Wrestlers · Senior level
Mia Palumbo
First girl to win a match at the IHSA state finals (2018); 2x NAIA national champion; 2023 U20 Pan American champion
Oak Lawn, IL · Harold L. Richards HS · William Penn University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 10, 2026
Mia Palumbo grew up in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and wrestled for Harold L. Richards High School. On February 15, 2018, as a freshman at the State Farm Center in Champaign, she trailed 2-0 for most of her opening Class 2A match at 106 pounds before rallying to win 4-2. She was the first girl in Illinois history to win a match at the IHSA state finals, and only the third to qualify in the meet's 81 years. She had come in as a sectional champion at 28-3, and she won again in the wrestlebacks 9-2 before finishing one win short of the podium.
She won freestyle national titles at both the Junior and Cadet levels in Fargo, going 10-0 across the two events and outscoring her opponents 115-20. She also won gold at USA Wrestling's preseason nationals in 2017. She won multiple Illinois girls' state titles and a Who's Number One championship. In 2021 the National Wrestling Hall of Fame gave her the Illinois Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award.
She signed with Iowa Wesleyan and reached the NAIA national final in 2022 and again in 2023. When she moved to William Penn she made it three straight finals. In March 2024 she beat Jasmine Howard of Texas Wesleyan 3-1, the first national title in William Penn women's wrestling history. That April she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and placed fifth at 50 kg, about 110 pounds. Between those runs she won the 2023 U20 Pan American title.
In March 2026 she opened the NAIA finals at 110 pounds and beat second-seeded Avery Ashley of Oklahoma City 10-0 by technical fall for a second national title. She now runs her own girls' wrestling camps.
She won a second NAIA national title at 110 pounds for William Penn in March 2026, and she runs her own girls' wrestling camps.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Age group | USA Wrestling preseason national championships | 1st | ||
| 2017-18 | High school | IHSA Individual State Finals, Champaign, Class 2A | 106 lb | state qualifier | 28-3 entering state. Feb. 15, 2018; rallied from 2-0 down to win her first-round match 4-2 over Kaeden Kinison of Springfield, the first win by a girl at the IHSA state finals; sectional champion the week before and 28-3 entering state (IHSA). The Hall of Fame bio adds that she won again 9-2 in the wrestlebacks and came one win shy of the podium at 106 pounds. Illinois Matmen counts her and Dunbar's Quiovany Santos as the third and fourth girls to qualify in the 81-year history of the state finals, after Caitlyn Chase of Glenbard North and Alli Ragan of Carbondale. |
| 2018-21 | High school | Junior and Cadet Nationals, Fargo | 1st | 10-0. National titles at both the Junior and Cadet levels, going 10-0 across the two events and outscoring her opponents 115-20 | |
| 2018-21 | High school | Illinois girls' state championships | 1st | Multiple Illinois girls' state titles; also a Who's Number One champion | |
| 2021 | High school | National Wrestling Hall of Fame Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, Illinois | 1st | ||
| 2021-22 | College | NAIA National Championships | 2nd | First of two national finals at Iowa Wesleyan | |
| 2022-23 | College | NAIA National Championships | 2nd | Second straight national final at Iowa Wesleyan; two-time NAIA Scholar All-American | |
| 2023 | Age group | U20 Pan American Championships | 50 kg | 1st | Gold at 50 kg in Santiago, Chile, with a 7-2 final over Maia Cabrera of Argentina; one of seven U.S. women's freestyle champions at the event; her own site also lists a 2023 U20 All-American finish |
| 2023-24 | College | NAIA National Championships | 1st | 4-0. March 2024; won all four matches including back-to-back technical falls to reach the semifinals, scored a late four-point move to reach the final, and beat Jasmine Howard (Texas Wesleyan) 3-1; the first national champion in William Penn women's wrestling history and her third career national final. Weight class left out: the William Penn release gives no weight and her own site lists only the title. | |
| 2024 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 50 kg | 5th | Seeded seventh in the 50 kg challenge tournament on USA Wrestling's pre-seed list; the fifth-place finish is from her own site |
| 2025-26 | College | NAIA National Championships | 110 lb | 1st | March 14, 2026; the top seed wore down No. 2 Avery Ashley (Oklahoma City) for a 10-0 technical fall in the opening final of the evening; William Penn crowned four individual champions |
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://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/14717 · Made Illinois history in 2018 as just the third girl to qualify for the IHSA state wrestling championships and the first to win a match, 4-2 in the opening round of the Class 2A tournament and 9-2 in the wrestlebacks, coming one win shy of the podium at 106 pounds; freestyle national titles at both Junior and Cadet levels, 10-0 across both events outscoring opponents 115-20; gold at USA Wrestling's 2017 preseason national championship; 2021 Illinois Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award
- https://www.ihsa.org/News-Media/Announcements/richards-hs-wrestler-mia-palumbo-makes-history-becomes-first-female-to-match-in-ihsa-state-meet · Feb. 15, 2018 at the State Farm Center: Richards High School (Oak Lawn) freshman Mia Palumbo became the first female wrestler in IHSA history to win a match in the state final meet, rallying from 2-0 down for a 4-2 win at 106 pounds in Class 2A; she was a sectional champion the week before and entered state 28-3; three other girls had previously qualified, including Dunbar's Quiovany Santos
- https://miapalumbo.com/ · Her own site lists: multiple-time Illinois girls' state champion, FloWrestling Who's Number One champion, 2021 Tricia Saunders award, two-time Fargo champion, 2023 Pan American champion, 2023 U20 All-American, two-time NAIA Scholar All-American, 2022 and 2023 NAIA national finalist, 2024 national champion, and 2024 Olympic Trials qualifier who finished fifth; she also runs a free girls wrestling camp
- https://www.statesmenathletics.com/aotw/March_2024_POM-F_Mia_Palumbo · March 2024: Palumbo became the first national champion in William Penn women's wrestling history, winning all four matches at NAIA Nationals including back-to-back technical falls to reach the semifinals and a 3-1 final over Jasmine Howard of Texas Wesleyan; she was already a two-time national runner-up and it was the third final of her college career
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/march/14/life-repeats-at-naia-women-s-wrestling-championships-william-penn-leads-way-with-four-individual-champions · March 14, 2026 NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships: the 2024 national champion returned to the final at 110 pounds and beat second-seeded Avery Ashley of Oklahoma City by 10-0 technical fall; William Penn had four individual champions
- https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/recruiting/2021/01/13/mia-palumbo-two-time-national-champion-commits-iowa-wesleyan-womens-wrestling-program-mount-pleasant/6655879002/ · January 2021: Palumbo, a senior at Richards High School, committed to the Iowa Wesleyan women's wrestling program under head coach Shawn Contos; the school added men's and women's wrestling in May 2019
- https://www.statesmenathletics.com/sports/wwrest/2025-26/roster · William Penn's 2025-26 women's wrestling roster lists Mia Palumbo with year 'Grad.', hometown Oak Lawn, Ill., previous school Iowa Wesleyan. The 2026-27 roster page lists no athletes at all, so no current college season is claimed here.
- https://illinoismatmen.com/mia-palumbo-becomes-first-female-to-win-a-match-at-state/ · Feb. 15, 2018 at the IHSA Individual State Tournament in Champaign: Palumbo of Richards became the first girl to win a match at state, 4-2 over Kaeden Kinison of Springfield in the Class 2A 106-pound bracket; she and Dunbar's Quiovany Santos were the third and fourth female state qualifiers in the 81-year history of the IHSA state finals, joining Glenbard North's Caitlyn Chase and Carbondale's Alli Ragan
- https://www.themat.com/news/features/2023/july/07/usa-women-get-seven-golds-at-u20-pan-ams · July 2023 U20 Pan American Championships, Santiago, Chile: Mia Palumbo won gold at 50 kg with a 7-2 final over Maia Cabrera of Argentina, one of seven U.S. women's freestyle champions; she was wrestling for Iowa Wesleyan that season
- https://www.themat.com/news/2024/april/15/women-s-freestyle-pre-seeds-released-for-u-s-olympic-team-trials-wrestling · USA Wrestling's women's freestyle pre-seeds for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials list Mia Palumbo (Illinois) seventh in the 50 kg challenge tournament
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