McKendree Edged Iowa to Claim the First NCAA Women’s
McKendree won the inaugural NCAA National Collegiate women’s wrestling team championship on March 7, 2026, in Coralville, Iowa. The Bearcats finished with 171 points to Iowa’s 166 after two days of competition at Xtream Arena.
A five-point margin decided the first team title
The March 6–7 tournament brought the first official NCAA championships in women’s wrestling to the national stage. McKendree, coached by Alexio Garcia, finished ahead of an Iowa program competing near its home base.
The close final total made the team race a narrow contest rather than a runaway result. McKendree’s 171-point finish established the program as the first team champion in the NCAA event’s record book.
One championship field brought three divisions together
The National Collegiate format combined athletes from Divisions I, II and III. The inaugural field included 180 qualifiers across ten weight classes, with schools able to qualify one wrestler in each division of competition.
Six regional tournaments determined the field. The top three finishers at each weight advanced, producing eighteen-wrestler brackets and a route to nationals for programs from all three NCAA divisions.
The tournament completed a major institutional milestone
Women’s wrestling had joined the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in 2020. It became the association’s ninety-first championship in January 2025, setting the stage for the first tournament the following year.
The Coralville competition converted that approval into individual and team championship results. McKendree’s narrow win over Iowa supplied the first team-title outcome in a sport whose collegiate participation had grown substantially before receiving NCAA championship status.
Sources
- NCAA: dates, team scores and championship coach
- NCAA: combined-division format, qualifying field and championship history
