Below are the first pound-for-pound rankings of the women’s collegiate wrestling season, which includes all divisions. Off-season results from the past year factored into the rankings since women’s college wrestling uses freestyle rules. 

The women included on this list are those likely to compete this season. Things can change, and so can this list. This ranking was a collaboration between FloWrestling and American Women’s Wrestling. 

1. Dymond Guilford (Cumberlands), SR, NAIA, 170 pounds

Guilford gets the top spot because of her recent international season. She made the U.S. Senior World team at 76 kg (defeating #2 on this list in straight matches) prior to winning a U23 World silver medal. Guilford also owns a pair of NAIA Invitational titles (2019 and 2022) and a 2019 WCWA title. 

2. Yelena Makoyed (North Central), SR, NCAA, 170 pounds

Makoyed is a close second following a splendid international season where she won three UWW ranking tournaments (Matteo Pellicone, Grand Prix of Spain, and Zouhaier Sghaier Tournament). The North Central senior fell to Guilford at Final X but split matches with her at Zouhaier Sghaier, including a win in the gold medal match. She won national collegiate titles in 2021 and 2022 following a runner-up finish in 2020. 

3. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Iowa Wesleyan), SO, NAIA, 136 pounds

Nwachukwu is still relatively new to wrestling but she made a splash at the 2022 NAIA Championships by dominating Menlo’s Gracie Figueroa — a five-time age-level World teamer and 2019 WCWA champion — in the 136-pound finals. The Iowa Wesleyan sophomore won a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships and was a point away from reaching the finals. 

4. Lexie Basham (Texas Wesleyan), SO, NAIA, 130 pounds

Basham reached Final X at 59 kg and was a fifth-place finisher at this year’s U23 World Championships. She won the 2022 NAIA Invitational Championships at 130 pounds with a win over 2022 U.S. Open champion Nanea Estrella who transferred from Menlo to Iowa. 

5. Cameron Guerin (McKendree), JR, NCAA, 130 pounds

Guerin won 130-pound national collegiate titles in 2021 and 2022. She only has one loss during her college career — a 9-6 setback to King’s Montana Delawder at this year’s National Duals. 

6. Sydnee Kimber (McKendree), SR, NCAA, 191 pounds

Kimber has owned the 191-pound division — winning all three NCWWC titles (2020-22) in dominating fashion. 

7. Ashlynn Ortega (King), SR, NCAA, 143 pounds

Ortega has placed third, second, and first at the national collegiate championships but her stock soared after defeating returning champ Alara Boyd — a two-time U17 World medalist — in the 2022 national collegiate finals. 

8. Peyton Prussin (Life), SO, NAIA, 109 pounds

Prussin is a two-time NAIA National champion at two different weights. She won the 116-pound title in 2021 and the 109-pound title in 2022 with an 8-8 win over Iowa Wesleyan’s Mia Palumbo in the finals.

9. Alara Boyd (McKendree), SR, NCAA, 143 pounds

Boyd is a three-time NCWWC finalist, placing second in 2020 and 2022 and winning a title in 2021. She is a four-time age-level World teamer and a two-time U17 World medalist who placed third at this year's World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. 

10. Marissa Gallegos (Colorado Mesa), JR, NCAA, 123 pounds

Gallegos has placed 3-2-3 at nationals and is currently ranked fifth in FloWrestling’s domestic women’s freestyle rankings after making the 2021 National Team. She beat 2022 U23 World bronze medalist Alisha Howk at this year’s US Open, 9-2. 

11. Marlynne Deede (Augsburg), SR, NCAA, 155 pounds

Deede has placed 6-3-3 at nationals and is ranked sixth in FloWrestling domestic women’s freestyle rankings. She also placed second at the US Open, fourth at the World Team Trials, and teched Kenya Sloan at U23 Nationals. 

12. Kenya Sloan (Campbellsville), SR, NAIA, 155 pounds

Sloan is a 2020 WCWA finalist and a 2022 NAIA Invitational champion who has been a crucial part of Campbellsville winning back-to-back team championships. 

13. Sydney Petzinger (North Central), SO, NCAA, 109 pounds

Petzinger fell to Augsburg’s Emily Shilson — an undefeated four-time national champion and three-time age-level World champion — in the 2022 national collegiate finals. 

14. Olivia Shore (Tiffin), SO, NCAA, 101 pounds

Shore is a two-time Cadet World teamer and a 2022 national collegiate champion at 101 pounds. 

15. Sage Mortimer (King), SO, NCAA, 116 pounds

Mortimer placed third at nationals in a field that included age-level World medalist Ana Godinez Gonzalez and Felicity Taylor — a U.S. Open and college national champion. She also took fourth at the 2022 World Team Trials and pinned U23 World teamer Nyla Valencia. 

16. Jaslynn Gallegos (North Central), JR, NCAA, 116 pounds

Gallegos placed fourth at two national collegiate championships (2020 and 2022) for Presbyterian but gets high marks for the same reason as Mortimer: the 116-pound field was crowded. She won a 2020 WCWA title and transferred to North Central in the off-season — one of the reason’s her team is ranked first in the pre-season polls. 

17. Nina Makem (Augsburg), SO, NCAA, 136 pounds

Makem finished second to Adrian’s Zoe Nowicki at the 2022 national collegiate tournament after knocking off King’s Ana Luciano in the semifinals. 

18. Ana Luciano (King), SR, NCAA, 136 pounds

Luciano has placed fourth, second, and third at the national collegiate championships, took silver at the Grand Prix of Spain in the off-season, and won U23 Nationals. 

19. Mia Palumbo (Iowa Wesleyan), SO, NAIA, 109 pounds

Palumbo placed second at the NAIA Invitational Championships and lost 8-8 to Life’s Peyton Prussin (ranked #8) in the finals. 

20. Emily Cue (Simon Fraser), SR, NCAA, 170 pounds

Cue has third-place national finishes in 2020 and 2022 and is ranked seventh in the women’s freestyle domestic rankings.