If you like a mix of interesting results from different divisions, then the 2025 North Central Invitational had it all. Here is a breakdown of the 10 champions and the current divisions they represent. 

NCAA: 4
High School: 2
NAIA: 1
NCAA/Unaffiliated: 1
Club: 1
U Sports: 1

Claire DiCugno won the 138-pound title and will compete for North Central next semester, but she’s not officially on the roster yet. Canada’s Mia Friesen is a two-time U SPORTS champion, Morgan Turner and Olivia Davis are high school stars, and Clare Booe wrestles for Army West Point’s club team.

Below are the top six finishers in each weight class, with links to the placement matches and a summary of each weight class. Click here for brackets and links to matches.

Top Six Finishers By Division

103 Pounds

1. Erin Hikiji (Providence) — NAIA
2. Maddie Nieuwenhuis (Plainwell HS) — High School
3. Mia Zuniga (Colorado Mesa) — NCAA
4. Zoey Haney (Indiana Tech) — NAIA
5. Maddie Avila (North Central) — NCAA
6. Zurri Zamora (North Central) — NCAA

Finals: Hikiji over Nieuwenhuis, 10-0
Third: Zuniga over Haney, 4-1
Fifth: Avila over Zamora, 10-0

Hikiji, a three-time NAIA finalist and 2025 champion, outscored four opponents by a 40-0 count. She defeated high school senior and Iowa commit Maddie Nieuwenhuis in the finals. Zuniga and Haney are returning All-Americans from different divisions, and Avila is a 2023 NCWWC champ and three-time All-American. Nieuwenhuis defeated Avila, 3-1, to reach the finals. 

110 Pounds

1. Morgan Turner (Lockport HS) — High School
2. Kaelani Shufeldt (North Central) — NCAA
3. Mia Palumbo (Missions Athletics) — Post-Graduate
4. Jaclyn Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) — High School
5. Paige Morales (Providence) — NAIA
6. Teegan Sibble (East Stroudsburg) — NCAA

Finals: Turner over Shufeldt, 10-7
Third: Palumbo over Bouzakis Fall 4:37
Fifth: Morales over Sibble, 12-2

High school senior Morgan Turner defeated Mia Palumbo, a three-time NAIA finalist and 2024 champion, in the semis, 3-1, before defeating 2024 national finalist Kaelani Shufeldt, 10-7, in the finals. Turner is a two-time U17 World champion and three-time medalist. Bouzakis, a high school junior and two-time U17 World bronze medalist, moved up to 110 pounds after winning the Missouri Valley Open at 103. She fell to Palumbo for third, but was only bracket where two prep stars finished in the top six. 

117 Pounds

1. Clare Booe (West Point) — Club
2. Riley Rayome (North Central) — NCAA
3. Alex Waitsman (William Jewell) — NCAA
4. Harlee Hiller (Iowa) — NCAA
5. Libby Roberts (Unattached/Grand Valley State) — Unaffiliated/NCAA
6. Sereena Baca (Quincy) — NCAA

Finals: Booe over Rayome, 10-0
Third: Waitsman over Hiller, 9-8
Fifth: Roberts over Baca, Fall 1:07

Booe finished second at the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships as a freshman for King University, but now she wrestles for the Army West Point Club. Waitsman, a 2025 All-American, defeated Iowa freshman Harlee Hiller for third, 9-8. 

124 Pounds

1. Sara Sterner (North Central) — NCAA
2. Molly Allen (Oklahoma State) — Club
3. Louisa Schwab (Menlo) — NCAA (transitioning)
4. Haley Narahara (Menlo) — NCAA (transitioning)
5. Isabella Gonzales (Iowa) — NCAA
6. Rose Kaplan (Indiana Tech) — NAIA

Finals: Sterner over Allen, 3-3
Third: Schwab over Narahara, Forfeit
Fifth: Gonzales over Kaplan, 13-2

Allen had an impressive run to the finals, knocking off 2025 U20 national champion Loriana Piestewa of Colorado Mesa, 5-4, in the quarters, before downing two-time All-American Louisa Schwab, 9-2, in the semis. She fell to 2025 NCWWC finalist and three-time All-American Sara Sterner in the finals, 3-3, but built on an impressive 6-0 win over All-American Cali Leng during the Iowa dual a week prior.

Sterner survived a scare against Gonzales in the semifinals, falling behind 9-0 — including a five-point move — but secured a reversal for a fall. Narahara defeated Gonzales in the consolation finals before a double forfeit for third against teammate Louisa Schwab. 

131 Pounds

1. Mia Friesen (Brock) — U SPORTS
2. Virginia Foard (King) — NCAA
3. Bella Williams (Iowa) — NCAA
4. Kailey Benson (Oklahoma State) — Club
5. Kendall Bostelman (William Penn) — NAIA
6. Ruby Julien-Newsom (King) — NCAA

Finals: Friesen over Foard, Fall 3:45
Third: Williams over Benson, 8-7
Fifth: Bostelman over Julien-Newsom, 15-5

Canada’s Mia Friesen, a two-time U SPORTS champion (Canada’s NCAA Championships), took the 131-pound title, but she had to win a 13-11 shootout with William Penn’s Kendall Bostelman in the semis. Friesen defeated 2024 NCWWC finalist Virginia Foard, 14-4, in the finals. Foard is presumably dropping down to 124 for the second half of the season. 

This bracket was all kinds of weird, with freshman Sierra Chiesa knocking off two-time NCWWC finalist Yele Aycock, 11-8, in the Round of 16, then falling to freshman Bella Williams, 9-0, in the quarters. Williams fell to Foard, 6-0, before bouncing back for third with an 8-7 win over Kailey Benson. Aycock fell to Anna DiCugno in the seventh-place consolation bracket, where DiCugno eventually finished seventh. 

Benson was controlling (and winning) her match last week against Iowa’s Karlee Brooks before getting pinned in the second period, and Chiesa fell 2-2 against Lehigh’s Aubre Krazer in a dual. Krazer recently won the Bill Farrell Memorial International and was named the Outstanding Wrestler. 

Chiesa lost to Benson, 5-0, in consolations, then Benson defeated Bostelman, 14-2, before falling to Williams for third. 

This bracket proved that the transitive properties don’t work.

138 Pounds

1. Claire DiCugno (Unattached/North Central) — NCAA/Unaffiliated
2. Grace Stem (North Central) — NCAA
3. Jennifer Soto (Tarleton State) — Club
4. Lilly Luft (Iowa) — NCAA
5. Ella Schmit (Iowa) — NCAA
6. Jacinda Espinosa (Lindenwood) — NCAA

Finals: DiCugno over Stem, 10-0
Third: Soto ver Luft, 2-1
Fifth: Schmit over Espinosa, Fall 2:40

DiCugno, a 2024 NCWWC champion for King, will compete for North Central next semester. She defeated teammate Grace Stem, a two-time All-American, in the finals, 10-0. Lilly Luft and Ella Schmit, returning All-Americans for Iowa, finished fourth and fifth. Soto, a 2023 All-American for McKendree, competes for Tarleton State’s club team. 

145 Pounds

1. Olivia Davis (Esperanza HS) — High School
2. Elise Twait (Providence) — NAIA
3. Alissa Caltagirone (Northern Michigan) — NCAA
4. Maggie Buurma (Grand Valley State) — NCAA
5. Gretchen Donally (Colorado Mesa) — NCAA
6. Riley Aamold (Unattached) — Post-graduate

Finals: Davis over Twait, 12-0
Third: Caltagirone over Buurma, 10-2
Fifth: Donally over Aamold, 11-1

William Jewell commit Olivia Davis was the second prep star to win the North Central Invitational. She only gave up four points in four matches for the title. Caltagirone finished third after falling to Davis, 4-0, in the semis. 

160 Pounds

1. Stella Steigler (King) — NCAA
2. Dani Nugent (Oklahoma State) — Club
3. Sophia Bassino (Northern Michigan) — NCAA
4. Sydney Perry (North Central) — NCAA
5. Taylor Graveman (North Central) — NCAA
6. Janiya Johnson (Wyoming Seminary) — High School

Finals: Steigler over Nugent, Default 5:29
Third: Bassino over Perry, 6-5
Fifth: Graveman over Johnson, Fall 1:19

Dani Nugent looks comfortable at her new weight after finishing fifth at the 2025 U20 World Championships at 65 kg (143). Steigler led 7-1 late in the finals match when Nugent crumpled to the mat from an apparent stinger after she took a shot with 32 seconds left. Nugent defeated high school star Janiya Johnson, 5-1, in the semis, and Steigler topped All-American Sydney Perry by fall to reach the finals. Bassino fell to Perry, 8-3, in the quarters, but defeated Taylor Graveman, 11-11, in consolations before avenging her loss to Perry, 6-5, for third. 

180 Pounds

1. Katja Osteen (Iowa) — NCAA
2. Shenita Lawson (North Central) — NCAA
3. Jael Miller (North Central) — NCAA
4. Kathryn Hingano (Southern Oregon) — NAIA
5. Kalila Shrive (Menlo) — NCAA (transitioning)
6. Abbie Miles (Northern Michigan) — NCAA

Finals: Osteen over Lawson, 10-1
Third: Miller over Hingano, Fall 1:44
Fifth: Shrive over Miles, Fall 2:04

Osteen dominated Lawson in the finals during a battle of transfer All-Americans. Osteen only surrendered two points in four matches. Higano, a seventh-place finisher at the 2025 NAIA Championships, dropped from 207 to 180 this season. She placed fourth behind North Central freshman Jael Miller, who fell to Lawson, 12-2, in the quarters. Lawson defeated Hingano, 2-1, to reach the finals. 

207 Pounds

1. Eliana Bommarito (King) — NCAA
2. Jayleen Sakona (Colorado Mesa) — NCAA
3. Carolina Ward (North Central) — NCAA
4. Tirza Twoteeth (North Central) — NCAA
5. Dasia Yearby (North Central) — NCAA
6. Phoebe Burt (William Penn) — NAIA

Finals: Bommarito over Sakona, Fall: 37
Third: Ward over Twoteeth, 5-0
Fifth: Yearby over Burt, 8-3

Bommarito proved she is a force at 207. The beach wrestling star was a two-time NJCAA champion before transferring to King. She opened with a 10-0 tech before two straight pins, including a 37-second fall over Jayleen Sakona in the finals. North Central had three wrestlers finish in the top three.