By Matt Gade

605 Sports

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — In 2021, Taylor Graveman stood atop the podium as one of the first state champions in South Dakota high school girls wrestling history in the sport's inaugural debut as a sanctioned high school sport.

Next year, Graveman wants to be one of the first national champions crowned in the first seasons of NCAA women’s wrestling.

“It's so rewarding,” Graveman said of the NCAA sanctioning women’s wrestling. “When I first started, obviously, I'm kind of a trailblazer for South Dakota, but nationally, it's just so exciting to see all these young women who want to go out there and do, what I wanted to do when I was that young, and just them being able to know that they can.”

While in high school, Graveman won three straight state titles for the Spearfish Spartans girls wrestling team.

At the collegiate level, Graveman has continued to have success earning All-American honors in her freshman and sophomore years for the North Central College Cardinals of Naperville, Illinois.

Last year, Graveman, who is majoring in psychology, said she was the sole freshman on the team taken to the national tournament where she finished 7th at 136 pounds. Then two weeks ago, Graveman finished 5th while competing at 138 pounds at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in Coralville, Iowa.

Graveman and the Cardinals finished runner-up in the team standings behind the University of Iowa. 

In high school, Graveman struggled to find tough competition in practices, spending a lot of time wrestling members of the boys’ team.

“Everyone at the college level is a hammer too, you know, like everyone I'm going to be wrestling, competing with everyone in the (wrestling) room, they're all Taylor Gravemans from their hometown,” she said of the competition at the collegiate level. “So just being able to understand that everyone is like me and that I'm just going to have to work that much harder to get better, to beat them.”

In high school, Graveman said she initially planned on going to a big university and wanted to go to a big city compared to Spearfish. But when she visited NCC, the school of just under 3,000 students, it felt right.

“I always wanted to go to a big school, and when I visited North Central, that automatically changed. I love North Central,” she said. “I love the atmosphere. I love the coaching staff. All of the coaches that we have here are amazing. I believe we have the most coaches out of any women's program. 

“And just going back to the hard work in the (wrestling) room, the pushing by your teammates. Knowing that my hardest competition would be in the room, and yeah, I might be fighting for a spot on the team, fighting for my spot in the lineup, but at the end of the day, that's going to make me so much tougher and so much more prepared to go out there and beat anyone else on another team.”

At 138 pounds, Graveman tallied a 25-9 record on the season with a highlight of the year coming in the quarterfinals at the national tournament knocking off the two-seed.

“That match, knocking off that two-seed, she actually previously beat me 9-8 earlier this year at the Midlands Open. So getting that pin at the end with one second left was a good match,” she said. “I never really let up. Obviously, I got down the first four points. But after that, I don't really think she scored, and so that was a super rewarding match, and just showing that my hard work is paying off.”

Graveman beat Ashlynn Goodwin of Fort Hayes State, 8-3 in the opening round. In the second round, she defeated Wartburg’s Aniyah Kelly with a first-period technical fall (10-0). In the quarterfinal she pinned Presbyterian’s Carina Giangeuso in 5:59. In the semifinals Graveman lost a 5-1 decision to McKendree University’s Haylie Jaffe.

This past January, the NCAA added women’s wrestling as the 91st official sport.

Now Graveman is excited to be a part of the first group of recognized women’s wrestlers for the NCAA.

Although she does joke that she wishes the trophies would look the same.

Taylor Graveman (Photo courtesy North Central College athletics)

Graveman said she’s grateful for the support she continues to receive from her family, including her younger brother Parker who she said she used to beat up in practice, along with friends, former teammates, coaches and the Spearfish community.

“I feel very blessed to be able to still have support from Spearfish, the community there. That's super, super awesome and very rewarding as well,” she said. “I feel like I used to give the whooping, and now I'm getting the whooping. (Parker) He’s jumping levels, so I'm proud to see that — kind of hurts my ego a little bit that I can't beat him anymore. But, you know, just proud of where he's come to.”

Although she finished fifth and earned All-American honors, Graveman isn’t satisfied.

“The mental part is so much bigger than almost the physical part,” she said. “I will be a national champion. ‘Taylor Graveman, 2026 National Champion.’ You know, this year was the ‘2025 national champion.’ And obviously, that didn't come true. So scratch off the five, put on the six.”

For now, Graveman isn’t getting much rest. After she took a short break following the national tournament to rest up, Graveman is back on the mat looking for a spot on the 2025 Women's National Championships & World Team Trials starting on April 4.