Uniting to boast an 8-0 record (81-3 margin; 6 techs, 1 fall) on day 1 of the NAIA Women's National Championships; the McBryde sisters handled business and then some as they kept their dreams of a golden sweep alive.
Defending National Champion, Zaynah (2x finalist/2025 Queen) allowed a TD off the whistle to briefly trail 2-0 in her 138-pound quarterfinal showdown with returning 2x NAIA AA, Reagan Gallaway (Hasting). However, she stormed back to peel off 14 of the bout's final 15 points to come away with a convincing 14-3 TF.
Cashing in on single-leg and go-behind TDs to carry the 4-2 edge into the break; a trade off of stepouts during the first minute of the 2nd made it a 5-3 affair with just 2:00 remaining in regulation. McBryde closed on a 9-0 run, with six of these points transpiring in one sequence, as she converted another go-behind and then locked up a leg-lace for consecutive turns to make it an 11-3 advantage with 63 seconds to go. One final stepout, complemented by yet another TD accounted for the aforementioned superiority triumph.
At 145 pounds, it was Jamilah (now 4x All-American; 2024 National Champion) punching her ticket to the semifinals when she posted a 10-0 TF against former (2022) NCWWC Blood Rounder, Sarina Bertram (Missouri Baptist).
Leading 1-0 after earning an initial point on a stepout; she broke open the bout in the last 1:00 of the opening period when she hit an ankle pick for a 2pt TD and then immediately transitioned to a leg-lace for an additional 2pt points to go up 5-0. She tack on another stepout before the end of the 1st and then struck for a pair of 2nd period takedowns.
2025 Senior National Team Member, Latifah (now 4x All-American; 3x National finalist/2025 Queen) had the most difficult quarterfinal opponent on paper; as she drew returning NAIA runner-up, Darby Weidl (Ottawa).
However, playing the counter-game for much of the six-minute contest; the 160-pounder tallied four total takedowns (three in the 2nd period alone), as well as a 1pt activity clock violation en route to cruising to a controlled 9-0 decision.