Wrestlers · Senior level
Cristelle Rodriguez
U20 World champion at 55 kg in 2024; 3x NAIA national champion at Doane; 2026 U.S. World Team at 53 kg
Fresno, CA · Buchanan HS · Doane University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026
Cristelle Rodriguez wrestled at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, and became the first woman to win a California state title for the school. She went back to back in 2019 and 2020. At 15 she took silver at the 2019 U17 World Championships at 49 kg, about 108 pounds, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The attention that followed wore on her, and she stepped away from the sport in 2021.
Her friend Karina Vang talked her into visiting Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, where Dana Vote was starting a women's program. Rodriguez went 28-2 as a freshman and placed third at the NAIA Championships at 130 pounds, one of the first two All-Americans in program history. As a sophomore she went 22-0 at 123 pounds and won the 2024 NAIA title, the first individual national champion in Doane women's wrestling history.
On September 5, 2024, in Pontevedra, Spain, she pinned Khaliun Byambasuren of Mongolia in 58 seconds to win the U20 World title at 55 kg. She won every match in the bracket by pin or technical fall. In 2025 she won the U.S. Open and Final X, placed eighth at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad and finished 10th at the Senior World Championships in Zagreb.
She closed her college career in March 2026 with a third straight NAIA title at 124 pounds in Wichita, winning every match by technical fall, and a third straight NAIA Wrestler of the Year award. She finished 85-2 in college and 68-0 in that weight class. She then dropped to 53 kg, won the 2026 U.S. Open and beat Elena Ivaldi, the World Team Trials champion from California, at Final X to make her second Senior World Team.
She wrestles at 53 kg for the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club out of Crete, Nebraska, and carries the top U.S. ranking in the class into the 2026 World Championships.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | High school | CIF California State Championships | 1st | First woman to win a CIF state title for Buchanan High School | |
| 2019 | Age group | U17 World Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria | 49 kg | 2nd | She was 15 |
| 2020 | High school | CIF California State Championships | 1st | Second straight state title | |
| 2022-23 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships | 130 lb | 3rd | 28-2. Freshman season; she and Karina Vang were the first All-Americans in Doane program history |
| 2023 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Amman, Jordan | 57 kg | 12th | |
| 2023-24 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships | 123 lb | 1st | 22-0. The first individual national champion in Doane women's wrestling history; named Most Outstanding Wrestler; every match but one ended by fall or technical fall |
| 2024 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Pontevedra, Spain | 55 kg | 1st | Pinned Khaliun Byambasuren of Mongolia in 58 seconds in the final and scored bonus points in every bout |
| 2024 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 5th | ||
| 2025 | Senior | U.S. Open and Final X, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ | 55 kg | 1st | She beat Everest Leydecker of Arizona 4-1 in the U.S. Open final, then took the Final X series on June 14, 2025, to make her first Senior World Team. She also won the U23 Women's Nationals that April. |
| 2025 | Senior | Senior World Championships, Zagreb, Croatia | 55 kg | 10th | She also placed eighth at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, that year |
| 2024-25 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships | 124 lb | 1st | Second straight NAIA title; she reached the final with a fall and two technical falls, beating Kamilah Brooks of Lindsey Wilson 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Jasmina Immaeva of Missouri Valley 11-0 in the semifinals, then took the final from Katie Gomez of Cumberlands 5-5 on criteria |
| 2025-26 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships, Wichita, KS | 124 lb | 1st | 85-2 career, 68-0 at the weight. Third straight NAIA title, won with four technical falls; Most Outstanding Wrestler; third straight NAIA Wrestler of the Year |
| 2026 | Senior | U.S. Open Championships, Las Vegas | 53 kg | 1st | She dropped from 55 kg; beat Maddie Ripley 10-0, Harlee Hiller 10-0, Ali Paradise 6-0 and Sydney Petzinger 10-0, and led Sarah Hildebrandt 6-2 in the final when Hildebrandt defaulted |
| 2026 | Senior | Final X, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ | 53 kg | 1st | June 19, 2026, over Elena Ivaldi; she also won the 2026 U23 national title and took Pan American Championships bronze in Coralville, Iowa |
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
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/cristelle-rodriguez · Hometown Fresno, Calif.; born Jan. 18, 2004; high school Buchanan in Clovis; residence Crete, Neb.; Tiger WC and Titan Mercury WC; 2026-27 Team USA ranking No. 1 at 53 kg; 2025 Senior Worlds 10th at 55 kg; 2025 U23 Worlds eighth; 2024 U20 Worlds gold at 55 kg; 2023 U20 Worlds 12th at 57 kg; 2019 U17 Worlds silver at 49 kg; three-time NAIA champion under Dana Vote; two-time CIF state champion 2019-20; 2026 U.S. Open and Final X champion; 2026 Pan American bronze in Coralville; 2024 fifth at the Olympic Team Trials
- https://www.themat.com/news/2024/september/17/u20-world-champion-cristelle-rodriguez-overcame-pressure-doubt-to-reignite-wrestling-career · First woman to win a CIF state title for Buchanan, back to back in 2019 and 2020; stepped away from the sport in 2021; recruited to Doane by Karina Vang and coach Dana Vote; freshman year 28-2 and third at NAIA at 130 pounds, first two All-Americans in program history; sophomore year 22-0 at 123 pounds, NAIA title and Outstanding Wrestler, Doane's first individual national champion; 2024 U20 World title at 55 kg in Pontevedra with a 58-second pin of Khaliun Byambasuren of Mongolia; 0-1 at the 2023 U20 Worlds in Amman
- https://www.newschannelnebraska.com/story/246916313/doane-wrestler-cristelle-rodriguez-captures-naia-and-us-championships · 2026 NAIA title at 124 pounds in Wichita, third straight, all four wins by technical fall and an undefeated season; third straight NAIA Wrestler of the Year; 85-2 career and 68-0 in the weight class; U23 U.S. title in Spokane with six technical falls; 2025 Final X champion
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15963892-2026-final-x-preview-elena-ivaldi-vs-cristelle-rodriguez · 2026 Final X at 53 kg on June 19 at Prudential Center in Newark; Rodriguez reached it by winning the U.S. Open with wins over Maddie Ripley, Harlee Hiller, Ali Paradise and Sydney Petzinger and a lead over Sarah Hildebrandt in the final; three-time NAIA champion 2024-26; 2019 Cadet World silver medalist; two-time California state champion
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/27/rodriguez-leydecker-to-meet-at-55-kg-in-women-s-freestyle-at-2025-final-x-in-newark-n-j- · May 27, 2025 Final X preview: Rodriguez, the reigning U20 World champion, beat Everest Leydecker 4-1 in the 2025 U.S. Open final and met her again in the 55 kg Final X series on June 14, 2025, at Prudential Center in Newark; she had competed at three age-group World Championships, with 2019 U17 silver and 2024 U20 gold, and won the U23 Women's Nationals in April 2025; at the time she was a two-time NAIA champion and three-time All-American for Doane; neither wrestler had been to Final X before
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13922237-2025-naia-womens-championships-results-and-team-standings · 2025 NAIA Women's Championships results: 124 pounds final, '1 Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane) won by decision over 2 Katie Gomez (Cumberlands) Dec 5-5'; semifinal tech fall over Jasmina Immaeva of Missouri Valley 11-0 and quarterfinal tech fall over Kamilah Brooks of Lindsey Wilson 10-0
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/elena-ivaldi · USA Wrestling profile for Elena Ivaldi: residence Rocklin, Calif., high school Del Oro in Loomis, Calif., 2022 California state champion, 2026-27 Team USA No. 2 at 53 kg
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