5 NAIA Weekend Takeaways

Opening weekend of the NAIA women’s wrestling season is in the books. The Falcon Open in Park City, Kansas, the home of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Championships, featured 10 teams ranked in the HerMat NAIA tournament rankings. Several of the NAIA’s top programs and wrestlers also tested themselves against NCAA competition, including two-time defending national champion Life University, which opened its season with a dual against King.

Below are five takeaways from the NAIA’s opening weekend.

Top-ranked Jansing dominant

Oklahoma City’s Avery Jansing, formerly Avery Ashley, looked every bit like a No. 1 in her season debut. Jansing, ranked No. 1 at 110 pounds by HerMat and No. 5 in HerMat’s pound-for-pound rankings, rolled to the Falcon Open title on Friday, going 4-0 with four technical superiorities. She outscored her opponents 44-2, and three of the four were ranked. Jansing opened with an 11-0 win over Garden City’s Emjay Marez in 1:03, then topped No. 12 Megan Morales of Wayland Baptist 10-0. She beat No. 11 De’yton Young of Missouri Baptist 12-2 in 1:16 in the semifinals before blanking No. 15 Ava Ward of Missouri Valley 11-0 in the finals. Young’s two points were the only ones anyone scored on Jansing all day. Jansing has been one of the NAIA’s top lightweights for years. She placed fifth and sixth at 116 pounds in 2023 and 2024, then reached the national finals at 110 pounds last March, finishing as the runner-up. If the opening weekend was any indication, Jansing looks primed to capture that elusive national title.

Highly ranked NAIA wrestlers stumble on opening weekend

Five wrestlers ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the HerMat NAIA rankings lost this weekend, each to an NCAA wrestler. At the Tiffin Open, Lindsey Wilson’s Jeila Ramos, No. 1 at 131 pounds, was pinned in 6:15 by McKendree’s Alexandra Szkotnicki, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA rankings. Ramos rebounded to place third. Evergreen State’s Haley Le, No. 1 at 138 pounds, was pinned in 1:40 by Simon Fraser’s Laura Alcantar Soto, ranked No. 20 in the NCAA, in a dual. Bismarck State’s Rei Ogden, No. 2 at 124 pounds, went 1-2 at the Luther Hill Open, getting pinned by Tatiana Paragas, who competes unattached for Iowa State, and Simpson’s Ashley Cannon, ranked No. 13 in the NCAA. Lindsey Wilson’s Kori Campbell, No. 2 at 145 pounds, went 2-2 at the Tiffin Open, falling 12-12 on criteria to Frostburg State’s Ailee Briggs and 6-2 to Indiana Tech’s Charisma Lawrence. Life U’s Janida Garcia, No. 2 at 131 pounds, dropped a 9-1 decision to King’s Virginia Foard, ranked No. 4 at 124 in the NCAA. Ogden and Campbell each lost to unranked wrestlers. It’s early, though. It’s important not to overreact to surprising early-season results.

Life U opens season in unfamiliar territory

Life U isn’t used to losing. The Running Eagles went 11-2 in duals last season, winning their third straight NWCA National Duals title in January and their second consecutive NAIA national title in March. So dropping a season-opening dual was new territory for the two-time defending champions. King, ranked No. 6 in the HerMat NCAA dual meet rankings, won the final six bouts to top Life U 27-12 on Sunday in Marietta, Georgia. Life U, ranked No. 3 in the HerMat NAIA dual meet rankings, got wins from No. 7 Diana Gonzalez at 110 pounds and No. 5 Ariana Martinez at 124 pounds. The loss is no cause for concern. King is one of the most decorated programs in women’s wrestling. Life U lost plenty of firepower from last season’s title team, including the McBryde sisters, but it still has 10 ranked wrestlers and talented newcomers like Garcia, an Emmanuel transfer, and true freshman Faith Bane. Head coach Ashley Flavin, who has led Life U to back-to-back national titles, is also one of the nation’s top coaches. Don’t be surprised if the Running Eagles are right back in the hunt for a national title in March.

Hattendorf makes statement on opening weekend

Doane’s Skylar Hattendorf wasted no time in her return to the mat. Hattendorf, a 2019 U17 world silver medalist at 57 kilograms, won a Junior Nationals freestyle title in Fargo in 2022 and was a Super 32 champion in 2021. She also trained as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ranked No. 4 at 160 pounds in the HerMat NAIA rankings, Hattendorf rolled to the Falcon Open title on Friday in Park City, Kansas, going 5-0 with three falls and two technical superiorities. She opened with a 10-0 technical superiority over Central Methodist’s Grace Timmons before pinning Ottawa’s Margaret Jordan, No. 10 Maria Slaughter of Missouri Valley and Kaiulani Garcia of OSU Cowgirl WC. In the finals, she blanked No. 6 Hannah Jackson of Ottawa, earning another 10-0 technical superiority. If her debut weekend is any indication, Hattendorf will be a major factor in the national title race at 160 pounds.

First-year Bellevue looks solid in opening competition

Bellevue’s first competition as a program went about as well as it could have. The Bruins, ranked No. 10 in the HerMat NAIA tournament rankings, had five top-four finishers, eight wrestlers in the top six and 11 ranked wins at the Falcon Open. Head coach Matt Atwood coached 34 All-Americans at Providence, and 10 of his Argos followed him to Bellevue, Nebraska. That experience showed. The Bruins’ showcase was 138 pounds, where four wrestlers finished in the top eight. Lucia Schlapfer was runner-up, pinning No. 10 Leighanna Patz of Baker in 49 seconds, while Esperanza Almazan placed third. Avery Mohr picked up a team-high three ranked wins at the weight, including falls over Central Methodist’s No. 11 Dorie Richardson and Baker’s Audrey Darnell, ranked No. 15 at 131 pounds. No. 7 Elise Twait (145) also placed third, winning five straight after an opening loss, while No. 16 Rosalia Rubio (117) and No. 5 Hailey Sutton (160) each finished fourth.