Iowa State women’s wrestling earned its second commitment in the program’s history with William Penn transfer Christianah Ogunsanya announcing her decision to join the Cyclones.
Ogunsanya announced her commitment on Wednesday, May 20. The two-time NAIA champion follows her former head coach Jake Kadel, who is now an assistant with the Cyclones, from William Penn to Iowa State. Ogunsanya represented Nigeria in the 2024 Olympics in Paris and won a U23 World Championships bronze medal in 2025. She is fresh off winning the 2026 NAIA title at 117 pounds.
Ogunsanya and former William Penn teammate Piper Fowler are the first two commits to the Cyclones since the program was announced in April. Fowler also won an NAIA title at 180 pounds and is a U17 World Champion who will represent the United States in the U20 World Championships later this year.
Head coach Alli St. John has emphasized the desire to create a roster competing for NCAA, World and Olympic titles, with her first two adds to the roster showing a deep commitment to that.
At the Cyclone Tailgate Tour on May 18, St. John said she expected more commits in the coming days, with the hopes of having 10-15 athletes competing unattached for the 2026-27 season. She said the team intends to fill a 30-athlete roster for the first official campaign in 2027-28.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women’s wrestling adds Olympian Christianah Ogunsanya
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
