Women's Wrestling | 11/3/2026 11:00:00 AM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Women’s wrestling, the newest championship sport in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC), is set to begin its inaugural season, with Bethany College earning the top spot in the preseason coaches poll released Tuesday morning. The conference also announced its Wrestlers to Watch list.
In December, 2025, the PAC's Presidents' Council approved women's wrestling as the conference's 25th championship sport, beginning in 2026-27. Five teams will sponsor the sport in this inaugural season. Bethany College, Hiram College and Waynesburg University all had established programs prior to this year and Chatham University and Washington & Jefferson College will have teams competing this year for the first time.
Pacing the preseason voting was Bethany, who gathered three first-place vote and scored 18 points in the polling. Coming in second was W&J with the other two first-place votes and 16 points, while Hiram totaled 15 points to rank third. Rounding out the poll is Waynesburg in fourth with 12 points and Chatham in fifth with nine points.
Third-year Bethany head coach Pete Di Pol has led the program since its inception prior to the start of 2024-25. The Bison are coming off a 16-5 dual meet record last year and finished 10th as a team at the 2026 NCAA Regional #2 with 44.5 points. The Bison's top finishers at Regionals were sophomores Rose Mary Dodd and MyJanniea Baptist, who each placed fifth. Dodd, who went 32-6 with nine pins and 17 tech falls as a freshman, and Baptist, who was 20-12 in her first season with nine wins by fall, highlight the Bison's Wrestlers to Watch list.
Leading W&J into its first season as a varsity program is head coach Brian Krenzelak. Prior to taking the reins to the Presidents' program, he spent two years as head boys and girls varsity head coach and wrestling coordinator for the Canon-McMillan school district as part of a long coaching career in Western Pa. W&J's Wrestlers to Watch includes Addie Shaw, a South Carolina state champion with 105 wins in high school, and Paige Jox, a 2026 third place finisher at the Pennsylvania state championships.
This is the sixth year for the Hiram women's wrestling program and first under head coach Ryan Kirst. He was an assistant on the Hiram men's staff last year and previously coached at Case Western Reserve, Ashland and Heidelberg, among other stops. Hiram wrestled in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference last year and returns two AMCC champions who also won matches at the Regional meet. Sophomore Alazhandra Williams was the AMCC Newcomer of the Year after winning the title at 180 pounds and senior Emily Lorenzon was the AMCC champion at 207.
Waynesburg women's wrestling is in its third year, with head coach Leilah Castro in her first season guiding the Yellow Jackets after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Otterbein. The young Waynesburg roster includes three freshmen and one sophomore.
Head Coach Pat Durocher brings Chatham women's wrestling into its first season after he was the head coach at Siena Heights University the previous two years. The Cougars' Wrestlers to Watch list includes freshman Autumn Kulpa, a regional champion and two-time Colorado state qualifier.
The first-ever PAC Women's Wrestling Championships are scheduled to be held at W&J on Saturday, Feb. 6th, beginning at 11 am. This year, after competing at PAC Championships, conference programs will wrestle at Regional Championship meets to try to qualify for the national collegiate women's wrestling championship meet which includes all Division I, II and III women's wrestling programs.
Then beginning in 2027-28, PAC women's programs will follow a similar path as the men's programs. They will wrestle at PAC Championships, then at regional meets to attempt to qualify for the Division III Championship.
| 2026-27 PAC Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2026-27 dual meet record |
| 1. Bethany College (3) |
18 |
16-5 |
| 2. Washington & Jefferson College (2) |
16 |
First-year program |
| 3. Hiram College |
15 |
8-18 |
| 4. Waynesburg University |
12 |
1-10 |
| 5. Chatham University |
9 |
First-year program |
| PAC Wrestlers to Watch in 2026-27 |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Wt. Class |
Hometown/High School |
| Emma Acampora |
Fr. |
103 |
Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown |
| MyJanniea Baptist |
So. |
207 |
Los Angeles, Calif./Lawndale |
| Taelor Rae Busch |
So. |
117 |
Omaha, Neb./Mercy |
| Rose Mary Dodd |
So. |
131 |
Lake Elsinore, Calif./Temescal Canyon |
| Reagan Roxas |
Fr. |
131 |
Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Wt. Class |
Hometown/High School |
| Bella Bradbury |
Sr. |
131 |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Homeschool |
| Autumn Kulpa |
Fr. |
131 |
Strasburg, Colo./Strasburg |
| Autumn Tingley |
Fr. |
124 |
Stoneboro, Pa./Lakeview |
| Hiram |
| Name |
Yr. |
Wt. Class |
Hometown/High School |
| Lexi Doerflinger |
Sr. |
103 |
Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock |
| Naudia Edmiston |
Fr. |
124 |
Albany, Ore./Teach-Nw |
| Emily Lorenzon |
Sr. |
207 |
Akron, Ohio/Firestone CLC |
| Alazhandra Williams |
So. |
180 |
Honolulu, Hawaii/Farrington |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Wt. Class |
Hometown/High School |
| Paige Jox |
Fr. |
145 |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon |
| Lexie Riley |
Fr. |
145/160 |
Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange |
| Addie Shaw |
Fr. |
103 |
Indian Land, S.C./Indian Land |
| Waynesburg |
| Name |
Yr. |
Wt. Class |
Hometown/High School |
| Jada Bert |
Fr. |
117 |
Marysville, Pa./Susquenita |
| Johbrianna Long-Rodriguez |
Fr. |
124 |
Fredericksburg, Pa./Northern Lebanon |