2023 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids: Schedule, format, top qualifiers

Here’s what you need to know about the 2023 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids.

When: Friday (11 a.m. and 4 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m. and 7 p.m.)

Where: Alliant Energy PowerHouse

Live stream: FloWrestling

History: This marks the fourth year of the tournament that serves as national championships for NCAA-affiliated varsity programs. Cedar Rapids will host through 2025, making it the first off-campus site for the event. Adrian, Mich., held the championships in 2020 and 2022, while Tiffin, Ohio, was host in 2021. McKendree (Ill.) University has won each of the first three team titles.

Teams: Simpson College is the lone Iowa school in the field. Teams range from NCAA Division I programs like Lock Haven and Sacred Heart to Division III Augsburg (Minn.) and North Central (Ill.). The D-II programs include McKendree, King (Tenn.) and Lindenwood (Mo.). The field consists of 37 NCAA programs.

Format: Women’s college wrestling competes in freestyle, unlike folkstyle in high school and men’s college wrestling. Two points are awarded for takedowns, one for pushouts of the circle, two for basic back exposure with additional points for feet-to-back exposure. Wrestlers can win by decision, technical superiority (any lead of at least 10 points during a match) and pin.

Weights: The tournament consists of 10 weight classes. They are 101, 109, 116, 123, 130, 136, 143, 155, 170 and 191.

Qualifiers: The 198 participants qualified from six regional tournaments. Teams are able to qualify up to 15 wrestlers. North Central and King have qualified the maximum this year.

Top qualifiers

15 — King, North Central

12 — Colorado Mesa

11 — Wisconsin-Stevens Point

10 — Adrian, McKendree, Sacred Heart

9 — Simon Fraser

8 — Augsburg, Gannon

Returning 2022 champions: Emily Shilson (Augsburg/McKendree), Cameron Guerin (McKendree), Ashlynn Ortega (King), Yelena Makoyed (North Central), Sydnee Kimber (McKendree)

Other returning champions: Pauline Granados (McKendree)

Top seeds

101 — Jessica Corredor (King)

109 — Emily Shilson (McKendree)

116 — Victoria Seal (Simon Fraser)

123 — Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa)

130 — Alexis Janiak (Aurora)

136 — Ana Luciano (King)

143 — Ashlynn Ortega (King)

155 — Marlynne Deede (Augsburg)

170 — Yelena Makoyed (North Central)

191 — Sydnee Kimber (McKendree)

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com