NAPERVILLE – For the second time this season, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) has selected Kendra Ryan of North Central on Tuesday as the league’s Student-Athlete of the Week in women’s wrestling.
Ryan, a junior from Fenton, Mich., qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials by placing third at the USA Wrestling Senior Nationals over the weekend.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association’s top-ranked wrestler at 109 pounds, Ryan won five times at the event, including three wins over nationally ranked opponents. She opened with a 10-0 technical fall win over Colorado Mesa's Adriana Gomez, who is currently ranked eighth in the NWCA poll. She next won a 7-1 decision over William Jewell's Erica Pastoriza.
In the quarterfinals, Ryan was defeated by Lock Haven's Kaelani Shufeldt, the nation's fourth-ranked wrestler. Ryan then ripped through the backside of the bracket, defeating Iowa's second-ranked Ava Bayless with a 12-1 technical fall and ARMY WCAP's Aleeah Gould by technical fall, 10-0. She then avenged the quarterfinal loss to Shufeldt in earning a 4-4 criteria win in the third-place match.
2023-24 CCIW Women's Wrestling Student-Athletes of the Week
Dec. 19: Kendra Ryan, North Central
Dec. 12: Amani Jones, North Central
Nov. 21: Sandie Pfeil, Augustana
Nov. 14: Kendra Ryan, North Central
Nov. 7: London Houston, North Central
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).