MSU women’s wrestling looking for first All-American

Sean Arbaut
The 2024-2025 MSU Women’s Wrestling team is ready for the new season.

The Minot State University (MSU) Women’s wrestling program has grown significantly since its inception two seasons ago. The program has been focusing on building a strong foundation, culture, and team cohesion. In just two years, it has produced seven regional placers and five national qualifiers. This season though, Minot State is looking to achieve its first All-American in program history.

Women’s wrestling head coach Brittney Mitchem talked about building the program from scratch and the importance of laying a solid foundation and bringing in like-minded athletes.

“Year one, survival mode, got to get numbers. Year two, you’re weeding out athletes that may not fit what you’re trying to do,” said Mitchem. “And in year three we’re sitting in a good spot because you finally are zoomed in on athletes that are established and veterans that are back.”

Coach Mitchem highlighted key strengths seen in this year’s team such as work ethic, and athletes that are hardworking, attentive, and eager to improve. This season the team’s resilience and ability to respond to both favorable and unfavorable situations will be crucial to their success.

“We have kids that just work hard, that are attentive, they want to be here, they want to get better,” said Mitchem. “There are some things that went our way, there are some things that don’t go our way, but it’s just our response that keeps us going. We get back up, we keep grinding and I think that has been the key to our success.”

Key wrestlers to watch this upcoming season are veterans Haleigh Lematta, Jazmin Gorder, and Nina Sandoval. All three athletes are WCWWC National Qualifiers and they have shown exceptional performances on the mat and have contributed significantly to the team’s success the past two years.

Returning wrestlers for the 2024-25 season are Trinity Boivin (124), Jazmin Gorder (124), Emily Hill (117), Keela Kary (124), Michelle Klein (180), Ari Korish (124), Haleigh Lematta (138), Emily Light (138), Madison Parson (207), Julia Petryna (110), Nina Sandoval (160), Skye Shelmerdine (117).

New grapplers are Lilymae Winkles (208), Madilyn Schuck (180), Jordan Reynolds (124), Lovey Beebe (145), Megan Ebach (145).

When asked about personal goals this season coach Mitchem expressed the desire to make Minot State the destination campus for women’s wrestling in North Dakota. Mitchem also expressed her focus shifting more to community outreach, aiming to give the athletes a deeper meaning and purpose beyond competition.

The MSU women’s wrestling team volunteered this offseason with the Second Story, a social club for Minot adults with developmental disabilities. The team played a softball game with them and this Friday, October 18, the women’s wrestling team will be having a Halloween party with the Second Story, serving food and focusing on the community.

The athletes also worked on a fundraising event to fund University of North Carolina (UNC) women’s athletics for hurricane relief.

“We want to be different,” said Mitchem. “We want to be known for meaningful things too. We have great athletes, we bust our tails, but also, I want our community members to see they work hard but also they are a member in this community too.”

In their 2023-24 season, the Beavers went 6-8 in duals overall, beating Northland CTC, Saskatchewan, Jamestown, Dakota Wesleyan, Texas Woman’s, and Dakota Wesleyan.

The Beavers began their season on Sunday, October 27, hosting the Beaver Intersquad Dual at the MSU Dome and will attend the Waldorf Open Saturday, November 9, in Forest City, Iowa for their first tournament.