Women's Wrestling Club

Wrestlers · Senior level

Alexis Janiak

3x age-group World medalist; 2025 NCWWC champion at 131 pounds; 2026 NCAA runner-up; World Team Trials Challenge champion at 59 kg

Plainfield, IL · Plainfield South HS · Aurora University

By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 11, 2026

Alexis Janiak
Photo: Steve Woltmann, Aurora University Athletics

Alexis Janiak grew up in Plainfield, Illinois, and wrestled at Plainfield South High School. In 2021 she won the Junior Women's Nationals, finished second at the U17 Women's Nationals, and took silver at the Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico.

She enrolled at Aurora University in the fall of 2022. As a freshman she won the CCIW title at 130 pounds and was named the CCIW women's wrestling most outstanding wrestler. She placed third at the 2024 NCWWC Championships. That September she reached the U20 World final at 59 kg, about 130 pounds, in Pontevedra, Spain, and lost by technical fall to Sakura Onishi of Japan. It was her second U20 medal after a bronze in Amman, Jordan, in 2023.

In March 2025 she went 5-0 at the NCWWC Championships in Coralville, Iowa, to win the 131-pound title and finished the season 29-1. Aurora called her the first national champion among the school's female athletes. She won the U23 Nationals that year. That October she took bronze at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, winning the bronze match 17-17 on criteria over Olha Padoshyk of Poland after trailing by four late.

In February 2026 she took silver at the Zagreb Open. In March she wrestled at the first NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships in Coralville, Iowa. She beat Aubre Krazer of Lehigh 4-0 in the semifinal, then lost the 131-pound final 5-5 on criteria to Cameron Guerin of McKendree. She was third at the U.S. Open, then won the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at 59 kg over her Titan Mercury teammate Amani Jones. Abigail Nette of Army WCAP took the Final X series two matches to none.

She wrestles at 59 kg for Titan Mercury, trains at the SPAR Wrestling Academy with coach Justin Pearch, and sits second in the U.S. ranking at her weight.

Results

SeasonLevelEventWeightPlaceNote
2021Age groupJunior Women's Nationals1stUSA Wrestling's profile also lists her as the 2021 U17 Women's Nationals runner-up and the runner-up at FloWrestling's Who's Number One that year
2021Age groupPan American Championships, Oaxtepec, Mexico2ndUSA Wrestling's career highlights list this as a U17 Pan American Championships silver; the weight class is not given on the page
2022-23CollegeCCIW Championships130 lb1stJan. 29, 2023, the first CCIW women's wrestling championship, at Gregory Arena in Naperville, Illinois. She won the 130-pound bracket as an Aurora freshman and was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler.
2023Age groupU20 World Championships, Amman, Jordan59 kg3rdHer first age-group World medal
2023-24CollegeNCWWC Championships3rdSophomore season at Aurora, where she wrestled 130 pounds
2024Age groupU20 World Championships, Pontevedra, Spain59 kg2ndSept. 5, 2024; went 3-0 the previous day, then lost the final 10-0 to Sakura Onishi (Japan), who won all four of her matches by that score. Back-to-back U20 medals.
2024-25CollegeNCWWC Championships, Coralville, Iowa131 lb1st5-0 at the event, 29-1 on the season. March 8, 2025 at Xtream Arena; won her last two matches by two points. Aurora described it as the first national championship by a female student-athlete in school history. Aurora finished 13th of 64 teams with 32.5 points. Aurora's release places the meet in Cedar Rapids, but the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's event announcement and FloWrestling's watch guide both put the 2025 NCWWC at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
2025SeniorU.S. Open and Senior World Team Trials59 kg4th and 2ndUSA Wrestling's athlete profile lists her fourth at the 2025 U.S. Open and runner-up at the Senior World Team Trials.
2025Age groupU23 Nationals1stUSA Wrestling's athlete profile lists her as the 2025 U23 Nationals champion and the 2026 U23 Nationals runner-up.
2025Age groupU23 World Championships, Novi Sad, Serbia59 kg3rdOct. 25, 2025; won the bronze medal match 17-17 on criteria over returning bronze medalist Olha Padoshyk (Poland), converting two tilts from a crackdown after trailing by four late. Her third age-group World medal in three years.
2026SeniorZagreb Open ranking event, Croatia59 kg2ndFeb. 6, 2026; she opened 8-3 over Elena Brugger (Germany) and won the semifinal 11-0. USA Wrestling's report gives two spellings for each of her next two opponents' first names, Hiuanai and Hiunai for Hurbanova of Azerbaijan and Sena and Jena for Nagamoto of Japan, so neither first name is used here. That report covers only her run to the final, and the silver comes from USA Wrestling's athlete profile.
2025-26CollegeNCAA Women's Wrestling Championships, Coralville, Iowa131 lb2ndMarch 7, 2026, the first NCAA women's wrestling championships. She beat Aubre Krazer (Lehigh) 4-0 in the semifinal, then lost 5-5 on criteria to Cameron Guerin (McKendree). USA Wrestling's recap says Guerin led on criteria at intermission after the two swapped four-point scores; Aurora's release says the deciding criterion was the last point scored. Aurora finished 13th of 54 teams with 33.5 points.
2026SeniorSenior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, Louisville, Ky.59 kg1stBeat Amani Jones (Titan Mercury) 4-1 in the final, and the champions took the last remaining Final X spots. USA Wrestling's announcement puts the tournament at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 14 and 15, 2026.
2026SeniorFinal X, Newark, N.J.59 kg2ndJune 19, 2026 at Prudential Center; Abigail Nette (Army WCAP) took the best-of-three series two matches to none, by fall and by 10-0 technical fall

What we could not confirm

Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.

Sources

  1. https://www.themat.com/profiles/alexis-janiak · USA Wrestling athlete profile: hometown and residence Plainfield, Ill.; Plainfield South High School; Aurora University; born July 1, 2004; No. 2 on the 2026-27 Team USA ranking at 59 kg/130 pounds; two years on Team USA; SPAR Wrestling Academy regional training center; Titan Mercury WC; personal coach Justin Pearch; age-group World teams 2025 U23 (bronze, 59 kg), 2024 U20 (silver, 59 kg), 2023 U20 (bronze, 59 kg); career highlights list a Final X runner-up finish, three age-group World medals, a U17 Pan American silver and an NCWWC national title; 2026 season line reads Zagreb Open silver, fifth in Budapest, third at the U.S. Open, Senior World Team Trials Challenge champion, Final X runner-up; 2025 line reads U23 World bronze, Poland Open silver, true third at Final X, Senior World Team Trials runner-up, fourth at the U.S. Open; college line reads 2026 NCAA national runner-up, 2025 NCWWC champion, third at the 2024 NCWWC Championships, an undated NCWWC runner-up finish, 2023 CCIW women's most outstanding wrestler; age-group line includes 2026 U23 Nationals runner-up, 2025 U23 Nationals champion, two U20 national titles, 2021 Junior Women's National champion, 2021 U17 Nationals runner-up and 2021 Pan American silver in Oaxtepec, Mexico
  2. https://athletics.aurora.edu/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/alexis-janiak/15906 · Aurora University women's wrestling roster page: Janiak listed at 131 for 2025-26 and as a senior; year-by-year line shows 2022-23 freshman at 130, 2023-24 sophomore at 130, 2024-25 junior at 131, 2025-26 senior at 131; bio says she was named CCIW Women's Wrestling Most Outstanding Wrestler and the individual champion at 130 pounds in 2022-23, graduated from Plainfield South where she competed in wrestling, and is a psychology major. Re-scraped Sept. 9, 2026 and the page still returns all of this: the Biography block reads '2022-2023: Named CCIW Women's Wrestling Most Outstanding Wrestler and the individual wrestling champion at 130 lb.' and 'High School: Graduated from Plainfield South where she competed in wrestling,' and the year-by-year block lists 2022-2023 Freshman 130, 2023-2024 Sophomore 130, 2024-2025 Junior 131, 2025-2026 Senior 131
  3. https://athletics.aurora.edu/news/2026/3/7/womens-wrestling-janiak-and-ramirez-have-strong-performances-at-ncaa-national-championship.aspx · Aurora University release, March 7, 2026: Janiak finished second in the 131 bracket at the newly established NCAA Championship in Coralville, Iowa, dropping a 5-5 decision on a multi-layer tie-breaker whose deciding factor was the last point scored; teammate Genesis Ramirez was third at 103; Aurora finished 13th of 54 teams with 33.5 points and was third among NCAA Division III programs; both wrestlers earned All-American honors
  4. https://athletics.aurora.edu/news/2025/3/8/womens-wrestling-janiak-wins-national-championship-and-all-american-honors-at-ncwwc-championship.aspx · Aurora University release, March 8, 2025: Janiak won the 131 bracket at the NCWWC National Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, going 5-0 and winning her last two matches by two-point decisions, finishing 29-1 on the season; the release calls it the first national championship by an AU female in school history; Aurora finished 13th of 64 teams with 32.5 points and was the fifth-highest NCAA Division III finisher
  5. https://www.themat.com/news/2024/september/05/rodriguez-pins-for-u20-world-title-janiak-earns-silver-simon-bronze-robinson-advances-to-finals-in-women-s-freestyle · USA Wrestling, Sept. 5, 2024, U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain: Janiak went 3-0 the previous day, then lost the 59 kg final 10-0 by technical fall to Japan's U17 World champion Sakura Onishi, who beat all four of her opponents by the same score; the silver made Janiak a two-time U20 medalist after bronze in Amman, Jordan, in 2023; she had finished third at the NCWWC championships for Aurora University
  6. https://www.themat.com/news/2025/october/25/mesenbrink-strikes-gold-janiak-bronze-u-s-women-third-overall-at-u23-world-championships · USA Wrestling, Oct. 25, 2025, U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia: Janiak won the 59 kg bronze medal match 17-17 over returning bronze medalist Olha Padoshyk of Poland, converting two tilts from a crackdown position after trailing by four in the final moments and taking the win on criteria; it was her third age-group World medal in three years, the other two at U20; the U.S. women were third in the team ranking with 106 points
  7. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/february/06/janiak-advances-to-finals-at-zagreb-open-blades-kilty-and-nette-wrestle-for-bronze · USA Wrestling, Feb. 6, 2026, Zagreb Open: Janiak, a three-time age-group World medalist and the reigning U23 World bronze medalist, reached the 59 kg gold medal match after an 8-3 decision over Elena Brugger of Germany and an 11-0 technical fall over Hiuanai Hurbanova of Azerbaijan; her finals opponent from Japan is named Sena Nagamoto in the article body and Jena Nagamoto in the medal-match pairings on the same page
  8. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/march/07/team-race-undecided-heading-into-landmark-first-ncaa-women-s-finals · USA Wrestling, March 7, 2026, semifinal session of the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships in Coralville, Iowa: Janiak, a three-time age-level World medalist and the returning 131-pound national champion, beat Lehigh freshman Aubre Krazer 4-0 to reach the final against McKendree's Cameron Guerin; Aurora was the only school outside the top four team scorers with a finalist besides Lehigh, East Stroudsburg and Quincy
  9. https://nwhof.org/news/mckendree-wins-inaugural-ncaa-women-s-wrestling-championships-crowns-three-individual-champions · USA Wrestling finals recap by Tanner Lafever, carried by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, on the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa: McKendree won the team title, and in the last match of the night Cameron Guerin won her fifth collegiate national title over reigning 131-pound champion Alexis Janiak of Aurora, leading on criteria at intermission after the two swapped four-point scores in the first period and preserving a 5-5 victory
  10. https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15906347-2026-wrestling-world-team-trials-challenge-tournament-results · FloWrestling results page for the 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, May 14, 2026: women's freestyle 59 kg final, Alexis Janiak (TMWC) over Amani Jones (TMWC), decision 4-1; champions earned the last remaining spots for Final X on June 19 in Newark, New Jersey
  11. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/19/nwachukwu-turner-go-the-distance-eight-earn-spots-on-women-s-freestyle-world-team-at-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · USA Wrestling, June 19, 2026 Final X at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.: at 59 kg Abigail Nette (Army WCAP) defeated Alexis Janiak (Titan Mercury WC) two matches to none, by fall in round one and 10-0 technical fall in round two; Nette is a past Final X champion and Senior World Team member
  12. https://cciw.org/news/2023/1/29/north-central-claims-inaugural-cciw-womens-wrestling-championship.aspx · CCIW, Jan. 29, 2023: 'Aurora freshman Alexis Janiak won the 130-pound bracket to be named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler' at the inaugural College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women's Wrestling Championship, held Sunday afternoon at Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill.; North Central won the team title with 112.5 points
  13. https://nwhof.org/news/wrestling-town-usa-will-host-ncwwc-march-7-8 · National Wrestling Hall of Fame event announcement: 'The 2025 NCWWC will be held at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa... on March 7 - 8, 2025,' with the location given as Xtream Arena, 200 E 9th St Suite 100, Coralville, IA 52241; 320 wrestlers from all three NCAA divisions; the sixth year the national tournament was held and the first at Xtream Arena.
  14. https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13821155-2025-national-collegiate-womens-wrestling-championships-watch-guide · FloWrestling watch guide by Kyle Klingman, Feb. 28, 2025: 'The National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships are March 7-8 in Coralville, Iowa'; the event details read 'When: March 7-8, 2025' and 'Where: Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa'
  15. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/may/08/final-x-spots-on-the-line-at-senior-world-team-trials-challenge-tournament-next-week-in-louisville-ky- · USA Wrestling, May 8, 2026: 'the 2026 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in Louisville, Ky., May 14-15'; preliminaries and quarterfinals Thursday May 14, women's freestyle finals at noon ET Friday May 15; the Greco-Roman World Team was set at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas the previous month

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