Briggs, Lottie Remain in NAIA Top 20
Both junior Markayla Lottie and freshman Shannon Briggs have retained their spots in the fifth set of NAIA women's wrestling ratings this season, the association unveiled last week. Both athletes have appeared in both polls in 2024, and both have now appeared in at least four of the five polls so far this season. Briggs is also ranked in the Top 15 in her weight class by media organization The Open Mat. Avila women's wrestling remains in the receiving votes tier of the national poll.
Junior standout Markayla Lottie is well known by now as one of the best wrestlers in her weight class in the NAIA, and certainly one of the best the Eagles have had in the young history of the program. And her recent slate of opponents is certainly one that befits a top tier athlete. She's faced a ton of top talent over the last few weeks ahead of what she – and the team – hopes is another run through the KCAC Championships and into the NAIA Championships in a couple of weeks.
Lottie was one of only a couple of Eagles to win a match in Avila's dual against powerhouse Grand View on February 2, defeating Brynn Miller by tech fall. Since then though, she's lost her last five matches – but all of them have come to athletes ranked higher than her in this most recent poll, proving how challenging of a road she's walked in the last few weeks.
The junior from Raytown, Missouri has been featured in every NAIA poll so far this season. She is now ranked 20th in the 116-pound weight class.
Freshman Shannon Briggs has had an excellent debut campaign for the Eagles, and put an exclamation point on a season that's not yet complete by pinning Grand View's Olivia Brown in Avila's dual against the Vikings earlier in February. Brown was ranked 3rd in the country at her weight (13th in the latest poll), giving Briggs the highest-ranked win not only in her career but by any Eagle so far this season.
Briggs has lost only four times in 2024 (6-4 overall record this calendar year) and all four of those losses came against athletes that are currently in the NAIA's top ten in their weight class. Briggs looks poised for a strong run in the KCAC Championships in a few weeks against a strong slate of competition in the KCAC.
The freshman from Englewood, Florida makes a massive jump up seven spots from 19th to 12th in the 191-pound weight class. She also appears in the rankings by media organization The Open Mat for the second straight poll, dropping two spots to No. 13.
As always, the expanded KCAC is well represented in the lower half of the national rankings. Hastings is in a three-way tie for No. 14 nationally, and the final four spots in the national Top 20 are all maintained by KCAC schools (Saint Mary, Doane, Midland and Ottawa). Jamestown, Friends and York join Avila in the receiving votes tier, giving the expanded KCAC a total of nine schools in the national picture.
The latest NAIA Women's Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 can be viewed below, and on the NAIA website.
The regular season is officially in the books, so the next chance to catch Lottie, Briggs and the rest of the Eagles will be at the 2024 KCAC Women's Wrestling Championships at Doane University on Saturday, February 24. Details for how to watch and follow that event have been posted on our website, avilaathletics.com.
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| Rank | Last Time | Team | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Menlo (Calif.) | 206 |
| 2 | 2 | Life (Ga.) | 195 |
| 3 | 4 | Grand View (Iowa) | 164 |
| 4 | 6 | Southern Oregon | 158 |
| 5 | 3 | Providence (Mont.) | 153 |
| 6 | 5 | Texas Wesleyan | 134 |
| 7 | 11 | William Penn (Iowa) | 113 |
| 8 | 7 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 111 |
| 9 | 10 | Oklahoma City | 106 |
| 10 | 8 | Missouri Baptist | 104 |
| 11 | 9 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 90 |
| 12 | 12 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 82 |
| 13 | 13 | Indiana Tech | 74 |
| 14 | 19 | Missouri Valley | 55 |
| 14 | 17 | Baker (Kan.) | 55 |
| 14 | 14 | Hastings (Neb.) | 55 |
| 17 | 16 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 50 |
| 18 | 18 | Doane (Neb.) | 46 |
| 19 | RV | Midland (Neb.) | 44 |
| 20 | 15 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 33 |
Dropped from Top 20: Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Receiving Votes: Eastern Oregon 32; Jamestown (N.D.) 31; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 30; Lourdes (Ohio) 25; Siena Heights (Mich.) 22; Evergreen (Wash.) 20; Waldorf (Iowa) 20; Central Methodist (Mo.) 19; Friends (Kan.) 16; St. Andrews (N.C.) 16; Jarvis Christian (Texas) 16; Avila (Mo.) 12; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 11; York (Neb.) 10; Dickinson State (N.D.) 5
Top-Ranked Individuals | Individual Rankings
101 – Erin Hikiji, Providence (Mont.)
109 – Mia Palumbo, William Penn (Iowa)
116 – Avery Ashley, Oklahoma City
123 – Cristelle Rodriguez, Doane (Neb.)
130 – Carolina Moreno, Southern Oregon
136 – Adaugo Nwachukwu, William Penn (Iowa)
143 – Jamilah McBryde, Life (Ga.)
155 – Caitlyn Davis, Southern Oregon
170 – Ashley Lekas, William Penn (Iowa)
191 – Tavia Heidelberg-Tillotson, Menlo (Calif.)
