Notes: NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships

THIS WEEK
The second-ranked University of Iowa women’s wrestling team heads to Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, for the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships on Friday and Saturday.

THE SCHEDULE
- Session I: March 6 at 10 a.m. - Prelims & 1st Round
- Session II: March 6 at 4 p.m. - 2nd Round, 1st & 2nd Round Cons.
- Session III: March 7 at 10 a.m. - Championship Semis, 3rd Round Cons., Cons. Semis
- Session IV: March 7 at 7 p.m. - Championship Finals

FOLLOW ALONG
The NCAA Championships will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on FloWrestling. Links to the live stream and live stats are available on the Iowa women’s wrestling schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
2 - Valarie Solorio (103)
5 - Nyla Valencia (110)
5 - Brianna Gonzalez (117) 
13 - Cali Leng (124) 
4 - Karlee Brooks (131)
4 - Lilly Luft (138)
1 - Reese Larramendy (145)
1 - Kennedy Blades (160)
1 - Kylie Welker (180)
5 - Katja Osteen (207)

NCAA REGION V CHAMPIONS
Iowa advanced all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships, winning eight individual regional titles in Indianola, Iowa, on Feb. 21. In total, the Hawkeyes secured 11 pins and 19 technical falls. Valarie Solorio, Nyla Valencia, Brianna Gonzalez, Karlee Brooks, Lilly Luft, Reese Larramendy, Kennedy Blades, and Kylie Welker all claimed NCAA Region V Championship titles. Cali Leng and Katja Osteen earned second-place finishes.

FOR IOWA, AT 103 POUNDS, VALARIE SOLORIO
- Valarie Solorio is the No. 2 seed at 103 pounds.
- The sophomore is 31-2 on the season, including 19 wins by technical fall and five by fall.
- A native of Panama City Beach, Florida, Solorio earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all four of her matches by fall or technical fall. Two of her regional wins were against ranked opponents - No. 7 Chloe Sheffield (Wartburg) and No. 5 Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy).
- Solorio is 3-1 against ranked opponents this season.
- Friday marks Solorio’s national tournament debut.

FOR IOWA, AT 110 POUNDS, NYLA VALENCIA
- Nyla Valencia is the No. 5 seed at 110 pounds.
- The redshirt junior is 23-3 on the season, including 16 wins by technical fall and two by fall.
- A native of Morgan Hill, California, Valencia earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all three of her matches by technical fall.
- Valencia is 5-2 against ranked opponents this season.
- Friday marks Valencia’s national tournament debut.

FOR IOWA, AT 117 POUNDS, BRIANNA GONZALEZ
- Brianna Gonzalez is the No. 5 seed at 117 pounds.
- The redshirt junior is 9-2 on the season, including three wins by technical fall and five by fall.
- A native of El Monte, California, Gonzalez earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all three of her matches by fall or technical fall, including a ranked victory over No. 10 Shea Reisel (Dubuque) in the final.
- Gonzalez is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season. 
- Friday marks Gonzalez’s third appearance at the national tournament. She was the 2024 national runner-up before placing fifth in 2025.

FOR IOWA, AT 124 POUNDS, CALI LENG
- Cali Leng is the No. 13 seed at 124 pounds.
- The junior has a 34-7 record this season, including 10 wins by technical fall and 10 by fall.
- A native of Marysville, Ohio, Leng earned an NCAA bid by placing second at the NCAA Region V Championship. She went 2-1 in the tournament with her only loss coming in the championship bout against No. 3 Xochitl Mota Pettis (Quincy).
- Leng is 2-3 against ranked opponents this season.
- Friday marks Leng’s second appearance at the national tournament. She placed seventh in 2025.

FOR IOWA, AT 131 POUNDS, KARLEE BROOKS
- Karlee Brooks is the No. 4 seed at 131 pounds.
- The redshirt sophomore is 33-4 on the season, including 16 wins by technical fall and six by fall.
- A native of Kaneohe, Hawai’i, Brooks earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all three of her matches at the regional by technical fall.
- Brooks is 2-2 against ranked opponents this season.
- Friday marks Brooks’ national tournament debut.

FOR IOWA, AT 138 POUNDS, LILLY LUFT
- Lilly Luft is the No. 4 seed at 131 pounds.
- The junior is 18-6 on the season, including seven wins by technical fall and four by fall. - Three of Luft’s six losses came via forfeit after an injury at the Grand View Open on Feb. 7.
- A native of Charles City, Iowa, Luft earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won her first match by technical fall before securing back-to-back wins by decision. In the finals, Luft defeated No. 8 Kylie Rule (Wartburg) to take the regional title.
- Luft is 1-3 against ranked opponents this season, including one loss via forfeit.
- She returns to the national tournament for the first time since placing fifth in 2024.

FOR IOWA, AT 145 POUNDS, REESE LARRAMENDY
- Reese Larramendy is the No. 1 seed at 145 pounds.
- The junior is 33-0 on the season, including 35 wins by technical fall and two by fall.
- A native of Reno, Nevada, Larramendy earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won her first match by fall before securing back-to-back technical falls to claim the title.
- Larramendy has five wins over ranked opponents this season, including victories over No. 10 Madeline Kubicki (Presbyterian), No. 6 Gretchen Donally (Colorado Mesa), No. 1 Bella Mir (North Central), No. 7 Alissa Caltagirone (Northern Michigan), and No. 6 Annelise Obermark (Simpson).
- She claimed the national title in 2024 before placing third in 2025.

FOR IOWA, AT 160 POUNDS, KENNEDY BLADES
- Kennedy Blades is the No. 1 seed at 160 pounds.
- The senior is 15-0 on the season, including 12 wins by technical fall and three by fall.
- A native of Chicago, Illinois, Blades earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all four of her matches by technical fall, including a ranked win over No. 9 Alexandra Hofrichter (Dubuque) in the finals.
- Blades has two wins against ranked opponents, including wins over No. 8 Taylor Graveman (North Central), and No. 9 Alexandra Hofrichter (Dubuque). She’s surrendered just one point this season (Graveman).
- Blades returns to the national tournament after winning the national championship in 2025.

FOR IOWA, AT 180 POUNDS, KYLIE WELKER
- Kylie Welker is the No. 1 seed at 180 pounds.
- The redshirt junior is 17-0 on the season, including 13 wins by technical fall and two by fall.
- A native of Franksville, Wisconsin, Welker earned an NCAA bid by winning the NCAA Region V Championship. She won all four of her matches by technical fall or fall, including a ranked win over No. 9 Kara Kuge (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) in the finals.
- Welker has two wins against ranked opponents. They include: No. 3 Destiny Rodriquez (McKendree) and No. 9 Kara Kuge (Wisconsin-Stevens Point).
- Welker is a two-time national champion (2024, 2025). 

FOR IOWA, AT 207 POUNDS, KATJA OSTEEN
- Katja Osteen is the No. 5 seed at 207 pounds.
- The senior is 22-1 on the season, including nine wins by technical fall and eight by fall.
- A native of Simi Valley, California, Osteen earned an NCAA bid by placing second at the NCAA Region V Championship. She won her first three matches by fall before falling to No. 6 Rewa Chababo (Wartburg) in the finals.
- Osteen is 5-1 against ranked opponents, competing at both 180 and 207 pounds.
- Osteen returns to the national tournament for the first time since 2023. She placed sixth at the NCWWC Tournament in 2023 (191) and was the fifth-place finisher (191) in 2022 while competing at Simon Fraser.