Photo courtesy of Julie Drewes, Marketing and Communication

With less than a week until the kickoff of their season, the Wartburg Women’s Wrestling team is eager to get back on the mat for another successful season.  

The Knights ended the 2024-25 season with a 7-3 record with major wins over No. 20 Schreiner University and No. 8 Simson Fraser University, both at the Dessert Duals Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada and a first-place finish at the American Rivers Conference Tournament, hosted by Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.  

Women’s wrestling Head Coach Brady Kyner believes that his team is coming into this season prepared to prove themselves yet again. With a dominant incoming class, Kyner shares his faith in not only his freshmen, but his entire team.  

“The hunger, the attitude change and the belief that our freshmen class has brought in,” Kyner says.

“They’re ready to fight, and that’s our expectation as a group. Out wrestle and wrestle through every position.”  

– Brady Kyner

As part of their expectation for excellence, athletes on the team spend most of their off-season training in the weight room.  

“Off-season is primarily for getting back our strength,” Kyner says. “There are a couple girls going up a weight [class] because they gained so much muscle.”  

Among these athletes is fourth-year Rewa Chababo. As one of the only seniors on the team this year, Chababo took advantage of the weight room to prepare for her final season with the Knights.  

“I spent most of my time in the weight room this summer and in the off-season, making sure I put on weight,” Chababo says. “Last year, I came in right around 207, this time I came out a lot heavier, which is good. I’m stronger and more filled out for my weight class.”  

Having spent the last two years with Chababo, Kyner shares how she has taken on the responsibility of leading her team as a senior.  

“She made the commitment this year to step up. Not only in her wrestling but as a teammate. The encouragement, the love and the leadership she’s shown these girls.”  

With just one season left before she graduates, Chababo is prepared to put her all into this season, setting her goals higher than ever.  

“This is my last year, and I love this sport,” Chababo says. “I want the All-American status, all the way. I’ve been thinking about it since freshman year.” 

With their first event less than a month away, the Knights will travel to Stevens Point, Wisconsin to compete in the Pointer Open on Nov. 1. Kyner shares that this is a big event for his team.  

“We get to see two of the top three teams in the country there,” Kyner says.  

Looking beyond their first event in Wisconsin, Chababo sees this upcoming season to be an opportunity for the entire women’s wrestling team to prove themselves as athletes. 

“We have an amazing opportunity this year,” Chababo says. “I’m excited to do this year at Wartburg, I’m ready to give it my all.”  

Outside of the UW-Stevens Point event, Kyner shares that his team is preparing for the Dessert Duals Tournament and the National Duals Tournament as their most competitive events of the season.  

“I could go on, but they all have meaning to us,” Kyner says. 

To support the Wartburg Women’s Wrestling team, attend their home events on Nov. 21 against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens point and Dec. 5 against Augustana College. See the rest of their 2025-26 schedule here.