Illinois Matwomen War of the Roses Preview
Updated second edition
High School and K-8 All-Star teams
October 3-4, 2026 | Circle K Fieldhouse at NexusPark | Columbus, Indiana
Team Illinois Matwomen heads to the War of the Roses National Duals with two All-Star lineups that bring together some of the state’s accomplished young wrestlers and athletes eager to make a bigger name for themselves. The updated roster includes returning state champions, high school state medalists, national placewinners and several additions who give this second preview a different look.
Austin Buehler, Ryan Shick, Jake Campbell and Shaina Campbell will coach the Illinois Matwomen group. Across the High School and K-8 divisions, their wrestlers will spend the weekend working toward team victories in a tournament that puts a premium on contributions throughout the lineup.
Our first preview introduced the team and the history behind this event. With competition now approaching, the attention turns to the girls in the current lineup, the coaches in their corner and the matches that could help determine Illinois Matwomen’s weekend.
Several changes deserve particular attention. Rita Grant is listed at 135 pounds, Ivy Grant at 140 and Londyn Grant at 145 on the high school team. Jade Zambrano occupies 165, Iy’Jah Grant is at 175, and Marley Clark joins the announced lineup at 190. On the youth side, Pamela Salazar and Cassidei Ross share the 100-pound position, while Norah Shick appears at K-8 120 in addition to her high school listing at 110. Sloane Gabler is the listed wrestler at K-8 68.
Those are the assignments on the updated team announcement. Earlier accomplishments below retain the weights and divisions in which they were earned. A wrestler’s October team position should not be confused with her weight at a previous state or national tournament.
THE COACHES AND THE WEEKEND AHEAD
The coaching staff of Austin Buehler, Ryan Shick, Jake Campbell and Shaina Campbell will have a team with considerable variety in its competitive background. Some wrestlers have already competed deep into high school postseason brackets. Others have built their strongest results in the IKWF or through youth national events.
That mix makes communication especially valuable. The instructions that help an experienced wrestler manage a close third period may differ from what a younger teammate needs before her first match of the day. A long dual tournament also leaves little room to dwell on the previous result. Coaches and wrestlers have to identify an adjustment, prepare for the next opponent and get back to work.
The shared positions at K-8 56 and 100 give the staff more than one named athlete to work with. Norah Shick’s listing on both rosters adds another assignment to follow as the teams take the mat. Actual appearances and lineup decisions will be determined during the event.
The organizer’s posted schedule calls for four or five preliminary duals Saturday and three championship or consolation duals Sunday. K-8 wrestling is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. both days. High school competition begins at 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. Those times are local to Columbus, which is one hour ahead of Illinois.
War of the Roses is a folkstyle, dual-only event this year. Eighth-graders are eligible for the high school division, so a high school roster listing does not necessarily identify a wrestler’s school grade. That distinction matters for a team with so much accomplished youth talent.
HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STAR PREVIEW
The high school team’s experience extends across several championship series. Rilynn Younker brings repeated IHSA state medals. Brielle Becker and Aaliyah Vazquez have won IWCOA Girls High School titles. Gia DeMarco, Norah Shick, Kaori Karas, Luna Elmer and Ivy Grant bring recent IKWF championships into their assignments.
Those achievements give Illinois Matwomen several promising stretches of the lineup. The challenge will be connecting them across a full dual, particularly against opponents whose strongest wrestlers may be concentrated at different weights.
100 pounds Gia DeMarco
Gia DeMarco brings an outstanding run of 2026 youth results into the lightest listed high school position. Competing in records under Gianna DeMarco, she won the IKWF Girls Senior championship at 80 pounds, the Illinois girls 14U freestyle state title at 80 and the Northern Plains girls 14U freestyle championship at the same weight.
The IKWF championship followed a runner-up finish in Girls Novice 68 in 2025. That progression gives her profile substance beyond a single strong weekend. She returned to the state series in an older division and finished on top, then added freestyle championships during the spring.
Her 100-pound assignment at War of the Roses presents a different test from those earlier 80-pound brackets. The high school field can include older opponents, and success will have to be earned against the wrestler across from her. DeMarco arrives with plenty of recent winning experience to draw upon as she takes on that challenge.
105 pounds Brielle Becker
Brielle Becker gives Illinois Matwomen a recent high school folkstyle champion at 105. The Freeburg wrestler won the 2026 IWCOA Girls High School state title at 100 pounds, adding a championship to a record that already included success in the qualifying series.
She was also the runner-up at the 2026 IHSA Granite City Regional at 105. Her earlier results include a 2025 IWCOA sectional championship at that weight.
Becker’s IWCOA title gives this lineup a wrestler who has completed a high school postseason tournament at the top of the bracket. At War of the Roses, she will have the opportunity to turn that experience into productive performances against teams from outside her regular school schedule.
110 pounds Norah Shick
Norah Shick has produced one of the most consistent stretches of youth state success on either roster. She won IKWF Girls Intermediate 80 in 2024, Girls Novice 90 in 2025 and Girls Novice 102 in 2026.
Three consecutive titles across changing weights and divisions make Shick an especially interesting part of the high school lineup. Her achievements reflect repeated success as her assignments became different from one season to the next.
She also has previous experience at the Indiana event, including third place in the 12U 85-pound individual bracket in 2024. This year’s dual-only format brings a different structure, but the setting will have some familiarity.
Shick is listed at 110 for the high school team and 120 for K-8. That makes her a name to follow across both rosters. Her high school assignment offers a chance to test a strong youth record against an older field, while the K-8 listing places her among the youth team’s experienced champions.
115 pounds Kaori Karas
Kaori Karas gives Illinois another current IKWF champion at 115 pounds. The PSF Wrestling Academy wrestler won Girls Senior 115 in 2026 after finishing second in Girls Senior 105 in 2025.
Her 2026 title run included victories over Ellie Nesci, Nahla Haleem and Adiya Bailey. Winning successive matches against that group supplies a stronger picture of her state performance than the championship label alone.
Karas also won the 2025 Central Regional girls 14U freestyle championship at 110. FloWrestling lists her competing at the 2026 Adidas Nationals at 118, adding national tournament experience to her state and regional accomplishments.
At War of the Roses, she joins Shick and Vazquez in a promising stretch of the high school lineup. Her progression from state runner-up to champion makes her one of the young wrestlers Illinois fans should watch closely as she takes on this All-Star assignment.
120 pounds Aaliyah Vazquez
Aaliyah Vazquez, whose surname appears as Vasquez on the team graphic, brings an IWCOA championship and IHSA state tournament experience to 120 pounds.
The Warren wrestler won the 2025 IWCOA Girls High School title at 110. She followed that with a 2026 IHSA state qualification at 115, giving her experience in both postseason series. Her 2026 season also included runner-up finishes at her IHSA regional and the Lake County Invitational.
That background makes Vazquez a valuable part of the team’s middle weights. She has prepared for matches with postseason advancement at stake and earned her way into the IHSA state field. The national dual setting adds new opponents and a different team responsibility, but important high school matches are already part of her experience.
125 pounds Luna Elmer
Luna Elmer enters her 125-pound assignment after winning the 2026 IKWF Girls Senior title at 110. Her earlier IKWF results included third in Girls Novice 112 in 2024 and fourth in Girls Senior 110 in 2025.
The 2026 championship is the clearest step forward in that sequence. Elmer had already shown she could place at state, then returned and won her bracket.
Her spring and summer added freestyle experience. She finished third at the 2026 Illinois girls 16U freestyle state tournament at 115 and competed at Fargo in that same age division and weight class, recording a championship-bracket victory over Abigail Burns.
The IKWF title gives Elmer a recent folkstyle championship to build upon, while Fargo exposed her to a wider range of opponents. She carries both experiences into the high school All-Star assignment.
130 pounds Rilynn Younker
Rilynn Younker brings three consecutive IHSA state medals to the Illinois Matwomen lineup. She placed fourth at 110 pounds in 2024, fifth at 110 in 2025 and fifth at 115 in 2026.
That repeated success on the IHSA stage gives Younker one of the team’s strongest high school postseason records. She has returned to the state tournament and earned a medal across three seasons, giving Illinois an established source of experience at 130.
Her 2026 freestyle season added an Illinois state championship in the USAW Juniors division at 120 pounds. She also went 4-0 for Illinois at the Women’s National Duals and earned a place on USA Wrestling’s Juniors freestyle All-Tournament Team. Juniors here identifies the USAW age division, rather than her grade in school.
The national dual performance is particularly relevant to the task ahead. Younker has already put together an unbeaten run while representing Illinois in team competition. War of the Roses changes the style to folkstyle, but gives her another chance to help a lineup through several rounds of demanding matches.
135 pounds Rita Grant
Rita Grant moves into the 135-pound position on the updated roster. Her background includes a runner-up finish at the 2025 IKWF championships in Girls Senior 125.
During the 2026 high school season, she placed third at both the IHSA Mt. Zion Regional and the Rantoul Invitational at 125 pounds. Those results connect a youth state finals appearance with subsequent high school tournament experience.
Grant’s recent record gives Illinois a wrestler who has competed for meaningful placements in both settings. At 135, she begins a three-weight stretch that also includes Ivy Grant and Londyn Grant. Each will have a separate matchup to solve, and Rita’s result can help establish the direction of that portion of the dual.
140 pounds Ivy Grant
Ivy Grant’s place on the updated roster is 140 pounds. She enters with consecutive IKWF championships, winning Girls Novice 140 in 2025 and Girls Senior 135 in 2026.
Her 2026 state championship match ended with a pin over Kaylynn Lewis. The result capped another successful postseason and gives Illinois a recent example of Grant producing bonus points in an important folkstyle match.
The broader story is her ability to return to the top after moving from Novice to Senior. A repeat title across those divisions is a substantial youth accomplishment, and it makes Grant one of the high school lineup’s intriguing young wrestlers.
Her War of the Roses assignment will bring its own challenges. Illinois will be looking for her to turn that championship experience into wins and take advantage of finishing opportunities when they develop.
145 pounds Londyn Grant
Londyn Grant is listed at 145 in this version of the high school lineup. She brings a sixth-place finish at the 2025 IWCOA Girls High School championships at 135 and a 2026 Rantoul Invitational championship at 130.
Grant also placed third at the 2026 IHSA Mt. Zion Regional at 130. Her Rantoul championship was secured by pin, giving her a recent high school tournament title to carry into the fall.
The combination of an IWCOA state medal and a subsequent invitational championship makes her contribution worth watching. At 145, she can help Illinois sustain a productive run through the middle weights or provide an important response when the opposing team has gained momentum.
165 pounds Jade Zambrano
Jade Zambrano brings youth state finals experience and a national team competition background to the 165-pound position.
She finished second at the 2024 IKWF championships in Girls Novice 180. Competing for Beat the Streets, she advanced through a bracket that included victories over Anniston Brinker and Anastasia Crum before reaching the championship match.
Zambrano also represented Illinois at 150 pounds in the 2025 Women’s National Duals. Her more recent results include second at the 2026 Illinois Greco-Roman State Championships in girls 14U 165.
Zambrano has continued seeking competition across styles. Her IKWF finals appearance provides a strong folkstyle accomplishment, and her experience wrestling for an Illinois dual team gives her another point of reference for the weekend ahead.
175 pounds Iy’Jah Grant
Iy’Jah Grant’s updated assignment is 175 pounds. She qualified for the 2026 IHSA state tournament at 170 after winning the Mt. Zion Regional at that weight.
Her earlier postseason record includes fourth at the 2025 IWCOA Girls High School championships at 170. The regional title and subsequent IHSA qualification added another strong season to that state placement.
Grant gives Illinois Matwomen high school postseason experience among its upper weights. Depending on where a dual begins, her match could arrive with the team trying to build a lead, erase a deficit or keep a close meet within reach.
She has already competed successfully in matches that determine advancement. At War of the Roses, the next step is putting that experience to work for the team through successive rounds.
190 pounds Marley Clark
Marley Clark adds an accomplished high school wrestler at the heaviest position named on the updated team graphic. The Peoria Richwoods wrestler won the 2026 Canton Girls Invitational at 190 pounds, finishing the championship match with a pin over Patience Riggs.
Clark also reached the 190-pound third-place match at the 2026 IWCOA Girls High School championships. Her summer included an appearance in the 2026 Fargo Juniors girls freestyle tournament.
Those experiences give the roster another wrestler familiar with both Illinois high school competition and a national field. Her Canton championship is particularly relevant because it came in folkstyle at the same weight listed for War of the Roses.
Clark’s addition gives Illinois an important opportunity at 190. A strong upper-weight result can change the team score quickly, and she arrives with a recent tournament championship showing what she has already accomplished at that position.
K-8 ALL-STAR PREVIEW
The K-8 team has meaningful achievements throughout its announced lineup. Maleya and Swayze Campbell bring national placements and recent state championships. Norah Shick adds three consecutive IKWF titles, while Bailey Flanigan, Layla Giertych and Emilee Meier have also reached the top of the IKWF podium.
There are developing stories alongside those established names. Millie Liefer improved her state placement in 2026. Makenna Austra reached the IKWF finals. Pamela Salazar and Cassidei Ross give the updated roster two named options at 100 pounds.
That mix should make the youth team’s matches worth following well beyond the most familiar names.
50 pounds Jillian Chapman
Jillian Chapman holds the lightest listed K-8 position. Her 2026 results include an Illinois Greco-Roman state championship in the girls 8U 46-pound division.
That title was earned in a different style and at a different weight from her War of the Roses assignment. It nevertheless gives Chapman experience competing in a state championship setting as she prepares for the 50-pound folkstyle position.
For one of the youngest wrestlers in the lineup, the weekend offers a chance to compete against a broader field while having teammates and coaches beside her. Her results will matter to the team, and each round will provide another opportunity to become more comfortable in a large tournament environment.
56 pounds Maleya Campbell and Penelope Flores
Illinois has two named wrestlers at 56 pounds, with Maleya Campbell and Penelope Flores bringing different accomplishments into the shared position.
Campbell won the 2026 IKWF Girls Intermediate championship at 53 pounds. That followed IKWF Bantam titles at 43 in 2024 and 45 in 2025, giving her three consecutive years of state championships. She also won the 2026 Illinois girls 10U freestyle title at 53 and placed eighth at the 2026 USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals in girls 10U 53.
The national placement adds to an already strong state record. Campbell has continued winning as her age division and weight have changed, and the latest IKWF title provides a direct folkstyle result to build upon.
Flores finished fourth at the 2026 IKWF championships in Girls Bantam 55. Her record also includes second at the 2025 USA Wrestling Winter Classic in girls 8U 62.
Both deserve recognition within this position. Campbell’s championship history makes her a prominent name, while Flores brings her own state medal and tournament experience. Their shared listing gives the coaches two athletes to consider as the schedule unfolds.
62 pounds Swayze Campbell
Swayze Campbell enters at 62 with one of the youth lineup’s strongest national results. She finished second at the 2026 USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals in the girls 10U 57-pound division.
She also won the 2026 IKWF Girls Intermediate title at 57 and the Illinois girls 10U freestyle state championship at 62. Her IKWF tournament included four victories, with a pin and three major decisions.
Those results make Campbell a wrestler to watch for her ability to help a dual score. She has shown that she can win important matches and, in her state championship run, create margins that produce bonus points.
Her earlier record includes the 2025 IKWF Girls Bantam title at 50 and an eighth-place finish at the 2025 Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in the girls grades 3-5 division. War of the Roses gives her another national setting in which to apply that experience.
68 pounds Sloane Gabler
Sloane Gabler is the listed wrestler at 68 pounds in the updated lineup. She placed fourth at the 2025 Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in the girls grades 3-5, 59.4-64-pound bracket.
She also finished third at the 2025 IKWF championships in Girls Intermediate 57 and won her girls grades 3-4 bracket at the 2024 Midwest Nationals in Bloomington, Illinois. That Bloomington event is separate from War of the Roses in Indiana.
Gabler’s national placement gives her experience beyond the Illinois state series. At 68, she can help maintain the pressure created by the team’s accomplished lightweights while pursuing her own successful weekend against unfamiliar opponents.
74 pounds Makenna Austra
Makenna Austra reached the 2026 IKWF championship match in Girls Intermediate 67, finishing second. That followed third place in Girls Intermediate 62 in 2025.
She also won the 2025 Illinois girls 10U freestyle state championship at 67. Her record therefore includes a freestyle title and consecutive folkstyle state medals, with an improved IKWF finish in the most recent season.
Austra brings those results into the 74-pound position for Illinois Matwomen. Reaching a state final is an accomplishment worth recognizing, and her progress gives supporters a clear reason to follow her through this tournament. The next opportunity is to turn that individual postseason success into wins that contribute to a team result.
82 pounds Bailey Flanigan
Bailey Flanigan brings a 2025 IKWF Girls Intermediate championship at 67 pounds and a 2026 third-place finish in Girls Novice 74 into her 82-pound assignment.
The move from an Intermediate title to a Novice state medal is a useful part of her story. Flanigan remained on the podium while competing in an older division, adding another strong folkstyle season to her record.
She also won the 2025 Illinois girls 12U freestyle state championship at 69. Those achievements give the youth lineup a wrestler with success in both styles and experience returning to important matches after a championship season. Illinois will look for her to be influential through the middle of its K-8 lineup.
90 pounds Millie Liefer
Millie Liefer improved from seventh at the 2025 IKWF championships in Girls Intermediate 72 to fourth in Girls Intermediate 82 in 2026.
That improvement is the central point of her preview. Liefer returned to state, moved into a different weight class and earned a higher finish. It gives her a positive recent result to carry into the 90-pound team assignment.
War of the Roses provides a chance to see how that progress holds up against wrestlers from other programs. A productive performance at 90 could be especially valuable in a dual where the teams have traded results through the lower weights and are still closely matched.
100 pounds Pamela Salazar and Cassidei Ross
Pamela Salazar and Cassidei Ross share the updated 100-pound position, adding two athletes whose contributions deserve attention in this second preview.
Salazar’s tournament records use the spelling Pamella. Her 2026 results include fourth at the Illinois Greco-Roman State Championships in girls 14U 100, competing for Riot Room Wrestling. Her earlier wrestling history also includes competition with McHenry Wrestling Club.
The Greco-Roman result adds another style of competition to her background as she prepares for this folkstyle assignment. War of the Roses gives Salazar a chance to contribute to a traveling Illinois team and build on the experience she has gained in state and club events.
Ross, competing for Astro Wrestling Club, placed third in Girls Novice 96 at the 2026 IKWF Central Chicago Sectional. She earned pins over Naila Ferguson in the consolation semifinals and Sara Braun in the third-place match.
Those wins provide a specific example of Ross responding after a setback and finishing a tournament with consecutive victories. That ability to prepare again after a difficult match is useful in a weekend of repeated duals. Together, Salazar and Ross give the coaching staff two named options at a weight that connects the middle of the youth lineup to its more experienced upper positions.
110 pounds Layla Giertych
Layla Giertych won the 2025 IKWF Girls Intermediate title at 82 pounds and the 2025 Illinois girls 12U freestyle championship at 87. She added another Illinois girls 12U freestyle title in 2026, this time at 112.
Her record also includes seventh in Girls Novice 102 at the 2026 IKWF championships and fourth at the 2024 Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in the girls grades 3-5, 71-76-pound bracket.
Giertych has experienced championship runs and the work required to earn a placement through a difficult tournament. Both are relevant to a national dual weekend. At 110, she gives Illinois another wrestler with a substantial set of results and a chance to make a difference in the youth team’s upper half.
120 pounds Norah Shick
Shick’s K-8 assignment places a three-time IKWF champion at 120 pounds. Her 2024 Intermediate title and 2025 and 2026 Novice championships make her one of the youth roster’s clearest examples of sustained state success.
Her presence here also creates a promising sequence with Giertych at 110 and Meier at 135. All three have won IKWF titles, although those championships were earned in different seasons, divisions and weights.
The dual format will test how those individual records translate against the actual opposing lineup. Shick’s experience gives Illinois reason for optimism, and her appearance on both team announcements makes her assignments one of the weekend’s distinctive storylines.
135 pounds Emilee Meier
Emilee Meier brings both state championship experience and a direct connection to last year’s War of the Roses competition.
She won the 2024 IKWF Girls Intermediate title at 113 pounds and finished second in Girls Novice 125 at the 2026 IKWF championships. Her freestyle accomplishments include Illinois state titles in girls 12U 126 in 2025 and girls 14U 125 in 2026.
At the 2025 Indiana event, official dual results record Meier earning a pin at 135 pounds for Team Intensity Gold. That gives her a particularly relevant result to carry into this preview. She has already contributed a fall in the tournament setting Illinois Matwomen is about to enter.
At 135, Meier can draw on a youth state championship, a recent state finals appearance and previous event experience. That combination makes her an important part of the K-8 team’s outlook.
170 pounds Ruby Holden
Ruby Holden occupies the heaviest position named on the K-8 announcement. She won the 2025 Illinois girls 14U freestyle state championship at 180 pounds and finished second in Girls Novice 185 at the 2025 IKWF championships.
In 2026, Holden placed seventh at IKWF in Girls Senior 185 and fourth at Illinois Greco-Roman state in girls 14U 165. Her recent competition therefore spans multiple styles and a move into the Senior division in the IKWF series.
Her 170-pound assignment gives Illinois a wrestler with several seasons of state tournament experience at an important upper weight. Holden will have the opportunity to turn that experience into team points and help the youth lineup remain competitive through its heavier matchups.
WHAT TO WATCH WHEN THE DUALS BEGIN
The high school team’s repeated postseason success gives it several potential sources of wins. Younker’s IHSA medals, Becker’s and Vazquez’s IWCOA titles, and the youth championships carried by DeMarco, Shick, Karas, Elmer and Ivy Grant provide a substantial starting point. Clark’s addition at 190 gives the updated team another recent high school tournament champion.
On the K-8 side, national experience among the lighter weights and state success farther up the lineup create several promising combinations. Maleya and Swayze Campbell’s results are particularly notable, while the stretch featuring Giertych, Shick and Meier brings repeated championship experience into the heavier half of the announced team.
The results between those familiar names will matter just as much. A win from a wrestler earning wider recognition for the first time can change a dual. Staying competitive against an accomplished opponent can leave the next teammate with a realistic opportunity. The team score gives every bout a connection to the ones that follow.
There is also the test of returning ready for the next round. Saturday’s workload will ask wrestlers to recover physically and respond mentally, then Sunday will bring another set of matches. The coaches’ adjustments and the girls’ ability to apply them will become increasingly important as the weekend develops.
Illinois Matwomen has reasons to be excited about both teams. The current roster includes wrestlers whose achievements are already familiar to Illinois fans and others whose next important result may come in Columbus. Austin Buehler, Ryan Shick, Jake Campbell and Shaina Campbell will be in their corner as this group takes its turn at War of the Roses.
