McKendree Making History

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

Not only has McKendree won the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships three years in a row, they’re the only team to have won it in its three years of existence. With the win, Coach Sam Schmitz’s Bearcats enter elite company as only three other teams have accomplished the feat in women’s college wrestling, and two of those teams reached the four-peat.

Oklahoma City won four Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) Championships in a row from 2009-2012. King University did it again in the WCWA from 2014-2017. The University of the Cumberlands had a WCWA three-peat from 2006-2008. No one in the NAIA has won it more than once since their conception only four years ago, with Menlo winning it in the inaugural 2019 season and Campbellsville winning it last year. The 2020 NAIA tournament was cancelled.

While it should be noted that the WCWA was multi-divisional (NCAA, NAIA & NJCAA programs), and McKendree’s accomplishment was done in the single division of the NCAA, a look at the numbers will give some perspective. When Oklahoma City won their last national title in 2012, the WCWA only had 15 competing teams total. When King University won their last title in 2017, the WCWA had 30 teams participating. This year, there are 53 NCAA programs, though not all competed and some won’t even start until next season or the season after. Even so, there were 31 NCAA programs represented at this year’s NCWWC, meaning McKendree had one more team competing in the single NCAA division this year than King had in the multi-division WCWA in 2017. So both programs deserve their praise. And it should also be noted that the team that took second this year and almost took it away from McKendree was…King.

During McKendree’s run of success from 2020-2022, they’ve landed 13 national champions, 21 national finalists, and 36 total All-Americans. Here’s the list of champs, finalists, and All-Americans during the championship run of the last three years.

Pauline Granados (101): 2020 National Champion & 2021 National Finalist
Lizette Rodriguez (101): 2x All-American (3rd 2021, 3rd 2022)
Natalie Reyna (109): 3x All-American (7th 2020, 3rd 2021, 4th 2022)
Carly Valleroy (109): All-American (7th 2021)
Felicity Taylor (116): 3x National Finalist & 2021 National Champion (2nd 2020, 1st 2021, 2nd 2022)
Theresa Rankin (123): All-American (7th 2020)
Payton Stroud (123): 2x All-American (8th 2020, 5th 2021)
Alexia Ward (130): 2020 National Champion
Cameron Guerin (130): 2x National Champion (2021, 2022)
Emma Bruntil (136, 143): 2x National Champion (2020 at 136, 2021 at 143)
Brenda Reyna (136): 2021 National Champion
Michelle Camacho (136): All-American (4th 2021)
Skye Realin (136): All-American (4th 2022)
Emmily Patneaud (136): All-American (5th 2022)
Alara Boyd (143, 155): 3x National Finalist & 2021 National Champion (2nd 2020 at 143, 1st 2021 at 155, 2nd 2022 at 143)
Alexandria Glaude (155): 2020 National Champion
Kayla Marano (155): 2022 National Finalist
Joye Levendusky (155, 170): 2x National Finalist & 3x All-American (4th 2020 at 155, 2nd 2021 at 170, 2nd 2022 at 170)
Kori Bullock (170): All-American (5th 2020)
Andrea Sennett (170): All-American (6th 2020)
Grace Kristoff (170, 191): 2x All-American (3rd 2020 at 191, 4th 2022 at 170)
Sydnee Kimber (191): 3x National Champion (2020, 2021, 2022)
Jaycee Foeller (191): 2022 National Finalist

This begs a few questions.

First, looking at next season, can they do it again? Though Iowa is recruiting a powerhouse lineup and will likely enter the scene as contenders, they are not set to launch until the 2023-2024 season. And it sets the table for this drama…if McKendree wins again next season, will Iowa be the ones to stop their dynasty? Of course, King’s young all-star lineup will have something to say about that.

This also begs another question: Is this McKendree team the best all-time? If so, which one—2020, 2021, or 2022? The 2021 team had a whopping six national champions and eight total finalists. This year’s had two champs and seven finalists. Certainly the wrestling community will be split on this point, and votes will rightly be cast for King’s 2015 team that walloped 2nd place Campbellsville 269-196; a team that featured the Doi twins, 3x champ Haley Augello, Breonnah Neal, Forrest Molinari, Hanna Grisewood, and Jessi Kee. Or the 2012 Oklahoma City squad that ran away with the title over 2nd place King 141-91 featured names like 3x champ Michaela Hutchison, Kristi Marano-Davis, 4x champion Emily Webster, and the Delgado sisters. Or the 2018 Campbellsville program that won the WCWA title and had a lineup that included Grace Bullen, McKayla Campbell, Andribeth Rivera, Koral Sugiyama, and 4x champion Kayla Miracle.

The University of the Cumberlands 2006 team, Simon Fraser’s 2013 team, and Menlo’s 2020 program should also be in this conversation. The Cumberlands 2006 team featured now-US women’s coach Jessica Medina and Olympian/2x world champion Toccara Montgomery. Simon Fraser’s 2013 team featured six individual champions, including Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis who both became four-timers, and Danielle Lappage and Justina Distasio who were both three-timers. Menlo’s 2020 program had a stacked lineup that had won the WCWA and the NAIA the year before, but never had a chance to showcase what they were at Nationals during their peak year in 2020 as the NAIA was cancelled. Otherwise, they’d likely be included in the three-peat conversation.

Opinions will be numerous and varied as to McKendree’s place in history, but let’s stop and appreciate what Coach Sam Schmitz, his coaching staff, and his women are doing right now . Back-to-back-to-back is a rare feat and it might be a while before we see another program do that again.