Cheynne Rodriguez Signs to Wrestle with SMC

Cheyenne Rodriguez, a 2023 graduate of Edwardsburg High School and current SMC student, has signed her NJCAA Letter of Intent to wrestle for Coach Todd Hesson and the Roadrunners during their inaugural 2025-2026 season.

Hesson said of Rodriguez, "Cheyenne has been around wrestling throughout high school. She is looking forward to getting on the mat."

Rodriguez joins Kaitlynne Walter of Buchanan, Ja'Niya Howard of South Bend Riley, Orion Ennis of Gobles, Madisyn Harrison of Marcellus, Aurelia Trowbridge of Buchanan, Grayce Swanson of Plainwell and current SMC student Alyse Koss in the growing 2024-25 recruiting class. Mikayla Hess and Angel Hess of Paw Paw are also expected to walk-on.

In April 2024, SMC's Board of Trustees unanimously approved the addition of Women's Wrestling, Men's Track & Field and Women's Track & Field as official NJCAA sports, to start competition in Fall 2025. Only 29 other NJCAA schools nationally currently offer women's wrestling. SMC will be the first two-year college in Michigan to offer the sport.

On April 9, the college announced the construction of a new 11,195 square-foot wing of the Zollar Building that will quadruple the space available to the men's and women's wrestling teams. It will double the mat capacity for practice sessions and provide additional competition space for hosting conference and regional meets. The new facility will also include a dedicated fitness and warm-up area, coaches' offices, locker rooms and additional restrooms. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in May, on-site work is well underway with occupancy targeted for February 2026.