(Des Moines Register article) Led by former Hawkeye wrestlers, William Penn women's wrestling building into powerhouse
by Eli McKown
Des Moines Register
OSKALOOSA — When the topic of NCAA vs. NAIA is brought up around the William Penn women's wrestling program, there's a collective sigh.
There's not a single ounce of distress for the Statesmen about being NAIA. Rather, the sigh comes from a lack of understanding about their program.
Fans who follow college women's wrestling, still in its early and developmental days, know the talent differential between the two divisions is small in comparison to other college sports. Three of the 10 members of this year's United States Women's Senior World team either currently wrestle or previously competed at NAIA programs, with another two on the U23 World team.
Still, William Penn wrestlers have had that conversation with friends or family on why the stigma of NAIA being a lesser division doesn't apply to their program. It's also one of the tasks of the coaching staff, to break down that idea in the recruiting process. The goals of winning national championships and making World and Olympic teams remain the same regardless of the division.
Heading into year three of the program, the proof is in the pudding at William Penn. Two Olympians from the 2024 cycle are on the roster. Another four Senior World Championships qualifiers, a 2023 U17 World champion and one of the top 2025 recruiting classes in the nation also reside in Oskaloosa.
While many could see the success and talent level at William Penn as a surprise, it comes as little shock to those in the wrestling room. They see unlimited potential within their program.
"People are starting to see, it's for real," William Penn head coach Jake Kadel said. "It's not just words coming out like a used-car salesman. We actually have facts to back that up."
Led by two former Hawkeyes, William Penn women's wrestling is rising fast
Kadel never planned to coach after his wrestling career concluded. The former Iowa Hawkeye, who posted a 28-20 record from 2012-15 in a Hawkeye singlet, intended to go to medical school. After he graduated from college, he spent two years working in a research lab at Iowa while still working out with the Iowa wrestling program.
In 2018, he moved to Ohio and the University of Toledo to work on a master's program that would help accelerate his entry into medical school. While he succeeded in his classes, he was put onto a waiting list on three different occasions. When an assistant coaching position for the wrestling program opened at Iowa Wesleyan University, he decided to move back home while he awaited his acceptance.
When he was waitlisted to medical school for the fourth time, the head coaching position for both Iowa Wesleyan programs unexpectedly opened and he was vaulted into the role. He began to enjoy the daily routine that came with managing programs despite the quick transition, and he helped lead the women's program to 11 NAIA Championships qualifiers. Unfortunately for Kadel and his athletes, the university shut down due to financial challenges just as the wrestling program was trending upward.
But instead of pivoting back to the medical school route, Kadel took the job leading William Penn women's wrestling after the school created the program, fully committing to seeing his coaching career through. Assistant coach and former Hawkeye teammate Cash Wilcke came over with him, and the two have since built the program from the ground up. Going into year three, the Statesman are ranked No. 5 in the NAIA with legitimate national title aspirations.
Even more impressive than that is the talent level, bringing in Nigerian Olympians Christianah Ogunsanya and Esther Kolawale last season. The 2025 recruiting class was ranked No. 7 by Flowrestling regardless of division and the best in the NAIA, including one of the nation's top prospects in Piper Fowler. Fowler is a U17 World champion from Cleveland, Tennessee, who won four state titles with a 93-0 record and 90 pins in high school. That ranking came before they added Sigourney-Keota's Reanah Utterback, an undefeated, three-time state champion, to the class. They also added one of Spain's Senior World team members in Victoria Baez-Dilone this offseason from King University, a 2024 NCWWC runner-up.
Perhaps the shining example of the coaching happening with Kadel and Wilcke is Adaugo Nwachukwu. She won three NAIA titles while in college and was a Senior World team member for the United States this fall, finishing seventh. She won two NAIA titles at Iowa Wesleyan before following Kadel and Wilcke to William Penn to win her third in 2024.
Of Nigerian heritage, Nwachukwu was the connecting piece in helping get Kolawale and Ogunsanya to William Penn. She was contacted by the Nigerian national team coach in the spring before the 2024 Olympics and was told Ogunsanya and Kolawale were looking for educational opportunities in the U.S. Being at William Penn, she helped open the door for recruiting them to the Statesmen. After a lengthy process, they both got to Oskaloosa and have since won NAIA titles and made the Senior World team for Nigeria for the 2025 cycle.
What is William Penn's recipe for success?
Some of the most talented women's wrestlers in the nation are choosing William Penn, including Fowler, Baez-Dilone and Kendall Bostelman, who transferred from women's wrestling power North Central. The athletes point to the coaching staff as the reason why.
"I don't feel like a number, I feel like someone," Baez-Dilone said. "They care about me, that if I need something, they would be there for me. Not, 'I need to be good so they care.' They care about everybody."
Kadel sees a number of things that have led to the success of the program, with those athlete-coach relationships being among the most important. Kadel and Wilcke were instilled with the Iowa wrestling DNA while competing there under Tom and Terry Brands. Getting your hand raised, doing things "the right way," and not placing a ceiling on yourself are at the core of the William Penn program, Kadel said.
"Just because we're an NAIA program doesn't mean you can't still have those goals and accomplish that stuff here," Kadel said. "I want to be the person that removes that label. I want to be the person who proves that wrong."
Kadel and Wilcke also bounce ideas off of and receive support from the Brandses and former Hawkeyes Brent Metcalf, Derek St. John, Thomas Gilman and others.
As an NAIA program, William Penn benefits from operating in a much calmer landscape of college athletics. They still have Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal, but they don't have to face the complexities nor the uncertainty that revenue sharing and roster caps bring to the Iowa women's wrestling program, for example.
The transfer portal for women's wrestling doesn't feature the chaos that fans see in Division I football, basketball or even Division I men's wrestling, making it easier to manage for William Penn. The Statesmen can more reliably count on having a wrestler in their room and growing for four or five years. Additionally, NAIA has a consistent 12 national qualifiers, while the NCAA is changing from 15 to 10. In other words, William Penn doesn't have to shift how they construct a lineup or roster this season and will have more spots to offer wrestlers come March.
Kadel and Wilcke want a program that can have sustainable success. They've seen increased donor support to the Statesman Wrestling Club and increased university backing to build a program that can compete for national titles and send athletes to international stages.
As they enter year three, it's beginning to coalesce into something special.
"Our women's team as a NAIA program could beat 98% of all the Division I programs," Kadel said. "I'm fully confident in that."
Tragedy strikes the team, and wrestlers bond together
The Statesmen enter 2025-26 not only with a ton of confidence and talent, but also something additional to compete for. On Sept. 13, true freshman Aaliyah Martin was one of two people killed in a car accident. A two-time high school state finalist from Wyoming, she had a bright future in the program and was just starting to get to know the team.
The tragedy struck the team hard, but it also served as an example of how united the support around William Penn was. One member of the team put together across to take to the crash site in remembrance of Martin. Another made custom socks to remember their teammate.
The university provided any needed support to the program. Hawkeye associate head coach Terry Brands reached out to Kadel to let him know they were thinking of the team and their loss. That type of support in and around the program has helped build William Penn into what it is entering the 2025-26 season.
The Statesmen want to ensure they keep Martin in mind during this highly anticipated season.
"This season, the best way to honor her is to win a national championship, and just put it all out on the mat" Fowler said. "Whatever we end up doing is for her."
