No. 10 Fort Hays State rolls past No. 25 NSU

Fort Hays State dropped two of the first three bouts of its season. Northeastern State didn’t win another one.

The Tigers, ranked No. 10 in the HerMat NCAA dual meet rankings, won the final seven bouts to beat No. 25 Northeastern State 34-9 on Wednesday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kansas. Six of those seven wins came by technical superiority, and the other came by fall. It was Fort Hays State’s first dual of the 2026-27 season.

Northeastern State won two of the first three bouts. Damiyah Smith of Northeastern State, ranked No. 20 at 103 pounds in the latest HerMat NCAA rankings, opened the dual with a 12-2 technical superiority over Fort Hays State’s Kyrain Perez in 1:30. Smith was an NJCAA All-American last season for Iowa Central.

Kyrstan Perez of Fort Hays State answered at 110 pounds with the upset of the night, a 4-3 decision over Northeastern State’s Addie Morse, who is ranked No. 12 at the weight. Morse pinned NJCAA No. 11 Madelynn Bohnet of Southeast in 28 seconds in the RiverHawks’ home debut a week earlier.

Two-time NJCAA All-American Abigail Butts of Northeastern State put the RiverHawks back in front at 117 pounds, holding off a late charge from Fort Hays State’s Gabrielle Hampton for a 12-10 decision. That gave Northeastern State an 8-5 lead.

From there, it was all Fort Hays State.

Leiannah Landreth of Fort Hays State started the run at 124 pounds with a 10-0 technical superiority over Northeastern State’s Aiyanna Perkins in 1:53, putting the Tigers ahead for good. Morgan Maschmann, ranked No. 17 at 124 pounds, bumped up to 131 pounds and beat Northeastern State’s Brooklyn Collinsworth 11-0 by technical superiority in 3:12.

Five-time State Dakota state champion Regina Stoeser of Fort Hays State also moved up a weight and posted an 11-0 technical superiority over Northeastern State’s Makaylee Cannon in 2:28 at 138 pounds. Dylen Ritchey of Fort Hays State needed just 1:05 to beat Northeastern State’s Taya Hunt 10-0 at 145 pounds, making it 21-8.

Kiley Dillow of Fort Hays State clinched the dual at 160 pounds with a 12-2 technical superiority over Northeastern State’s Aliana Barnoski in 4:42.

The marquee bout came at 180 pounds, the only matchup of ranked wrestlers in the dual. Fort Hays State’s Isabella Renfro, ranked No. 3 at the weight, pinned Northeastern State’s Ambre Chevreau, ranked No. 11, in 2:24. Chevreau had beaten two of the top four NJCAA wrestlers at 180 pounds by technical superiority in Northeastern State’s home debut on Nov. 4.

Maliana Heimuli of Fort Hays State capped the night at 207 pounds, beating Northeastern State’s Madison Welch 11-0 by technical superiority in 42 seconds. It was the fastest win of the dual.

Landreth, Stoeser, Ritchey and Heimuli all finished their bouts in the first period.

Both teams went without some of their ranked wrestlers in the lineup. Fort Hays State’s Peyton Hellmann, ranked No. 19 at 138 pounds, and Alexis Burton, ranked No. 13 at 160 pounds, did not compete in the dual. Northeastern State was without Mariah Dillard (No. 16 at 117 pounds), Samara Markwardt (No. 17 at 131 pounds) and Catherine Dutton (No. 20 at 207 pounds).

In extra bouts, Addison Broxterman of Fort Hays State pinned Northeastern State’s Zoey Freeman in 54 seconds, and Alanna Harwell of Fort Hays State beat Northeastern State’s Erin Marquez 12-0 by technical superiority.

Fort Hays State heads to the Missouri Valley Open on Friday and Saturday in Marshall, Missouri, where Renfro is the defending champion at 180 pounds.

Results:
103: No. 20 Damiyah Smith (Northeastern State) tech. Kyrain Perez (Fort Hays State), 12-2 1:30
110: Kyrstan Perez (Fort Hays State) dec. No. 12 Addie Morse (Northeastern State), 4-3
117: Abigail Butts (Northeastern State) dec. Gabrielle Hampton (Fort Hays State), 12-10
124: Leiannah Landreth (Fort Hays State) tech. Aiyanna Perkins (Northeastern State), 10-0 1:53
131: No. 17 (124) Morgan Maschmann (Fort Hays State) tech. Brooklyn Collinsworth (Northeastern State), 11-0 3:12
138: Regina Stoeser (Fort Hays State) tech. Makaylee Cannon (Northeastern State), 11-0 2:28
145: Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) tech. Taya Hunt (Northeastern State), 10-0 1:05
160: Kiley Dillow (Fort Hays State) tech. Aliana Barnoski (Northeastern State), 12-2 4:42
180: No. 3 Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) pinned No. 11 Ambre Chevreau (Northeastern State), 2:24
207: Maliana Heimuli (Fort Hays State) tech. Madison Welch (Northeastern State), 11-0 0:42