Illinois Girls Bring State Titles and National Experience to War of the Roses
Illinois Matwomen | October 2026
Charlie’s Angels will bring a group of Illinois girls with state championships, national tournament experience and plenty still to prove to the War of the Roses Midwest Nationals this weekend. Across the K–8 and high school divisions, the Illinois contingent includes wrestlers who have already reached some of the sport’s biggest youth podiums, along with teammates looking to make their next breakthrough in a demanding dual tournament.
The October 3–4 event at Circle K Fieldhouse at NexusPark in Columbus, Indiana, gives them an opportunity to turn those individual accomplishments into team results. Chelsea Price and Michelle Gabel arrive with consecutive IKWF titles. Kennedy Hogan brings a fourth-place finish from Fargo. Several others have won state championships, reached state finals or earned regional and national medals.
Those credentials make Charlie’s Angels worth watching. What will decide the weekend is how the girls wrestle through one dual after another, including the bouts that stay close late and the chances to put a match away.
War of the Roses is a folkstyle event, with K–8 and high school competition offered in Progressive and All-Star divisions. The published schedule calls for four or five preliminary duals Saturday, followed by three championship or consolation rounds Sunday. That format places a premium on recovering between matches and being ready for a different opponent each time the team returns to the mat.
