WAVERLY, Iowa—The Wartburg women's wrestling team opens the inaugural season at the Luther Hill Invitational hosted by Simpson College on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Season Outlook
"We are excited that our inaugural season is here," said head coach Brady Kyner. "We put a lot of work in recruiting-wise the last year. We were able to bring in 15 in this first class: 14 freshmen and one transfer so we're excited to have some depth this first year. They are training hard as we're three weeks into the season with the extra days with the new NCAA compliance allowance.
"We've had to teach a little about the basics of freestyle wrestling, as high school girl's wrestling does folkstyle, but they're all caught up and ready to get rolling," he continued.

When asked about how the differences were taught, Kyner said, "I've been fortunate to have a great assistant coach in CarrieAnn Randolph that did a Freestyle 101 session and broke everything down before we got into practice. Everyone in the room has been eager to learn."


Wartburg's Department of Journalism and Communication has a public relations class, where a group has the women's wrestling team as their client. Some of those project items will be done with fans in mind to educate people on the differences between freestyle and what to watch for when attending competitions. "We have an upcoming video project to showcase and help our fans understand the differences in freestyle versus folkstyle which should be released soon," said Kyner. "I don't think it will take long for people to learn the difference. Points go flying, so it will be fun to watch."

Like the men (folkstyle), there are 10 weight classes in collegiate women's wrestling. "Until we're an NCAA sponsored sport, we can take 15 to nationals, which can also breakdown to two people at five weights if you want, etc." Kyner is excited about the progress of women's wrestling becoming an NCAA sponsored sport. "There was an article released last week that progress is being made, so the hope is in two years (March 2026), we'll be an NCAA sport."

With a brand-new sport and first season, basically everyone on the team is a newcomer, but Kyner has seen leadership develop quickly. "Through our team bonding activities, everyone has become close," he said. "They hold each other accountable, and we've had a few that have stepped up. They might not say a lot, but when they do, people listen."

The home competitions are the ones that Kyner hopes fans circle on their calendars to attend. "Our home opener will be a double dual with the men on Dec. 7," he said. "We host UW-Stevens Point and the men will host Nebraska Wesleyan.

"We will also host all conference schools for a dual tournament the same day as the men's conference pods," he continued. "We are not an official conference sport yet, but will host this pseudo conference tournament. We will also host UW-Stevens Point and Augsburg in a triangular on Jan. 27. We wanted the first meeting against Augsburg to be at home, with the hope that next year it will be a double Battle of the Burgs, as it's the men's turn to host them in Waverly next season."