CORALVILLE, IA • For the second consecutive season, the North Central Cardinals women’s wrestling program has earned a national runner–up finish to the Iowa Hawkeyes, and once again, the Cardinals gave the Hawks all they could handle. In the end, the Cardinals would crown two champions and see an additional ten women stand on the podium, but it would not be enough to hold off the Hawks even though the Cards wrestled a strong tournament.
With North Central qualifying 15 women to the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships and truly being the only other contender for a national title, it was simply a matter of performance—and the Cardinals performed!
The Cardinals cheered on as two of their own would not only go on to win titles and lead the way, but Sydney Petzinger (117 pounds) and Amani Jones (124 pounds), a combination that has made winning in the lower weights difficult for the rest of the country all season, also became four-time All-Americans in the process.
Petzinger, who came in as the number three seed, made fast work of each of her four opponents on her way to the finals.
In her opening round bout, she would score a 10-0 technical superiority against McKendree’s Jenna Beddow, before winning by fall over York’s Gisele Ramirez in 1:41. And then, in the quarterfinals, she would collect a second technical superiority, another 10-0 win, this time over King’s Melanie Mendoza.
Now in the semifinals, Petzinger would wrestle Karissa Turnwall from Emmanuel University, and it would be as it had been all tournament, all Petzinger. She would go two-two in the first period, and then two-two-two in the second for a 10-1 decision. Once in the finals, Petzinger would face the number four seeded Clare Booe of King who upset the one seed from Iowa in the semifinals.
The championship bout would open in Booe’s favor with a defensive takedown off a Petzinger double leg nearly twenty seconds into the match, but Petzinger would score a two and two twenty seconds later with a slide by to a gut to go up 4-2. With about 1:30 remaining in the period, Booe would score another defensive takedown from a Petzinger shot off the whistle. The two-point takedown would make the score 4-4, but Booe had the lead on criteria heading into the break.
Out of the break, however, it was Petzinger setting the tone for the remainder of the match twenty-five seconds into the final period. She would fire in on an open double and force Booe to her back for four. From there, it was Petzinger and her two-on-one offense, and defense, controlling the ties and the pace.
Booe would score one more two-point exposure, but Petzinger would counter and put Booe to her back, almost pinning her. In the end, Petzinger would claim her title with a 10-6 win, and fall to the mat in excitement. Once she came to her feet and had her hand raised, she continued her celebration by flapping her arms and dancing to the raucous cheers from the Cardinal faithful.
Immediately after Petzinger’s title, it was Jones’ turn. Jones, who came in as the undefeated number one seed, would exit in the same fashion: undefeated and number one.
In her first three matches, Jones would win by a technical superiority going 13-2 over Emarie Bolosan of William Jewell, 11-0 over Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Annesley Day, and then defeating Colorado Mesa’s Lorianna Piestewa 10-0—Jones did not see the second period in any of her opening bouts.
For her quarterfinal win, it was a 9-4 decision over Grand Valley’s Aspen Blasko, but regardless of the four points given up, Jones controlled the entirety of the bout.
Now in the finals, Jones was on track for her second national title. She would now face Shelby Moore of McKendree. Immediately, Jones would be the aggressor and force two passivity calls on Moore before hitting a low single for the first takedown of the match and a 3-0 lead.
Moore would be in some advantageous positions to score, but Jones would counter masterfully. In the final minute of the match, Moore would be in on a single leg that would favor Jones as her defense placed her in position to score a takedown—these were the final points in the match and Jones would score a 5-0 shutout win, get up and widen her arms to the stands, nod her head, have her hand raised, and walk off the stage a two-time national champion.
The Cardinals would have two other ladies in the finals, Sara Sterner at 131 pounds, and Bella Mir at 145 pounds.
For Sterner, she was simply seconds away from defeating Alexis Janiak of Aurora University in what was almost an amazing comeback. Janiak would score in the first period with a passivity, and then a takedown to a leg lace. That would put her up 5-0 heading into the break.
Coming out of the break, Sterner would score a two exposure out of a scramble and a chin whizzer. The score would be 5-2 Janiak with two minutes remaining. The match would be competitive and close, and with seventeen seconds remaining, Sterner would unload with a headlock that sent Janiak down.
In this sequence, Janiak fought not to have her back exposed, but it was difficult to see, as the initial pop to the mat happened so quickly, if Sterner did break exposure as she squeezed her headlock and tried to buck Janiak over to her back before time expired. Janiak would find her way to her belly with five seconds left, a Cardinal-red challenge brick would be thrown onto the mat as only a takedown was awarded and confirmed; it was a review that would determine the national title.
After looking at the angles and the back and forth of replay, Janiak would do an incredible job of not having her back exposed. The Cardinal challenge would fail, and Janiak would win her first national title after coming in third and second the previous two seasons. For Sterner, who has battled with Janiak all season, it was a great match and almost a remarkable comeback.
For the three-seeded Mur, her national runner-up tournament would open with an impressive run to the finals. She would open with two falls and an 11-1 technical superiority before taking out the two seeded Iowan, Reese Larramendy, 6-3, on her way to the championship stage.
Once there, Mir had one of Iowa’s three undefeated wrestlers in Macey Kity. It would be Kity, 7-2, in the title bout, but Mir would do all she could for her team to keep them in the title run.
In the end, North Central would crown twelve All-Americans, and finish just twenty and one-half points behind champion Iowa. A runner-up finish for the Cardinals, but a tremendous tournament by what has become one of the country’s premier programs in women’s wrestling. And for his team’s effort, Head Coach Joe Norton was named the 2025 National Tournament Coach of the Year.
Here are North Central’s All-Americans in weight order:
103 • Madison Avila, 7th
110 • Kendra Ryan, 3rd
117 • Sydney Petzinger, 1st
124 • Amani Jones, 1st
131 • Sara Sterner, 2nd
138 • Taylor Graveman, 5th
145 • Bella Mir, 2nd
145 • Sydney Perry, 8th
160 • Tiera Jimerson, 8th
180 • Shenita Lawson, 4th
180 • Brittyn Corbishley, 5th
207 • Traeh Haynes, 5th
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• TC LIFONTI / LEAD WRITER FOR ILLINOIS MATMEN / tclifonti.com
