CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 9 Fort Hays State women's wrestling team battled through a challenging opening day at the NWCA/USMC National Duals, coming up short in their first two matches of the tournament. The No. 9 ranked Tigers fell 28-20 to Sacred Heart University in the opening round, then 25-24 to No. 20 ranked William Jewell in the consolation first round. The Tigers are now 4-2 overall for the season.

Sacred Heart 28, Fort Hays State 20
The Tigers fought adversity right out of the gate when Sacred Heart claimed the first match by injury default just over two minutes into action. SHU picked up a fall in the 110 match and led 10-0 to start.
 
No. 8 ranked Leiannah Landreth (117) and Morgan Maschmann (124) gave the Tigers life with back-to-back wins. Landreth dominated with a 13-1 tech fall and Maschmann was just one point shy of a tech fall, but had to settle for an 11-2 decision. SHU led 12-7 through four matches.
 
Sacred Heart moved back in front by 10 with another fall at 131, but No. 10 ranked Peyton Hellmann responded with a fall of her own in just 31 seconds at 138, making the score 17-12 in favor of Sacred Heart.
 
Dylen Ritchey tightened the screws a bit more on the SHU lead with a 4-2 decision at 145, leaving the Tigers down by just three, but Sacred Heart's third fall of the match at 160 put its lead at 23-15. No. 1 ranked Isabella Renfro continued her dominant run for the season, offsetting the SHU fall with a pin in 1:38. Sacred Heart led 23-20 going into the final match.
 
Grace Johns had a good start in the 207 match with an early lead, trying to push the Tigers past the Pioneers. However, the match turned in favor of SHU and ended with a fall solidifying the win for the Pioneers. The teams split the matches within the dual 5-5, but all five of the SHU wins were worth five points.
 

	#9 Fort Hays State vs. Sacred Heart University - January 9, 2026
	NWCA/USMC National Duals - Opening Round
Class	Match	SHU	FHSU
103	Aaliyah Payne-parris (Sacred Heart) over Kennedy Farrar (Fort Hays State) Inj 2:13	5	0
110	Ahsia Torres (Sacred Heart) over Isabell Ortiz (Fort Hays State) Fall 6:00	5	0
117	Leiannah Landreth (Fort Hays State) over Nohea Moniz (Sacred Heart) TF 13-1	1	4
124	Morgan Maschmann (Fort Hays State) over Lauren Nguyen (Sacred Heart) Dec 11-2	1	3
131	Bella Sowards (Sacred Heart) over Samara Markwardt (Fort Hays State) Fall 2:18	5	0
138	Peyton Hellmann (Fort Hays State) over Elleahna Anderson (Sacred Heart) Fall 0:31	0	5
145	Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) over Alena Gracia (Sacred Heart) Dec 4-2	1	3
160	Love Daley (Sacred Heart) over Marissa Porsch (Fort Hays State) Fall 0:40	5	0
180	Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) over Madeline Hodges (Sacred Heart) Fall 1:38	0	5
207	Tilisa Matakiongo (Sacred Heart) over Grace Johns (Fort Hays State) Fall 3:57	5	0
Dual Meet Score		28	20

 
William Jewell 25, Fort Hays State 24
The Tigers had to play catch up again in their second match of the day and nearly got over the hump late, but came up a point short. The Cardinals started off with a 14-0 lead through three matches, capitalizing on the Tigers being open at 103. The 117 match featured a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 5 Alexandra Waitsman (WJC) against No. 8 Leiannah Landreth. Waitsman completed the 14-point run for William Jewell to open the match with a tech fall win.
 
Morgan Maschmann (124) stopped the William Jewell run with a 12-2 tech fall, but the Cardinals scored a fall at 131 and pushed their lead up to 16 points at 20-4.
 
The Tigers looked poised for a big comeback when No. 10 ranked Peyton Hellmann (138) and Dylen Ritchey (145) dialed up a pair of much-needed pins to get the Tigers back in the match, down just six at 20-14. The 160 match was looking good for the Tigers early as Josie Houk held a lead, but unfortunately Paige Barber of William Jewell flipped the Tiger momentum with a pin and put the dual out of reach at 25-14.
 
The result was unfortunate for the Tigers as they went on to score two more pins to close out the dual. No. 1 ranked Renfro moved to 20-0 overall for the season with a pin in 1:14, then Grace Johns closed out the dual at 207 with a pin in 1:55. The Tigers fell just a point short despite splitting the matches in the dual 5-5. FHSU won five of the nine matches contested without the forfeit at 103.
 
Fort Hays State will look to bounce back on Saturday in a consolation bracket of the four teams that finished 0-2 on the first day of competition. The Tigers will take on West Liberty University at 9 a.m. and then face either Emmanuel or Sioux Falls at 12 p.m. to close out the weekend.
 

	#9 Fort Hays State vs. #20 William Jewell - January 9, 2026
	NWCA/USMC National Duals - Consolation First Round
Class	Match	WJC	FHSU
103	Juliana Alejandro (William Jewell College) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf	5	0
110	Emily Mendez (William Jewell College) over Isabella Cross (Fort Hays State) Fall 1:35	5	0
117	Alexandra Waitsman (William Jewell College) over Leiannah Landreth (Fort Hays State) TF 11-0	4	0
124	Morgan Maschmann (Fort Hays State) over Miyah Palacios (William Jewell College) TF 12-2	1	4
131	Shelby Kemp (William Jewell College) over Samara Markwardt (Fort Hays State) Fall 5:41	5	0
138	Peyton Hellmann (Fort Hays State) over Zainab Ibrahim (William Jewell College) Fall 1:38	0	5
145	Dylen Ritchey (Fort Hays State) over Mckinzie Ross (William Jewell College) Fall 1:57	0	5
160	Paige Barber (William Jewell College) over Josie Houk (Fort Hays State) Fall 3:27	5	0
180	Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State) over Jianna Chavez (William Jewell College) Fall 1:14	0	5
207	Grace Johns (Fort Hays State) over Desiree Hall (William Jewell College) Fall 1:55	0	5
Dual Meet Score		25	24