Submitted photo: Alexis Ross of Iowa Central, a former Fort Dodge state champion, was a district gold medalist in Council Bluffs for the Iowa Central women.

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Iowa Central women’s wrestling team gave itself some more momentum heading into the NJCAA National Tournament.

Behind four individual crowns, including one for former Fort Dodge Senior High state champion Alexis Ross, the seventh-ranked Tritons finished atop the North Central District Championships here on Saturday with 167 points.

No. 6 Iowa Western was a close second with 157 points, followed by top-ranked Indian Hills, Hawkeye, Iowa Lakes, No. 10 NIACC and Ellsworth.

These same teams will be joined by the rest of the top two-year programs in the country for nationals on March 7-8.

Ross, a sophomore and the top seed at 138 pounds, picked up two technical falls to reach the finals. Once there, she bested Julia Chambers of Iowa Western, 8-5.

Joining Ross atop the podium were Annabelle Petsinger, Avery Mohr and Delise Villa.

Myah Rausch, Aneth Campos, Aniyah Dinwiddie, Brylie Schaub, Maia Esera and Breanna Salgado all earned second-place finishes for the Tritons, while Cynthia Ellis was third overall.

Iowa Central, which finished third in the ICCAC dual standings, captured the national duals title earlier this year.

This was the first year for the regional championships. The NJCAA tournament remains an invitational, meaning there is no automatic-qualifying event held to determine the brackets.