WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The top-ranked King University women's wrestling team opened their season on Friday at the Patriot Duals hosted by the University of the Cumberlands where the Tornado faced a pair of top-10 teams. The Tornado came out of the day unscathed, defeating Lindenwood University's B team, #9 Missouri Baptist University and #7 McKendree University.
The Tornado (3-0) opened the day by facing Lindenwood's B team, as King took a 5-0 lead on a forfeit at 101 pounds. Ashley Iliff followed with a 10-0 win over Andrey Diaz at 109 pounds, and Breonnah Neal followed by pinning Cindy Charles at 116 pounds. King took another forfeit victory at 123 pounds, and Rachel Hale defeated Haidee Cardenas 11-0 at 130 pounds before Forrest Molinari pinned Jessica Rodriguez at 136 pounds to give King a 28-0 advantage. Lindenwood then earned points in three straight Tornado wins, starting with a 14-4 win by Jessi Kee over Axa Molina at 143 pounds. Lorrie Ramos eanred a 10-4 victory over Anna Mcaleavey at 155 pounds, and at 170 pounds, Brenda Perez topped Ashlyn Whitted 8-2. Lindenwood ended the match with a victory at 191 pounds, but King took the bout 38-6.
King then faced ninth-ranked Missouri Baptist, and freshman Marina Doi got King off to a great start, taking an 11-0 win over Anissa Rodriguez at 101 points. Neal followed it with a 10-0 victory over Isabella Silva at 109 pounds before Haley Augello pinned Marylou Martinez in 1:45 at 116 pounds to give King a 13-0 lead. Hanna Grisewood stretched the lead to 16-0 with a 7-0 win over Montana Drum at 123 pounds before Sarah Hildebrandt pinned Erika Mihalca in 52 seconds at 130 pounds. At 136 and 143 pounds, Molinari and Amanda Hendey stretched the King lead to 29-0 with back-to-back 10-0 victories, defeating Sarah Bollinger and Cheyenne Youngblood, respectively. Ramos then pinned Aylin Hernandez in 2:18 before Julia Salata topped Kassandra Castruita 10-0 to give King a 38-0 lead. The Tornado won by forfeit at 191 pounds to take the match 43-0.
In their final bout of the day, King squared off against #7 McKendree, and the Tornado kept the momentum from their earlier matches rolling. Regina Doi opened the dual with a 10-0 win over Coellet Rangal at 101, and Breonnah Neal followed with an 11-0 win over Tayler Resuriz at 109 pounds. At 116 pounds, Augello topped Lindsey Spjut 10-0 before Hildebrandt earned her second pin of the day, pinning Hailee Lily in 2:20 to give King a 17-0 lead. McKendree took a win at 130 pounds, and King took a forfeit victory at 136 pounds before Hendey pinned Alexis Porter in 2:16, giving King a 27-3 advantage. Ramos took a 13-0 victory over Robin Torres at 155, and Salata defeated Ashley Miles 10-0 at 170 pounds before Jackie Williams capped King's 37-4 win with a 5-4 victory over Aliana Jimenez at 191 pounds.
King will be in action again on Saturday at the Patriot Duals as they will face three more matches.
