Breaking down matches at 2026 NWCA All-Star Classic

The 2026 NWCA All-Star Classic takes place Tuesday, Nov. 24 inside Rec Hall, the home of the Penn State Nittany Lions. The event features 20 of the nation’s top college wrestlers, a matchup between a Division II national champion and a Division III national champion and four women’s matches. It marks the third time Penn State has hosted the event since it returned in 2022.

The NWCA All-Star Classic will be streamed live on FloWrestling.

The four women’s matches pit NCAA standouts against some of the top wrestlers in the NAIA, with a reigning NCAA champion, four national finalists and a rematch from last season’s NCAA championships on the card. Let’s examine each of the four women’s matches.

103: Val Solorio (Iowa) vs. Zoey Haney (Indiana Tech)

Iowa’s Val Solorio enters the season as one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country. A year after she didn’t crack the Hawkeyes’ postseason lineup, Solorio went 35-2 with 15 technical superiorities and six pins last season, capping her season with an NCAA Region V title and the 103-pound national title at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships. Before arriving in Iowa City, Solorio won a Fargo national title, two Pennsylvania state titles at Canon-McMillan and the first sanctioned girls state title in Florida history. Across the mat will be Indiana Tech’s Zoey Haney, who made a big splash in her first college season. The Troy, Missouri, native was the No. 3 seed at 103 pounds at the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Championships, where she edged Grand View’s Isabelle Apple 5-4 in the quarterfinals and pinned Oklahoma City’s Alexis Miller in 1:55 in the semifinals. Haney fell to Providence’s Erin Hikiji in the finals, but she left Park City, Kansas, as one of five Indiana Tech All-Americans. On paper, Solorio is the favorite. But this is a chance for Haney to measure herself against the reigning NCAA champion.

124: Riley Rayome (North Central) vs. Rose Kaplan (Indiana Tech)

North Central’s Riley Rayome took women’s college wrestling by storm in her debut season. Rayome went 27-6 with 11 pins and nine technical superiorities, winning titles at the Pointer Open and Carthage Classic and placing third at the Midlands Championships. She then won an NWCA Region IV title before reaching the NCAA finals at 117 pounds, where she came up just short against McKendree’s Yu Sakamoto. Rayome was later named the NWCA National Rookie of the Year, the first such honor in program history. She will be wrestling up a weight this season at 124 pounds. Indiana Tech’s Rose Kaplan is no stranger to big stages either. The West Lafayette, Indiana, native placed sixth at the NAIA national championships in 2025. Last season, she was named Wrestler of the Tournament at the Mid-South Conference Championships after defeating Lindsey Wilson’s Kamilah Brooks 9-1 in the finals. Kaplan topped Brooks again, 2-1, in the NAIA semifinals before falling to Doane’s Cristelle Rodriguez, a U20 and U23 world champion, in the finals. Kaplan is a two-time All-American and a two-time Indiana state champion. A strong case can be made that this is the most evenly matched of the four women’s bouts. Keep an eye on this one.

131: Janida Garcia (Life) vs. Cassia Zammit (West Liberty)

This one is a rematch. West Liberty’s Cassia Zammit defeated Janida Garcia 3-0 in the first round of the NCAAs last March, and both wrestlers went on to earn All-America honors. Zammit, who was unseeded, kept rolling after that win. She lost a 3-2 decision to Lehigh’s Aubre Krazer in the quarterfinals, then won three straight consolation matches to reach the third-place match, where she fell to Krazer again. Zammit finished fourth and became the first All-American in West Liberty women’s wrestling history. She added another All-America honor in April, placing seventh in the U23 division at the U.S. World Team Trials, where she pinned an NCAA runner-up and defeated a two-time world team member. A two-time All-American who placed fifth for Presbyterian at the 2024 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, Zammit is the only returning All-American for the Hilltoppers. Garcia, who now wrestles for two-time defending NAIA national champion Life U, entered last season’s NCAAs with a 12-1 record as the No. 7 seed for Emmanuel and bounced back from the loss to Zammit to place sixth. The Lathrop, California, native has been one of the nation’s top wrestlers for years, having won a Junior National freestyle title in Fargo in 2022. Will Garcia avenge her NCAA loss, or will Zammit make it two in a row? Stay tuned.

160: Vida Boskovic (Southern Oregon) vs. Stella Steigler (King)

King’s Stella Steigler enters the season as one of the top 160-pounders in the country. Steigler, a three-time Virginia state champion and two-time Fargo finalist in high school, earned All-America honors at Lock Haven in 2024, placing seventh at 170 pounds at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. After sitting out the 2024-25 season, she resurfaced at King and entered the NCAAs with a 29-2 record after winning a regional title. She bounced back from an opening loss at the NCAAs to place third, capping her run with a 5-0 decision in the third-place match. Southern Oregon’s Vida Boskovic took a much longer road to the podium last season. The Portland, Oregon, native placed sixth at the Cascade Conference Championships and needed a wild-card bid to reach the NAIA national tournament, where she was the No. 18 seed. After a second-round loss, Boskovic won five straight consolation matches, including pins of the No. 5 and No. 6-seeded wrestlers and a 9-7 decision over the No. 8 seed. She placed fourth to earn her first All-America honor. Steigler is the favorite, but Boskovic has already shown she can play the role of spoiler.