MAHEIM, Pa. - McKendree University women's wrestling closed the national rankings gap in the latest and fourth overall National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) rankings, remaining second nationally with 112 points, just six behind top-ranked King (118 points). The Bearcats boast 14 total ranked wrestlers and have four top-ranked individuals, which marks the most by any team and is only one of two with multiple top-ranks, in the fourth poll released by the NWCA. McKendree most recently competed in the NWCA /NUWAY National Duals and Mat Mayhem, where they finished second to No.1 King and went 5-1 at the two-day tournament overall. 

TEAM RANKINGS
McKendree battled back into the top tier in points but never left the number two national ranking. The Bearcats were 17 points behind King in the December national poll but through a strong showing and adding two ranked wrestlers to the mix, moved up to 112 total points to trail top-ranked King by just six points (118 total). With the bump in individuals and overall points, King and McKendree lead the next program by more than 50 team points in the ranking and are tied for the most ranked individuals with 14. The Bearcats continue to boast the most top-ranking for wrestlers with four (116, 143, 155, 191) while also owning a 5-1 duals record so far this season. 

TOP-10 Rankings
1. King | 118 points, 14 individuals
2. McKendree | 112 points, 14 individuals
3. Simon Fraser | 60 points, 7 individuals
4. North Central | 55 points, 9 individuals
5. Augsburg | 43 points, 4 individuals
6. Presbyterian | 35 points, 4 individuals
7. Colorado Mesa | 32 points, 5 individuals
8. Tiffin | 30 points, 4 individuals
9. Adrian | 23 points, 2 individuals
10. Emmanuel | 19 points, 2 individuals

TOP-RANKED INDIVIDUALS
Senior Felicity Taylor returned to the top of her 116lb class after not wrestling in the fall slate of this season. Taylor made an immediate impact for the Bearcats as well at National Duals with three victories and one forfeiture win as well. The senior beat second-ranked Sage Mortimer of King in the National Duals first place match, earning a tech fall (10-0) in under two minutes (1:57). Taylor collected her first tech fall against Kendra Ryan of North Central (10-0) as well in the tournament. Her third win came against Lindenwood's Amanda McAleavey via pin at the 2:26 mark. With her performance at Mat Mayhem, Taylor, a native of Spillville, Iowa, jumped immediately to the top of the chart in her class. 

Junior Alara Boyd, a native of Muncie, Indiana, continued her streak of ranking atop her weight class but she did change classes in the process. Boyd, who went 5-0 in the National Duals tournament, shifted down to the 143lb class from where she began the season in the 155lb. The junior proved to still be a major force while wrestling down as she defeated three ranked opponents in the tournament and won all matches wrestled (one victory by forfeiture versus Presbyterian) by either fall or tech fall. At the NWCA-hosted tournament, Boyd defeated fifth-ranked London Houston during the first-place matchup by pin only a minute and a half in (1:34), it marked her second fall victory of the outing while also pinning Juliana Moreno of Lindenwood (1:32). The three tech fall wins that were posted by the junior came against Adrian's Nahomi Marmolejo (11-0, 0:31), No.8 Kim Nunez of North Central (10-0, 3:00), and No.6 Nia Miranda of Tiffin (10-0, 2:55). Even after dropping a class, the junior performed extremely well to earn a 5-0 overall slate at the national dual tournament, solidifying her top-ranking. 

In the 155 class, senior Kayla Marano moved into the number one ranking after she held second behind Boyd in the fall rankings. Marano collected a 5-1 record in 2022 so far with three victories against newly-ranked individuals at Mat Mayhem. The senior went for one victory by pin, two wins by tech fall, and three by decision. Marano earned wins against new-No.8 Taylor Hites (Tiffin), new-No.6 Tiera Jimerson (North Central), and new-No.5 Taylor Cutler (Adrian). Her two tech falls came in the matchup against Hites by a score of 11-0 (2:58) and versus Presbyterian's Isabella Badon (10-0, 1:30). 

Senior Sydnee Kimber topped out the 191 class with three victories by fall at the National Duals tournament, also adding one by forfeiture against Presbyterian. In her three victories, the Sitka, Alaska-native took no more than 45 second to pin her opponent, taking down then-No.2 and current No.3 Nia Crosdale of King in 27 second during the first place match. Kimber added a fall victory at 32 seconds against Kaycee Fitero of Lindenwood and at 45 second versus Fiona McConnell of North Central.  

RANKED BEARCATS (14)
101
No.5 | Lizette Rodriguez | So. | Fremont, California / James Logan
109