McKendree’s massive recruiting and transfer haul was the talk of the off-season, and a few of those wrestlers appeared in the team’s 34-13 win over Missouri Baptist on Thursday night in St. Louis Missouri.

The Bearcats won eight of 10 matches, losing the first and last bout of the evening. Olivia Shore saw her first action at 101 pounds since she won the 2022 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships at the same weight. 

Shore was in a back-and-forth battle with Alyssa Quezaire when Quezaire hit a belly-to-back four-point throw with 15 seconds remaining in the match. The Bearcat star landed on her head and appeared to be unconscious for a few seconds before regaining composure. 

Quezaire eventually won by injury default and was leading at the time. 

Former high school stars Shelby Moore (123) and Destiny Rodriguez (155) notched decisions during their first college matches, while Viktorya Torres — a two-time NCWWC All-American for King — earned a 12-2 technical superiority at 143 and NAIA All-American Salyna Shotwell won by fall. Pauline Granados — a 2020 NCWWC champion at 101 pounds — notched a 10-0 tech at 109.

Several of the team’s top stars presumed to be in the lineup at some point did not compete, including:

— Emily Shilson, SR (5x national champion) — transfer
— Faith Cole, SO (6th at 2023 NAIA Championships) — transfer
— Alex Szkotnicki, FR
— Payton Stroud, SR (8-5-5 at NCWWCs)
— Sophia Mirabella, JR (4th at 2021 NCWWC) — transfer
— Solana Mottola (5th at 2022 NCWWC) — transfer
— Julia Vidallon (2020 WCWA champion) — transfer  
— Nichole Moore (6-5 at NAIA) — transfer
— Cam Guerin (3x NCWWC champion)
— Estella Gutches, FR
— Savannah Gomez, FR
— Lillian Freitas, FR
— Tristan Kelly, JR (3rd at 2021 NCWWC) — transfer
— Kiara Ganey, FR

McKendree 34 (NCAA), Missouri Baptist (NAIA) 13

101: Alyssa Quezaire (Missouri Baptist University) over Olivia Shore (McKendree University) (Inj. 5:47)

109: Pauline Granados (McKendree University) over Alyssa King (Missouri Baptist University) (TF 10-0 1:56)

116: Salyna Shotwell (McKendree University) over Andrea Karagiannis (Missouri Baptist University) (Fall 0:26)

123: Shelby Moore (McKendree University) over Juliana Diaz (Missouri Baptist University) (Dec 8-3) 

130: Jennifer Soto (McKendree University) over Chloe Herrick (Missouri Baptist University) (Fall 0:46)

136: Julianna Kilroy (McKendree University) over Abigail Mattson (Missouri Baptist University) (Fall 1:34)

143: Viktorya Torres (McKendree University) over Cara Cheng (Missouri Baptist University) (TF 12-2 2:57)

155: Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree University) over Anastasia Hardin (Missouri Baptist University) (Dec 7-3)

170: Ruby Rios (McKendree University) over Josette Partney (Missouri Baptist University) (Fall 5:42) 

191: Faith Macharia (Missouri Baptist University) over Erika Brokvich (McKendree University) (Fall 0:41) 5 0

How many women’s college national championships are there?

Below is a guide to the different national college women’s championships since 2004. 

WCWA — Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association
This organization was created in 2004 to provide women an opportunity to compete. It included all divisions and the end-of-the-year tournament was considered the college national championship. The final WCWA championship was held in 2020. 

NAIA — National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
An NAIA invitational was held in 2019, canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, and resumed in 2021. The 2023 NAIA Championships were the first officially sanctioned women’s collegiate national championship. 

NCWWC — National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships
This division includes all NCAA programs (D1, D2, and D3), and the first national championship was held in 2020. NCAA women’s wrestling is currently an emerging sport.