CORALVILLE, Iowa – The no. 5 King University women's wrestling team finished fifth at the 2025 NCWWC National Championships, in the last such tournament prior to the NCAA sponsoring a women's wrestling championship. King had seven All-Americans, including a pair of national runners-up.
THE BASICS
KING RESULT: 5th (92.5 points)
LOCATION: Xtream Arena; Coralville, Iowa
HOW IT HAPPENED
- #3 Samara Chavez steamrolled her way into the championship at 110 pounds, winning her first two matches by tech fall before pinning Chloe Dearwester of Presbyterian in 1:02. After winning her semifinal match over #2 Ava Bayless of Iowa, she dropped an 11-7 decision to top-ranked Sage Mortimer in the finals.
- Clare Booe, ranked no. 3 in the country, opened the tournament with a win by pin and a win via tech fall before earning a 3-0 decision in the quarterfinals. After beating top-ranked Brianna Gonzalez of Iowa in the semifinals, she fell 10-6 to North Central's Sydney Petzinger.
- Wrestling at 124 pounds, #2 Montana DeLawder finished fourth, winning her first two matches before dropping her quarterfinal match to #9 Alexandra Fitzgerald of Sacred Heart. She then rattled off three straight wins, including a tech fall over Presbterian's Alyssa Mahan, who was ranked sixth in the country. In the third-place match, she fell 7-4, earning All-America status once again.
- #5 Aine Drury placed fifth at 145 pounds, winning her first three matches, two of which came via fall. After a pair of losses, she won the fifth-place match by fall over #5 Madeline Kubicki of Presbyterian, needing just 1:23 to earn All-America honors.
- #8 Avery Kibelbek won her first two matches at 103 pounds, including a 5-4 decision over Madison Avila of North Central before dropping her quarterfinal contest to top-ranked Rianne Murphy of Iowa. She then won two straight before falling in her final two matches, including a narrow 6-4 decision in the fifth-place match.
- #10 Mia Zuniga had three wins en route to an eighth-place finish, including a second round decision over #3 Rayana Shagun of Grand Valley State, as well as a win in the consolation rounds over Genesis Ramirez of Aurora.
RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
103 – #8
Avery Kibelbek 6th (4-3); #10
Mia Zuniga 8th (3-3)
110 – #3
Samara Chavez 2nd (4-1); #6
Dianna Holmes 8th (3-3)
117 – #3
Clare Booe 2nd (4-1); #6
Melanie Mendoza (2-2)
124 – #2
Montana DeLawder 4th (5-2)
131 –
Anna DiCugno (1-2);
Jessica Corredor (0-2)
145 – #4
Aine Drury 5th (4-2)
