In the end, the final of the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships went down to the wire. McKendree University held a narrow 8.5 lead over the University of Iowa and had five finalists as compared to Iowa’s four. But while the Hawkeyes took the lead 166-163, McKendree produced a comeback to clinch the team title from behind. And nobody was happier than Yu Sakamoto’s father.

The Japanese athlete was the clincher for McKendree University, beating North Central’s Riley Rayome, 4-3. She also made history in the process, becoming the first Japanese athlete in 30 years to win the title and the first Japanese woman as well. That went down well with her father, Shin-ichi Sakamoto, as he took to X to praise his daughter.

“My daughter has become the NCAA Wrestling National Champion!,” Sakamoto wrote on X. “It is said that this is the first time in 30 years that a Japanese athlete has won the title, and the first ever for a Japanese woman. In addition, McKendree University, the team she belongs to, also won the team championship!

“Balancing both academics and wrestling at an American university is no easy task, and I think she did an amazing job. My heartfelt thanks to her wonderful teammates and coaches. Congratulations, Yu！🏆”

The 23-year-old has thrived over the last few years, winning the 2024 U23 World Championship for Japan. That was her first world tournament, and Sakamoto followed that up with a third-place finish at the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships for Northern Michigan. She has faced Rayome in the past in the National Duals final and beat her 8-2 on that occasion.

This time, it was slightly closer as Sakamoto beat her 4-3 to win the 117-pound NCAA crown. However, it was far from easy going, as there was a chaotic scramble in the final seconds. That included a challenge by North Central and a review, but Sakamoto’s result stood in the end.

McKendree coach Alexio Garcia reflects on Yu Sakamoto’s performance

All in all, McKendree University finished at the top of the NCAA table with 171 points, beating Iowa by five points. It had coach Alexio Garcia overjoyed with the result, praising his team’s commitment and dedication to the meet. However, the focus was on Yu Sakamoto after her nail-biter of a match secured the team title, and Garcia had nothing but good things to say about the Japanese athlete.

“It was a great match,” Garcia said in his post meet press conference on YouTube. “She was, like, seventeen-eight. But that kid can score from anywhere, and, and she trusts that. And we knew going into the finals it’d be a little bit more of a chess match, but she let it fly. And, and, like, at the end, she wrestled all the way through, and she’s, she’s great in those positions. And, uh, she trusted her instincts, right?”

Sakamoto’s win gave McKendree University its second champion on the day. She joined Tristan Kelly, who beat Grand Valley State’s Sabrina Nauss, 10-0. It also meant that Kelly retained her title as she entered the tournament as the reigning 207-pound national champion.

They were then joined by McKendree’s third champion, Cameron Guerin. She won her fifth college national title in six years when she beat Aurora’s Lexi Janiak in the 131-pound division.

By the end of the tournament, McKendree University finished with three champions, two additional finalists, and ten total All-Americans. An impressive performance in the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships.