Centerville, IA – The five-time defending national champion Indian Hills Women's Wrestling squad will open the new year ranked No. 1 in the nation with a number of individuals in the top-10 of the national polls.
Announced by TheOpenMat on Thursday, the Warriors earned the top overall spot in both the Team Dual and Team Tournament rankings while boasting the top overall pound-for-pound wrestler in the country in sophomore Nevaeh Hayden (Tulsa, OK/Union).
The Warriors are coming off its fifth consecutive national title, and third at the sanction National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) level. The Warriors ran away with last year's title with 294.5 points and return eight All-Americans from last year's squad, including all three individual national champions – Hayden, Ariah Mervilus (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown), and Kennedi Johnson-Washington (Greenwood, SC/Greenwood).
Hayden, who captured the 180lb national title last year, will open the new year ranked No. 1 at 160lbs and earned the top overall spot in the national pound-for-pound rankings.
Mervilus, who entered last year as a freshman unranked in the initial polls before winning the national title, earned the No. 2 overall spot in the pound-for-pound rankings and will enter the new year ranked No. 1 at 117lbs.
Johnson-Washington, the 235lb national champion from a year ago, will head into the 2025-26 campaign ranked No. 8 overall in the pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 in the 235lb class.
In total, 15 individuals earned a spot in the national rankings, including five newcomers to the squad. Sophomore Brooklyn Noel (Moore, OK/Moore), an All-American with Southeast Community College last season, is ranked No. 2 overall in the 103lb weight class. Sophomore All-American Paola Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Rosalina C. Martinez) enters the new year ranked No. 1 overall in the 180lb class.
The Warriors are set to open the new year Saturday, November 1 in Indianola, IA with the Luther Hill Invitational. Fans can follow the action live: LUTHER HILL INVITATIONAL
| RANKINGS | ||
| Class | Name | Rank (Pound-for-Pound) |
| 103 | Brooklyn Noel | 2 |
| 103 | Chasey Karabell* | 3 |
| 110 | Abigail Querida Verdejo Rivero | 4 |
| 110 | Libby Norton | 8 |
| 117 | Ariah Mervilus*^# | 1 (2) |
| 124 | Gabriela Avila Diaz | 2 |
| 131 | Kaylea Beauchamp | 5 |
| 145 | Olivia Stean* | 2 |
| 160 | Nevaeh Hayden*^ | 1 (1) |
| 160 | Afi Koumasse | 5 |
| 180 | Paola Rodriguez* | 1 |
| 207 | Wyntergale Oxendine* | 2 |
| 207 | Ileen Castrejon* | 3 |
| 235 | Kennedi Johnson-Washington*^ | 1 (8) |
| 235 | Sha'Niayha Wysinger | 2 |
| * Returning All-American | ||
| ^ Defending National Champion |
NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW
Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Women's Wrestling squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @IHCCAthletics | @IHCCWrestling
- Facebook: Indian Hills Athletics | Indian Hills Wrestling
- Instagram: @IndianHills_CC_Wrestling | @IHCCAthletics
- Youtube: Indian Hills Athletics
- Website: www.indianhillsathletics.com
- Catch up with the history of Indian Hills Women's Wrestling: Indian Hills Women's Wrestling Record Book
- Keep up with former Indian Hills Women's Wrestling standouts and where they are now | Next Level Warriors - Indian Hills Women's Wrestling
- All home duals take place at the Multi-Purpose Building on the Indian Hills Centerville Campus
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home wrestling matches. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
- Website: https://www.iowamedianetwork.com/gohillstv to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
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