Caley Graber was thrilled to watch McKendree University win the inaugural NCAA women’s wrestling championship in March.

Graber, who in 2024 became the first girl to win a match in the Minnesota boys wrestling individual state tournament, was pleased to see women’s team wrestling see a national college champion, giving the sport a large measure of credibility. But for the Northfield senior, her interest in watching the NCAA championship had far stronger ties.

She is committed to wrestle for the newly crowned national champs next year. The NCAA sanctioned women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport in January 2025.

McKendree, a Methodist private college in Lebanon, Ill., about 30 minutes east of St. Louis, added women’s wrestling in 2013 with the intent of tapping into the rapid growth of high school girls wrestling, increasing enrollment and adding opportunities for female athletes.

It was McKendree’s commitment to women’s wrestling that attracted Graber, a three-time individual state champion and Minnesota’s 2026 Ms. Wrestler, which goes to the top senior girls wrestler in the state.

“I’d been following them. I wasn’t surprised,” Graber said of the Bearcats championship match victory over Iowa. “I knew they had a great coach and a lot of great wrestlers.”

At McKendree, Graber expects to compete at 131 pounds.

“I really got along with the coach and really liked all the girls on the team,” she said. “And I’ll have a lot of high-level competition to train against. Great competition really helps to get better. And it’s a small campus. I think that fits me better.”

As tickled as she was that her school of choice won the national title, confirming her decision, she didn’t have time to linger on it.

Right after the national championship match, Graber was off to Spokane, Wash. for the USA Wrestling Women’s National Championships, where she won the 59 kilogram (130 pound) weight class in the 20U division, beating Kailey Benson, a wrestler at Oklahoma State, in back-to-back matches to win the title.

“Just four or five years ago, the biggest thing to me was winning the high school championship,” she said. “But this is why I did all of that hard work. It always seemed like I was waiting for big things to come. These are the moments I’ve spent all of the time preparing for.”

The victory not only locked up a national title but it qualified Graber for Team USA, which will compete in Slovakia in August. She’s never had the chance to travel internationally for wrestling. It’s an opportunity she cherishes.

“That’s pretty much what I’ve been focused on recently,” she said. “It’s super-cool to be able to travel and be able to represent your country in an international competition.”