DIII Women’s Update
As the midpoint of the 2022-2023 season approaches, here is a quick update on the state of women’s wrestling at the Division III level. There are 43 schools that either have a women’s wrestling team or have announced plans to start one. Two schools have announced the start of women’s wrestling, but enough time has passed since then without a team that it does not seem to be happening.
Has wrestling in 2022 (29): Adrian, Albion, Alvernia, Augsburg, Augustana, Aurora, Carthage, Cedar Crest, Cornell, Delaware Valley, Elmira, Eureka, Ferrum, Fontbonne, Greensboro, Hiram, Lakeland, Linfield, NJCU, North Central, Pacific, Schreiner, Simpson, UW-Stevens Point, Trine, University of the Ozarks, Ursinus, Western New England, Westminster
Has announced plans to begin women’s wrestling (14): Alfred State, Alma, Buena Vista, Buffalo State, Central, Dubuque, Huntingdon, John Carroll, Loras, Marymount, Southern Virginia, Utica, Wartburg, York
New England College and Concordia-Wisconsin both announced women’s wrestling but those efforts have either stalled or been shelved. Women’s wrestling no longer appears on the NEC website, and the last article on the Concordia website is from February of 2020 and announces plans to begin women’s wrestling that fall.
DIII teams appearing in the latest NCAA team rankings include North Central (2), Augsburg (5), Adrian (T13), NJCU (T16), Albion (T18), UW-Stevens Point (T19), and Schreiner (T19). The December 8th individual rankings include top ranked DIII wrestlers Sydney Petzinger (North Central, 109), Jaslyn Gallegos (North Central, 116), Nina Makem (Augsburg, 136), Marlynne Deede (Augsburg, 155), and Yelena Makoyed (North Central, 170). Since those rankings came out, Petzinger and Gallegos each lost to the #2 ranked wrestler at their respective weights, and Alexis Janiak of Aurora avenged an earlier loss to the #1 ranked wrestler at 130.
Women’s wrestling is an Emerging Sport in the NCAA. Once enough teams sponsor the sport and meet roster size and participation requirements, the sport can then move from Emerging to Championship status. A sport can gain championship status once 40 schools meet the minimum sponsorship requirement across all divisions. Also, a Division III championship can be created once 28 DIII schools sponsor the sport. Both milestones are within reach in the coming seasons. Not all of the 29 DIII teams competing this season will reach the minimum participation requirement of having at least six athletes in seven or more competitions, but that should change in the coming years as the number of teams and athletes increases.