NCAA College Preview Series: #1 McKendree

McKendree head coach Sam Schmitz. Photo courtesy of Jim Thrall / MatFocus.com

Pauline Granados last year at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

It’s hard to keep up with McKendree and all the accolades. Besides all they’ve done on the college scene the last few years, winning back to back national titles, their program continues to produce wrestlers who are making their mark on the USA Wrestling scene as well. Even now as I write this, two of their team members are competing in Belgrade at U23 Worlds (Bruntil and Marano).

Their firepower and depth were on display last year at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships when they came home with six national titles, had a total of eight finalists, and a whopping 14 All-Americans. Not only did they have All-Americans at every weight, they had multiple All-Americans at four weights. You could argue that last year’s team was one of the best women’s college teams of all-time.

Though the squad lost 2x national champion Alex Glaude (now at Beaver Dam RTC in Oregon), they added 2021 NCAA finalist Kayla Marano, who transferred in the offseason from Emmanuel.

Here’s an interview with NWCA NCAA Coach of the Year, Sam Schmitz.

1. What are your reflections on last season?
“Last year was difficult. It was stressful to balance Covid and competition; when we will be traveling; when we will have to test to travel, etc. By the end of the year, we were tired. Not the normal wrestling season tired—exhausted from the weight of it all.”

2. Talk about your returning class. Who are some of the women you have high expectations for this year?
“We have some great returners; we have six returning champs. It's still up in the air if we will use some new faces this year. We want to make sure we are preparing the next generation to carry the load. They need to get out of the shadow of some of our older, more seasoned wrestlers. Better time than any to try that.”

McKendree’s returning champs & All-Americans:
101 – Pauline Granados (2020 national champ & 2021 finalist)
101 - Lizette Rodriguez (3rd in 2021)
109 – Natalie Reyna (3rd in 2021)
109 - Carly Valleroy (7th in 2021)
116 – Felicity Taylor (2021 national champ & 3x All-American)
116 – Aliyah Rollins (5th in 2020 at WCWA)
123 – Payton Stroud (5th in 2021 & 2x All-American)
130 – Cameron Guerin (2021 national champ)
136 – Brenda Reyna (2021 national champ & 3x All-American)
136 – Michelle Camacho (4th in 2021)
143 – Emma Bruntil (2x national champion)
155 – Alara Boyd (2021 national champ & 2020 finalist)
155 – Kayla Marano (2021 finalist for Emmanuel & 3x All-American)
170 – Joye Levendusky (2021 finalist & 3x All-American)
191 – Sydnee Kimber (2x national champion)
191 – Grace Kristoff (3rd in 2021)

3. Talk about your incoming freshmen class.
“We are excited about all our freshman. We have some great ones. The best part, they are great for our program. We think they will be huge contributors, as soon as they buy in and let it fly. They will surprise themselves, along with everyone they compete against.”

Top recruits:
Jaycee Foeller (170) finished HS career ranked #1 in USAW/FloWrestling poll
Hannah Hall (116) finished HS ranked #4 in USAW/FloWrestling poll
Amiyah Hart (116) finished HS ranked #16 in USAW/FloWrestling poll

4. How do you feel about your preseason?
“Preseason went well, we kept giving our ladies challenges. They stepped right up and accepted everything they were faced with. We've never had that before; we have some leaders emerging from the background, the next few years will be a lot of fun. New leaders to follow, new faces getting their hand raised.”

5. Talk about some of your team's goals this season. Are there any specific events you're excited about?
“Continue to be better, we must recommit ourselves to the process. Our goal is to find the love for the process again. If we can find that, the competitions will take care of themselves. I think we are always looking ahead to make world teams and battle on the world stage. With that mindset, we use season competition as a constant evaluation to see how committed to the process we have been. We must keep tweaking and fixing so we don't become complacent.”

6. What are some things you've built into your program that you credit for the success you've had so far?
“Making leaders lead, we would have never arrived if it wasn't for the framework that was built by alumni and current leaders on our squad. It takes EVERYONE. These kids are warriors, they battle and fight, their smart, they care about their teammates, they try to grow and develop every day. We want to make great people out of this program, if they are great wrestlers too, that's a bonus.”

7. Who are some of the personalities in the room that are providing leadership and shaping your culture?
“Natalie Reyna, she has seen it all. She knows what a leader looks like, and she is shaping to be a great one. With her on-the-mat leadership and coach Gabby's constant time and energy spent with our athletes, good things will keep happening for McKendree.”

8. Anything else you'd like to mention?
“Wish everyone a great season, hopefully it's free and fun!”