8-2 decision win over King’s Ruby Julien-Newsom and an 8-7 decision over Oklahoma State to place.

Third-year Lilly Luft and fourth-year Ella Schmit were Iowa’s first upperclassmen to place in Naperville, claiming the fourth and fifth place slots at 138 pounds. 

After a 6-5 loss to No. 5-ranked Grace Stem of North Central, Luft bested her teammate with a fall after 4:12 of competition. Meanwhile, Schmit nabbed another ranked win for the Hawkeyes, claiming a win by fall over No. 7-ranked Jacinda Espinosa in 2:40.

Despite being knocked out of the 138-pound bracket early on by Faith Burgess of Davenport, third-year Danni Swihart racked up four consecutive wins to emerge champion of the consolation bracket, including two falls, the latter of which came in 41 seconds.

With the 180-pound action underway, Osteen took down No. 8-ranked Isabella Phillips of Gannon with a 7-1 decision. The fifth-year then collected falls over Adrian College and Northern Michigan, besting both opponents in a combined 2:24.

Finally, after facing off against No. 3-ranked Shenita Lawson of North Central, Osteen emerged with the 10-1 decision to claim Iowa’s sole title of the competition.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes return to Iowa for this season’s National Duals in Cedar Falls, taking place Jan. 9-10. The matches are set to commence at 10:00 a.m.