WWR Notes: Luther Hill Open

THIS WEEKEND

The University of Iowa women’s wrestling program kicks off it’s 2026-27 campaign at the Luther Hill Open, hosted by Simpson College, on Sunday, Nov. 1. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. (CT) at the Blake Field House, with 16 Hawkeyes set to compete:

103 – Madison Nieuwenhuis
110 – Emilie Gonzalez, Bella Gonzales
117 – Bri Gonzalez
124 – Cali Leng, Ava Rose, Mia Goodwin, Harlee Hiller
131 – Emily Frost
138 – Lilly Luft, Carley Ceshker
145 – Nora Akpan
160 – Cadence Diduch
180 – Brooklyn Hays, Naomi Simon
207 – Libby Dix

TUNE IN

Iowa women’s wrestling travels to the Luther Hill Open at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday for its first competition of the 2026-27 season. The event will be hosted at Blake Field House and be streamed live on IAWrestle via Rofkin. Live brackets can be found on FloWrestling, with both streaming and stats links found on the Iowa Women’s Wrestling schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD

First-year Iowa women’s wrestler Everest Leydecker finished off a robust international campaign with a gold medal at the Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday morning. Leydecker, who turned 19-years-old in September, also earned her second consecutive gold medal at the U20 World Championships and bronze at U23s earlier this year.

ABOUT LAST YEAR

Four Hawkeyes took home titles at the 2025 Luther Hill Open at Simpson College. Valarie Solorio (103), Harlee Hiller (117), Cali Leng (124) and Karlee Brooks (131) each won their respective weight classes, with Hiller and Leng returning to the competition on Sunday. Ava Rose, Bella Williams and Candence Diduch all also made it to finals matches with runner-up placements, while Sterling Dias took third. Iowa finished with a record of 42-14 with 14 pins and 16 technical falls, while five losses came in head-to-head matches between Hawkeyes.

NO. 2

Iowa women’s wrestling opens up the 2026-27 season ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation, behind the 2026 NCAA Champion, McKendree. In the preseason NWCA Coaches Poll, eight Hawkeye student-athletes were ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes, including No. 1-ranked Valarie Solorio (103), Reese Larramendy (145) and Kylie Welker (180), all three of whom made it to the finals in their weight classes at the inaugural NCAA Championships.

WELCOME, COACH JENNA

In the offseason, the Hawkeyes added assistant coach Jenna Burkert to their staff for the upcoming season. Previously, she served as head coach and taught a leadership course at Bixby (Oklahoma) High School since 2024, leading her team to a No. 2 national ranking and six individual state champions. As an athlete, she was a four-time World Team, nine-time Senior National Team and three-time Junior National Team member. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, she finished runner-up at 57 kilograms.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

The Hawkeyes return 12 All-Americans to their roster in 2026, including two NCAA national champions in Kylie Welker and Valarie Solorio. Of those 12 returning All-Americans, seven earned All-American status at the NCAA National Championships last March: Karlee Brooks, Bri Gonzalez, Reese Larramendy, Lilly Luft, Solorio, Nyla Valencia and Welker. Welker, Larramendy and Bri Gonzalez are all three-time All-Americans.

In addition to strong returning talent, Iowa welcomes five freshmen into the fold in Maddie Nieuwenhuis, Nora Akpan, Everest Leydecker, Carley Ceshker and Taylor Whiting.

MEDALS GALORE

Everest Leydecker, Reese Larramendy and Kylie Welker all competed internationally over the summer, each taking home medals at their respective weight classes at various events. First-year Leydecker followed up her second consecutive U20 championship with a bronze medal at U23 World Championships and a gold medal at the Senior World Championships. Meanwhile, fifth-years Larramendy and Welker competed alongside Leydecker at the U23 World Championships, with Larramendy taking home bronze and Welker taking home gold for the third time.

THREE’S NOT A CROWD

With her gold medal run at the U23 World Championships in October, Kylie Welker became the first American and just the fourth wrestler globally to win three gold medals at the U23 level. The reigning NCAA Champion and three-time All-American for the Hawkeyes ran through her bracket with ease and stood atop the world stage in Las Vegas with her victory.

WRESTLETOWN, USA

After hosting the inaugural NCAA National Championships in 2026, Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa will once again play host to NCAAs in March 2027. Last year, after winning consecutive NWWCA National Titles in 2024 and ‘25, the Hawkeyes finished runner up to McKendree, who is currently ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES

For all the latest on Iowa Women’s Wrestling, follow the team on Instagram (@iowawomenswrestling), Facebook (IowaWomensWrestling) and X (@IowaW_Wrestling). 

Updates on Iowa athletics and all programs can be found on Instagram (@theiowahawkeyes), Facebook (IowaHawkeyes) and X (@TheIowaHawkeyes).

UP NEXT

Iowa travels to the third annual Throwdown on the Yorktown in Charleston, S.C. from Saturday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Nov. 8. They are tentatively set to wrestle Delaware State, Presbyterian and Grand Valley State on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown CV-10 at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum.