Ward, North Central cruise to win over NMU

North Central didn’t need its full lineup to win its season opener on Monday.

The Cardinals won eight of 10 bouts to defeat Northern Michigan 31-11 at Vandament Arena in Marquette, Michigan. North Central is ranked No. 3 in the HerMat NCAA dual meet rankings, while Northern Michigan is ranked No. 18.

The dual opened the sixth season of the Northern Michigan program. It was the first of three home events for the Wildcats this season, the most in the program’s short history.

North Central placed third at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships last March. The Cardinals opened the season with a ranked wrestler in all 10 weight classes, but they won Monday’s dual without two of them. No. 2 Riley Rayome, a returning NCAA finalist, did not wrestle at 124 pounds, and No. 5 Brianne Graves did not wrestle at 103 pounds. Northern Michigan was also missing two ranked wrestlers, No. 7 Alissa Caltagirone (138) and No. 10 Abbie Miles (180).

Northern Michigan struck first. Lillee Denson, ranked No. 14 at 103 pounds, defeated North Central’s Zurri Zamora 12-1 by technical superiority. Denson, a true freshman, won a Fargo title at 100 pounds last summer. Zamora scored on an early step-out, which earned the Cardinals a team point and left the Wildcats with a 4-1 lead.

North Central answered with three straight wins. Kaelani Shufeldt, ranked No. 4 at 110 pounds, picked up a forfeit to put the Cardinals ahead 6-4. No. 10 Mikayla Garcia of North Central then won 6-6 on criteria over Northern Michigan’s Cheyenne Frank at 117 pounds. Bella Bolek stepped in for North Central at 124 pounds and topped Northern Michigan’s Kandice Spry 5-3, pushing the lead to 12-6.

Carissa Qureshi of North Central gave the Cardinals the first of three straight bonus-point wins at 131 pounds. Qureshi built a 6-0 lead before pinning Northern Michigan’s Zhivanna Magdaleno.

Grace Stem, ranked No. 6 at 131 pounds, wrestled up a weight and didn’t waste any time at 138 pounds. The North Central wrestler locked up a leg early and converted it into a four-point slam on her way to a 10-0 technical superiority over Northern Michigan’s Youstina Hanna.

No. 6 Taylor Graveman of North Central followed with a 17-7 technical superiority over Northern Michigan’s Belicia Manuel at 145 pounds, giving the Cardinals a 25-7 lead. Graveman represented the United States at the U23 World Championships last month, where she dropped a 6-6 decision on criteria to Türkiye’s Haticenur Sari in her opening match.

The dual’s only matchup of ranked wrestlers went the Wildcats’ way. No. 8 Sophia Bassino of Northern Michigan shut out North Central’s Elizabeth Rosenstiel, the No. 13 wrestler at 160 pounds, 8-0.

North Central closed out the win with two decisions. No. 4 Jael Miller of North Central defeated Northern Michigan’s Kanata Richardson 6-0 at 180 pounds. At 207 pounds, No. 4 Caroline Ward of North Central edged Northern Michigan’s Mickaela Keane 2-1.

The scary part for the rest of the country is that North Central’s lineup could get even stronger in the second semester. Claire DiCugno, a multiple-time national finalist who placed second at 138 pounds last March, is expected to return after the holiday break. Bella Mir, the reigning NCAA champion at 145 pounds, might return as well, depending on her MMA fight schedule.

Both teams return to action on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Pointer Open, hosted by Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

North Central 31, Northern Michigan 11
103: No. 14 Lillee Denson (Northern Michigan) tech. Zurri Zamora (North Central), 12-1
110: No. 4 Kaelani Shufeldt (North Central) won by forfeit
117: No. 10 Mikayla Garcia (North Central) dec. Cheyenne Frank (Northern Michigan), 6-6
124: Bella Bolek (North Central) dec. Kandice Spry (Northern Michigan), 5-3
131: Carissa Qureshi (North Central) pinned Zhivanna Magdaleno (Northern Michigan)
138: No. 6 (131) Grace Stem (North Central) tech. Youstina Hanna (Northern Michigan), 10-0
145: No. 6 Taylor Graveman (North Central) tech. Belicia Manuel (Northern Michigan), 17-7
160: No. 8 Sophia Bassino (Northern Michigan) dec. No. 13 Elizabeth Rosenstiel (North Central), 8-0
180: No. 4 Jael Miller (North Central) dec. Kanata Richardson (Northern Michigan), 6-0
207: No. 4 Caroline Ward (North Central) dec. Mickaela Keane (Northern Michigan), 2-1