Krauss, Alli win Bill Farrell titles

Two collegians stood atop the podium on Friday at the 2026 Bill Farrell Memorial International.

Mercyhurst’s Lydia Krauss captured the women’s freestyle title at 65 kilograms, and Lehigh’s Alex Alli pinned her way to the crown at 72 kilograms in New York City. In all, 11 collegians finished in the top four of their brackets, including runners-up Karlee Brooks of Iowa and Xochitl Mota-Pettis of Quincy.

Rankings cited below are from this week’s HerMat rankings. Collegiate weights are listed in pounds, while the Bill Farrell is contested in kilograms under international rules.

Krauss, a two-time collegiate All-American, opened with a 12-0 technical superiority over Maria Sawiak in the quarterfinals and advanced to the finals when Nina Kemu Makem withdrew with a medical forfeit.

In the finals, Krauss built a 14-2 lead over Tiera Jimerson and won by technical superiority at 2:46. Jimerson had some impressive wins leading up to the finals, edging King’s Zoey Lints 3-2 in the quarterfinals and pinning Lehigh’s Ryen Hickey in the semifinals.

Alli, ranked No. 4 at 160 pounds, was even more dominant. The Lehigh newcomer pinned all three of her opponents. She stuck Nicol Hurtado Castillo in 1:33 in the quarterfinals and pinned Aireka Steigler in 3:35 in the semifinals. In the finals, Alli pinned Kaylynn Albrecht at the 3:00 mark.

The title adds to an impressive resume for Alli, a U23 national champion who placed third at the 2026 U.S. Open before starting her college career with the Mountain Hawks. Alli led a Lehigh contingent of eight wrestlers, the most of any college program in the women’s field.

Brooks, ranked No. 5 at 131 pounds, came within two points of a title at 55 kilograms. The Iowa standout defeated Lehigh’s Alexa Ciliotta 8-2 in the quarterfinals and topped Eastern’s Savannah Witt, ranked No. 6 at 124 pounds, 8-4 in a semifinal between ranked NCAA wrestlers. Brooks fell 10-8 to Sueanne Harms in a high-scoring final.

Mota-Pettis also finished one point shy of gold. The NCAA champion at 124 pounds, who isn’t competing for Quincy this semester but is expected to return to the Hawks next semester, opened with a 12-0 technical superiority over Lehigh’s Zorina Johnson at 57 kilograms. She pinned Karoline Ortiz Rosado in 1:13 in the semifinals before dropping a 7-6 decision to Amanda Martinez in the finals.

Witt bounced back from her semifinal loss to Brooks to claim third at 55 kilograms. She handled Sophia Smith 11-6 in the consolation semifinals and defeated Alisha Paradise Howk 8-2 in the bronze medal match. Witt finished 3-1, with her only loss coming against Brooks.

Mount Union’s Abigail Mozden, ranked No. 4 at 131 pounds, closed her day with back-to-back falls. After a semifinal loss to Amani Jones at 59 kilograms, Mozden pinned Kendall Bostelman in 2:50 and stuck Michaela Beck in 2:09 to place third.

Lints, ranked No. 10 at 145 pounds, won four of her five matches at 65 kilograms. After her one-point loss to Jimerson, she pinned Chandni Banks in 17 seconds, advanced past Makem by medical forfeit and blanked Hickey 12-0 by technical superiority to finish third.

Doane’s Skylar Hattendorf, ranked No. 4 at 160 pounds in the NAIA, was the top-placing NAIA wrestler. Interestingly, she defeated Skylar Grote twice at 68 kilograms, winning 7-6 in the quarterfinals and 6-2 in the bronze medal match. Her only loss came by fall to Vanessa Keefe in the semifinals. Hattendorf also pinned Miju Kim in 1:23 in the consolation semifinals.

Emmanuel (Georgia) standout Karissa Turnwall, ranked No. 3 at 117 pounds, pinned Lehigh’s Abbi Cooper, ranked No. 5 at 117 pounds, in 42 seconds in a quarterfinal at 53 kilograms. She fell to 2024 Olympic champion Sarah Hildebrandt in the semifinals by 11-0 technical superiority. Turnwall rebounded with a 12-4 win over Vayle Baker before falling to Katie Gomez by 10-0 technical superiority in the bronze medal match to finish fourth.

King’s Virginia Foard, ranked No. 4 at 124 pounds, placed fourth at 57 kilograms. After a 12-2 technical superiority over Thalia Vogelsang and an 8-0 quarterfinal loss to Martinez, Foard won two straight in the consolation bracket, blanking Bella Williams 4-0 and topping Ortiz Rosado 8-4. She fell to Carolina Moreno by 11-0 technical superiority in the bronze medal match.

Hickey also placed fourth at 65 kilograms. She pinned Chandni Banks in 3:32 in the quarterfinals and, after her semifinal loss to Jimerson, pinned Alexa Cuero Cuadrado in 2:15 in the consolation semifinals. Hickey fell to Lints in the bronze medal match.

King’s Kat Hingano, ranked No. 7 at 180 pounds, reached the semifinals at 76 kilograms with a 6-1 win over Lehigh’s Sarah Henckel. She lost to Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson 11-1 in the semifinals and to Canada’s Shauna Kuebeck 12-2 in the consolation semifinals.

Several other collegians picked up wins. King’s Ruby Julien-Newsom, ranked No. 8 at 131 pounds, went 2-2 at 57 kilograms, with falls over Ajayzee Zaballos and Bridgeport’s Lindsey Rywolt. Johnson also went 2-2 at 57 kilograms, picking up a 10-0 technical superiority over Raenah Smith and a 10-4 win over Julien-Newsom. Cooper defeated Iowa’s Taylor Whiting 7-4 in the first round at 53 kilograms. At 62 kilograms, Eastern’s Zoey Haines, ranked No. 5 at 145 pounds, pinned Yeyeon Lee in 58 seconds, and Colorado Mesa’s Jaclyn Dehney, ranked No. 9 at 138 pounds, pinned Kirti Saxena in 1:08 before falling 19-14 to Marilyn Garcia. Ciliotta blanked Chanya Tipmanee 10-0 in 57 seconds.

Colorado Mesa freshman Eloise Woolsey came close to an upset at 72 kilograms, falling 5-5 on criteria to Madison Sandquist in the quarterfinals.