MINOT, N.D. – It's an exciting time for the fourth-year Beaver women's wrestling program as the world of women's college wrestling continues to evolve.

More conference teams this season, with the addition of Jamestown, and now the NCAA has made women's wrestling a championship sport, all of which means more excitement on the mats for Minot State this winter.

"As far as competition, preparation, and our schedule, it will be business as usual," Minot State's 4^th-year head coach Brittney Mitchem said of those changes.

The big changes won't come until the Championship season in late February and March as the Beavers will now get to enter only one wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes at Regionals – instead of previously being allowed to enter 2 in up to 5 of the weight classes – and the top 3 at Regionals advance to the National Tournament, unlike the top 4, previously.

"So, we'll see a little different competition at the regional level," Mitchem said.

But it's a long road before the Beavers hit the Championship season, a road that starts Friday at Waldorf with a dual to open the season against the Warriors, then continues with the Waldorf Open Tournament on Saturday.

Minot State then competes at the NSIC Duals on November 16 hosted by Sioux Falls, featuring the Beavers, Cougars, and new NSIC addition Jamestown, before returning home for two days of action as Minot State hosts the 4^th annual Beaver Bash Duals on Friday, Nov. 21, then the women's Beaver Bash Open tournament on Saturday, Nov. 22.

"Competition season is the best season, where the girls get to see all their hard work from this preseason start to show, so it's always exciting," Mitchem said. "I think the team is in a great spot physically and mentally, and we are excited to get rolling.

"We aren't 100-percent healthy, but still are bringing a solid group of girls (to Waldorf) and are excited to see how we compete."

Some of the Beaver women wrestlers to watch include returners Haleigh Lematta (145 pounds), a junior and two-time national qualifier, Madilyn Schuck (180 pounds), a sophomore who led the team in pins last season, and sophomore Puakela Beebe (138 pounds).

"We expect (Madilyn) to show some great success right away," said Mitchem, who adds, "Beebe has put in a lot of work this offseason and has looked great in the room this preseason."

The Beavers also add two standout transfers in Aliana Barnoski (160 pounds), a redshirt-junior and two-time NJCAA All-American and national runner-up champion at Carl Albert State College, and Aniya Herbin (207 pounds), a sophomore transfer from Missouri Valley College who was ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation last year as a true freshman.

Joining them in helping add depth and talent to the Minot State roster are true freshmen Kaiya Lopes (103 pounds) and Alyssa Jones (124 pounds), both from San Diego, California. Mitchem adds that both have looked good in the practice room this fall.

Giving Minot State talent and depth that the Beavers need to build on the team's success, which includes qualifying six individuals for nationals over the program's first three seasons, and 10 team dual wins.

"Every year our goal is to get as many athletes as we can through to the national tournament, and we are still chasing our first All-American in program history," Mitchem said. "Along with that, we expect to be very competitive in our dual meet competitions within our conference and across the nation."