Top 15 NCAA Freshmen to Watch at Cliff Keen NCWWC

North Central freshman Sydney Petzinger. Photo courtesy of North Central Athletics.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: AWWderek

The national invite for NCAA programs, the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, is just around the corner, March 4-5. This will be the third year of the event since its inauguration in 2020, created by the coalition of NCAA women’s programs—the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association. This year the event will return to Adrian, Michigan, the site of its launch in 2020.

The landscape of women’s college wrestling has changed a lot over the last year, with in influx of freshmen that are legitimate national and All-American contenders. Here’s our top 15.

Honorable mentions: Honorable mentions: Solana Mottola (Tiffin), Julianne Moccia (Gannon), Sara Sulejmani (North Central), Kendra Ryan (North Central), Tiera Jimerson (North Central College), Jade Herzer (Wisconsin Stevens Point), Tiffani Baublitz (King University), Ashley Reed (Sacred Heart)

15. Riley Aamold of North Central College (143)
The winner of the Northwest Regional has been tough all year, and seems to be getting better as Nationals approaches. With several wins over All-Americans this season, she’s proven that she’s a podium threat at Nationals this year.

14. Maddie Mackenzie of Simon Fraser University (101)
The SFU freshman is undefeated, though perhaps a bit untested as the Canadian-based program has had limited competition other than the West Coast. Even so, she’s for real and a deep run seems imminent.

13. Katja Osteen of Simon Fraser University (191)
A tough 191 that won the Northwest Regional. Again her matches have been limited to the West Coast, though when she finally hit some other opponents at the regional, she won the whole thing. She also had a close match this season with Menlo’s 2x national finalist Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson 5-1. Heidelberg-Tillotson is a transfer from King, where she was national runner-up twice.

12. Sydney Petzinger of North Central College (109)
She has some big wins, including a tech fall over Tiffin’s Olivia Shore when Shore bumped up for the match in their December dual. She’s also competitive against top-tier, accomplished college wrestlers, including an 8-5 loss to Junior/U23 world champion Emily Shilson 8-5. Other than that, her only losses are to McKendree All-American Natalie Reyna, and previous national champions Asia Ray and Pauline Granados.

11. Jaycee Foeller of McKendree University (191)
Foeller seemed to win everything this year, including the prestigious Missouri Valley Open. In fact, her only loss came at the hands of her own teammate last weekend at the Southwest Regional, 2x national champion Sydnee Kimber, a 10-0 tech fall. So though it doesn’t seem like a national title is likely, she might be the second best 191 in the country right now. Stay tuned.

10. Amani Jones of North Central College (123)
The junior national teamer is already ranked #4 in the NCAA. She took a forgivable loss to college and Senior level veteran Alex Hedrick in the Northwest Regional, but she also had a 12-1 win over All-American Gabby Skidmore. Yep, she’s no joke. Competing in a deep weight class, she has upset potential and look for her to claim a spot on the podium.

9. Claire DiCugno of Colorado Mesa University (130)
The star Colorado Mesa recruit, coming off an appearance at Junior Worlds last summer, hit the NCAA rankings at #3 in January. She took a lopsided loss to national champ Cam Guerin at the regional, but the Maverick freshman is a top 3-5 threat for sure.

8. Sage Mortimer of King University (116)
The wrestling community watched with eager eyes as one of the darlings of the wrestling community, Sage Mortimer, hit the college mats this season. She hasn’t disappointed, with highlight-worthy clips of Mortimer blast-offs going viral on FloWrestling, Wreaper, and AWW earlier this season. She won the Missouri Valley Open and the North Central Open, but then came back to earth a bit when she hit returning national champion Felicity Taylor at National Duals, losing by tech fall. She took another loss to USAW national teamer Jaslynn Gallegos in the finals at the Southeast Regional 8-5, but seems poised to contend for a spot in the finals next weekend in Adrian. And don’t blink, because you might miss a rocket.

7. Skye Realin of McKendree University (136)
The Hawaiian, ranked #3 in the NCAA, had two close losses to #2 ranked returning national finalist Ana Luciano, 8-5 and 7-4. That would lead one to think she’s a contender, not only for the podium, but for a national title. The McKendree program has a way of making you the super hero version of yourself. Let’s see if she’s closed the gap when she hits the national stage.

6. Samara Chavez of King University (109)
Ranked #2 behind Shilson, she has the poise and technique of a wily veteran, entering the college scene from her Texas days ready to compete and contend. Shilson seems to be too much for her, but she’s not an easy out for anyone.

5. Cayden Condit of Lindenwood University (123)
Yes, she lost to #2 ranked Marissa Gallegos in the regional final, but lots of women have lost to Gallegos over the last year, including returning national champ Cheyenne Sisenstein. Condit has earned a #5 NCAA ranking with a dominant performance this season, her only losses to top opponents. She doesn’t seem to be at the level of Hedrick, Gallegos, or Sisenstein (yet), but look for a top 5 finish from the freshman.

4. Montana Delawder of King University (130)
You saw it, right? She handed returning national champ Cam Guerin her first college loss ever when they met in the team final at National Duals. Not sure if we’ll get a rematch, as this weight class is deep, including the first appearance by Junior world teamer Mia Macaluso (East Stroudsburg), but #1 ranked Delawder will be fun to watch in Adrian and a favorite to make the final.

3. Blanche `Nina` Kemu Makem of Augsburg University (136)
Wow. The Cameroon immigrant is ranked #5 at 136, though she now owns a win over previous #1 Ana Luciano 6-0 at National Duals. She did fall to current #1 Zoe Nowicki 9-4 at the same event, but she’s certainly entered tier 1 in this weight class. I’m sure it will not be good news for anyone unlucky enough to draw her in early rounds.

2. Olivia Shore of Tiffin (101)
She’s been great for the Dragons this season, and you might remember her last second win in the finals of the Missouri Valley Open over Providence’s Iverly Navarro. Shore’s only loss this season was to North Central’s Sydney Petzinger when she bumped up to 109 for the match, but she’s undefeated at 101, including wins over #4 Jaclyn McNichols and #8 Katerina Pendergrass.

1. Cheyenne Bowman of King University (170)
3x California state champ Bowman climbed to #1 this season with wins over #1 Yelena Makoyed 9-6, the returning national champion, and #3 Joye Levendusky, the returning national runner-up, 3-2 and 5-2. This weight will be fun to watch in Adrian, as the stage is now set for rematches against top NCAA women with a national title on the line.