ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After the first day of the WCWA National Championships, the favorite and #1-ranked King University women's wrestling team didn't disappoint. The Tornado sit atop the standings, nearly 30 points clear of the second place team, thanks to 11 different wrestlers qualifying for the semifinals in their respective weight classes.
At 101 pounds, freshman Marina Doi reached the semifinals with a pair of wins on the opening day. She first topped Lisa Anderson of Ottawa University on a 10-0 technical fall before defeating University of the Cumberlands' Arelys Valles on a fall in 6:00 in the quarterfinals. Also at 101 pounds, Regina Doi won her first match on a 10-0 technical fall over Campbellsville University's Cassidy Ferrell, but fell to top seed Emily Webster of Oklahoma City University. However, she earned a 10-0 technical fall win to advance to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket.
Haley Augello is the favorite at 116 pounds, and hasn't disappointed so far, going for her second straight national title. The sophomore won her first two bouts on a 10-0 technical fall decisions over Makayla Bourbon of Cumberlands and Nikkie Brar of Simon Fraser University to reach the semifinals.
Also a favorite to take her second straight title, Sarah Hildebrandt cruised through her first two matches at 123 pounds, defeating Simon Fraser's Ashley Osachuck 12-0 on a technical fall and Campbellsville's Shelby Hall on a 10-0 technical fall to reach the semifinals. Hanna Grisewood is also in the semifinals at 123 pounds, taking a 9-6 decision from Wayland Baptist University's Tam Tillman to start the day. She then earned back-to-back wins by fall over Jamestown University's Trica Martin in 2:33 and Bree Rapoza of Missouri Baptist University in 3:57.
At 130 pounds, freshman Jessi Kee won her first three bouts by technical fall to reach the semifinals. She topped Missouri Baptist's Erica Mihalca 12-0 before topping Missouri Valley College's Anna Poyner 10-0 and Rizpah Umi over Wayland Baptist 10-0.
Forrest Molinari cruised through her first two matches, taking wins by fall in both. She topped Cumberlands' Madison Haycraft in 1:22 before defeating Destiny Robinson-Crawl in 0:38. She then earned a 5-4 win over Rachel Young of Oklahoma City University to earn her spot in the semifinals.
The 143-pound favorite, Amanda Hendey made quick work of her competition on Friday, winning three matches by fall to reach the semifinals. She started with a victory over Cumberlands' Olivia Cepak in 1:55, and followed it with a win in 1:11 over Maggie Douma of Oklahoma City before topping Anna McAleavey of Lindenwood University in 0:31.
Also a favorite at 155 pounds, Julia Salata started her day with a win by fall in 0:10 over Southwestern Oregon Community College's Olivia Pizano before earning a pair of technical fall wins to reach the semifinals. The senior topped Anna Naylor of Jamestown 12-2 before topping Michelle Organ over Campbellsville 14-4.
At 170 pounds, Lorrie Ramos led a trio of Tornado wrestlers. She earned a 12-2 technical fall win over Autumn Rux of Campbellsville and 12-1 technical fall win over Clarc Walker of Cumberlands to reach the semifinals. Brenda Perez and Evonne Evien both reached the second round before dropping to the consolation bracket. The duo both won their first consolation bracket matches, but their tournament's came to an end in the consolation third round.
Jacqueline Williams is the final Tornado in the semifinals as the freshman won her first two bouts of the tournament. She topped Melissa Starheim of Southwestern Oregon 14-1 on a technical fall before topping Payton Smith of Simon Fraser on a fall in 0:14.
Ashley Iliff reached the quarterfinals at 109 pounds with a pair of wins over Taylor Zboray of Midland University and Tyisha Topps of Life University before falling to Grace Paxton of Cumberlands.
Vanessa Gomez dropped her first two matches at 109 pounds while Rachel Hale dropped her first match of the day before winning a pair of consolation bouts. However, she dropped an 8-8 decision on criteria in the third round to Mihalca, ending her tournament.
The Tornado currently hold the lead after the first day with 138 points. Campbellsville is second at 112 and Oklahoma City is in third with 110 points.
The WCWA Championships will conclude on Saturday with the semifinals and consolation fourth round starting at 9:30 a.m. (ET). The third place through seventh place matches are slated to start at 5:00 p.m. (ET) with the finals to follow at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
