This Week in Women's Collegiate Wrestling (12/5/2023)

4 Takeaways in Women’s College Wrestling This Week

1. McKendree goes undefeated at Jewell Duals

The #5 Bearcats headed to the Jewell Duals and walked away with 5 wins. McKendree defeated Simpson 37-17, William Jewell 47-12, Quincy 41-13, Missouri Baptist 31-21 and #15 Lindenwood 44-14. Most notable, however, was Cam Guerin’s return to the lineup. The former national champ pinned #10 Cayden Condit in the team’s dual against Lindenwood, followed by another pin against her Missouri Baptist opponent. McKendree has moved around a lot in the rankings recently, but the addition of a powerhouse like Guerin and the eventual return of Emma Bruntil back into the lineup could propel them back to the top of the rankings.

2. #3 Grand View wins back-and-forth dual with #16 Central Methodist

In an exciting NAIA-ranked dual, Grand View traveled to Missouri to take on the Eagles. After a forfeit at 101 lbs, the teams exchanged quick pins. At 109 lbs, freshman Judy Sandoval of GV got a pin against Abigail Jastal. CMU responded quickly though with a pin from #19 Victoria Nunez over Julia Donnelly at 116 lbs. At 123 lbs #8 Catie Campbell got a strong decision over #13 Allison Hynes, 5-0 followed by another GV win at 130 lbs when Maya Davis got the fall over Nonnie Justice. Central Methodist answered the call at 136 lbs and 143 lbs with Emily Neumann and Skye Realin getting a decision and tech fall respectively. However, the Vikings bounced right back in their next two matches with Leilani Rodriquez getting a 10-8 decision at 155 and #1 Abby McIntyre getting a 14-second pin at 170 lbs. Even with CMU getting a pin from Shianne Whited at 191 lbs, the early forfeit and consistent wins, gave them the edge to secure the 27-18 dual win.

3. University of Providence Argos claim 6 titles at Battle of the Rockies tournament

At the Battle of the Rockies tournament, seven teams sent athletes to compete including wrestlers from #6 University of Providence and #2 Menlo. The Argos ended the day with #1 Erin Hikiji claiming the title at 101 lbs with teammate #6 Isabelle Asuncion coming in second. At 109 lbs, #7 Paige Morales, a freshman, claimed the 1st place spot as well. Unranked freshman for the Argos, Ani Arias took first at 116 lbs, while teammate #14 Alicia Frank won out at 123 lbs. The #2 ranked wrestler at 136 lbs, Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp had one of the most impressive showings of the tournament, pinning her opponent in all three of her matches and wrestling for a total time of under 2 minutes across all three matches. Rounding out the champs for the Argos was #7 ranked senior Lexi Tupuola at 191 lbs.

While there was a lot of great action during the weekend, including the Battle of the Rockies dual tournament the following day, one of the biggest takeaways was #7 Paige Morales’ performance. During both the open and the dual the following day, Morales who is ranked at 109 lbs, teched #2 Kalya Mckinley-Johnson of Menlo at 101lbs. Even though McKinley-Johnson was wrestling up a weight, it does show Morales’ ability to wrestle higher-ranked opponents dominantly. Next week, the team heads to the North Central open where some of the highest ranked 109 lbers from NAIA and NCAA will compete. Be sure to keep an eye on Morales and Estrella-Beauchamp to clean up against even higher-ranked competitors.

4. Life wins tough ranked matchups at Patriot Duals to remain undefeated

The Running Eagles won 5 out of 5 duals at the Patriot Duals tournament including ranked wins over #10 Indiana Tech and #9 Campbellsville. In the dual against Indiana Tech, Life kept a healthy lead and got impressive ranked wins at 136 lbs with #10 Zaynah McBryde getting the tech fall over #17 Carley Anderson and #5 Madeline Welch with a 9-2 decision at 191 lbs against Grace Doering who is ranked at #18 at 170 lbs.

Most notable for me, however, was freshman Margaret Graham at 170 lbs taking out #12 Catherine McNulty of Indiana Tech by tech fall. 

Graham’s talents would show up again in the dual against Campbellsville when she beat #15 Sierra Chavez by tech fall as well. This dual started a lot closer with Campbellsville getting early upset wins from Icart Galumette getting a tech over #4 Ariana Martinez and Josie Davis pinning #9 Anna Krejsa. Life pulled an upset of their own at 130 lbs when senior Olivia Mottley got the 10-3 decision over #19 Cameron Ortiz. A decision from Zaynah McBryde for Life was followed by a pin from Campbellsville’s 143 lber #2 Emma Walker. However, with a tech from #2 Latifah McBryde, the aforementioned upset win from Graham, and a pin from #5 Madeline Welch at 191 lbs, the Running Eagles put it away winning 27-17. 

Life, like many other teams, now have the Olympic Trials Qualifier as their next event. I am curious to see if some of these wrestlers can continue to get upsets against ranked talent.

Results this week in major NCAA, NCWA, and NAIA competitions

Grand View 27 vs Central Methodist 18

Patriot Duals VIEW RESULTS

Battle of the Rockies Tournament VIEW BRACKETS

Battle of the Rockies Duals VIEW RESULTS

Grays Harbor Open VIEW BRACKETS

Doane Open VIEW RESULTS

Vanguard Duals VIEW RESULTS

Upcoming Events

December 6: #3 Grand View vs #19 Baker

December 8: #7 Texas Wesleyan vs #12 Oklahoma City

December 9: #4 Southern Oregon vs Linfield

December 9: #16 Central Methodist vs #8 Missouri Baptist

December 10: North Central College Invite