ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Chadron State is sending three qualifying women's wrestlers to the first-ever NCAA National Tournament, with Brianna Vollendroff (103 pounds), Piper Cadden (131) and Esther Peters (207) all punching their tickets at the NCAA Region VI Tournament in Missouri on Sunday.

All three Chadron State wrestlers finished in third place at their respective weights, securing the final qualification spots as the top three wrestlers at each of the 10 weights earned national tournament berths. The Eagles were a perfect 3-0 in winner-to-nationals matches on Sunday.

The Eagles finished in sixth in the team standings with 67 points, behind a top five of McKendree (199.5), Simon Fraser (115), Colorado Mesa (113), Fort Hays State (106.5), and William Jewell (70.5). Chadron State edged out hosts Lindenwood (65.5) and RMAC rivals Adams State and Texas Woman's, who were eighth and ninth. 

Chadron State had the fifth-most national qualifiers in the region with three and were one of only three RMAC programs to qualify even one wrestler for nationals, joining Simon Fraser (six) and Colorado Mesa (four). 

It is the second consecutive national qualification for all three CSC wrestlers, with Vollendroff and Peters qualifying for Chadron State last season while Cadden did so while wrestling for Fort Hays State.

To do it, both Vollendroff and Peters beat a wrestler ranked top-10 nationally and seeded top-three in the region, with Peters finally toppling Simon Fraser's Julia Richey. 

Alongside the trio of third-place finishers, Rylee Balcazar also finished a strong fifth place in the 110-pound bracket, but that is not enough for the sophomore to repeat her nationals qualification from her freshman campaign. Adrianna Lopez, the fifth and final Eagle to begin the day still alive in the regional brackets, lost her first consolation match at 117 pounds.

Vollendroff and Cadden had similar paths on Sunday: being pinned in their first match in the semifinals to a No. 1-ranked wrestler from McKendree before rebounding to win two straight matches and finish third. 

After Vollendroff's loss to eventual regional champ Heather Crull, the Oroville, California senior defeated Adams State's Mia Siquieros via a 10-0 tech fall in a rematch of the RMAC Championship bout from this year. 

That put Vollendroff into a winner-take-all third-place match against William Jewell's Juliana Alejandro, who was seeded No. 3 and ranked No. 10 in the nation according to The Open Mat (which had Vollendroff ranked No. 12). Vollendroff led 8-7 after the first period, but outscored Alejandro 6-0 in the second to emerge with a 14-7 decision win and punch her ticket. 

Cadden, seeded No. 4 and ranked No. 19 nationally, fell to eventual regional champ Cameron Guerin as McKendree, expected to be one of two heavy national title favorites alongside Iowa, would eventually win all 10 weight classes at regionals. Cadden cruised to a 13-2 tech fall win over Vanguard's Lillian Avalos to advance to the third-place match. 

Waiting there was Colorado Mesa's No. 17-ranked Hania Halverson, who lost to Cadden on Saturday but had just knocked off No. 2 seed and No. 14-ranked Jania Dunigan of Schreiner. Cadden improved to 2-0 against the CMU wrestler, taking a 4-0 lead, falling behind 6-4 and roaring back for a 12-7 decision win. 

Peters had a tougher task after losing her very first match Saturday against Minot State's Aniya Herbin. Peters needed to win three consecutive matches to earn qualification, and all would be against familiar foes. 

She started the day facing Texas Woman's wrestler Kitana Leafaatoto, who she was 3-0 against but had not beaten by more than two points. The fourth matchup was the highest scoring but ultimately true to form, with Peters pulling out a 10-9 decision win, rallying from a 7-0 deficit.

Up next was Simon Fraser's Julia Richey, who had previously defeated Peters in the 2025 RMAC and regional finals as well as the 2026 RMAC semifinals. On this day, however, Peters would not be denied, with six different scores in an 8-0 decision win to eliminate Richey, who would medically forfeit the fifth-place match. 

In the winner-take-all third-place match, No. 4 seed Peters earned another crack at No. 5 seed Herbin, who pinned her yesterday. Trailing 1-0 after the first period, Peters earned a four-point takedown with 2:24 to go and added on a pair of two-pointers to win 8-1 and complete her comeback. 

Peters, who became the program's first-ever All-American last season with a seventh-place finish, is now in line to potentially repeat that honor. 

For the three advancing wrestlers, they will prepare to compete on March 6-7 in Coralville, Iowa at the NCAA National Championships, where all three will be part of 18-woman brackets.