OLYMPIA, Wash. – Four athletes on The Evergreen State College women's wrestling team are set to compete for the Geoducks at the 2026 NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 in Wichita, Kansas. The tournament will be held at Heartland Credit Union Arena.
Action is set to begin on Friday at 10 a.m. CDT / 8 a.m. PDT with an evening session at 5 p.m. CDT / 3 p.m. PDT. The competition on Saturday will start at 10 a.m. CDT / 8 a.m. PDT. The schedule for Saturday also includes the Parade of All-Americans and Scholar-Athletes at 6:15 p.m. CDT / 4:15 p.m. PDT, followed by the championship finals session at 7 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m. PDT.
Evergreen wrestlers who qualified for this year's NAIA Championships are
Nizhoni Tallman (Sr.) in the 110-pound weight class,
Ellabelle Taylor (Jr.) in the 124-pound weight class,
Haley Le (So.) in the 138-pound weight class, and
Shannon Workinger (Sr.) in the 160-pound weight class.
All four of Evergreen's national qualifiers were ranked in their respective weight classes in the final ratings for the NAIA this season. Workinger was ranked #4 at 160 pounds, Le was ranked #7 at 138 pounds, Taylor was listed #8 at 124 pounds, and Tallman held #17 at 110 pounds.
Seedings at the NAIA Championships are not determined by the final national rankings. Workinger is seeded #2 at the championships in the 160-pound bracket.
Tallman will open the 110-pound bracket with a bye. In the second round, she will face the winner from the first round match between #6-seeded Avy Perez from William Penn University (Iowa) and Makenize Smith from Indiana Tech. Tallman is participating in the NAIA Championships for the third time after reaching the event in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Last year, she was named All-American after taking eighth place in the 100-pound weight class.
"Nizhoni is a true warrior, combining strength, skill, and determination," Evergreen Head Women's Wrestling Coach
Fan Zhang said.
In the 124-pound weight class, Taylor will begin the tournament with a first round match against #4-seeded Vicky Baez-Dilone from William Penn. The winner will take on Isla Baeza from Missouri Valley College in the second round. Taylor qualified for the NAIA Championships in 2023-24 in 123-pound weight class and in 2024-25 in the 124-pound classification.
"Ellabelle is fearless and consistent," Zhang noted. "She is always bringing intensity to every match."
Le is set to start the 138-pound bracket with a bye. She will compete in the second round against the winner between #3 seed Samantha Barragan from Texas Wesleyan University and Lexi Ritchie from Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.). Le is making her first trip to the NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships.
"Haley is technically sharp, with the heart of a competitor," Zhang said.
As the #2 seed at 160 pounds, Workinger will start the tournament with a bye. In the second round, she will take on the winner of the match between Justice Thomas of Ottawa University (Kan.) and Vida Boskovic from Southern Oregon University.
"Shannon is relentless on the mat and is always rising to touch challenges," Zhang commented.
Workinger is ready to compete at the NAIA Championships for the third time. She qualified twice while attending Menlo College (Calif.) and is now making her first trip to national with Evergreen after transferring and redshirting for the Geoducks last year. While at Menlo, she took fifth place in the NAIA at 155 pounds in 2022-23 and was third in the NAIA at 155 pounds in 2023-24. Workinger earned All-American recognition during both seasons.
