CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa –
Claire DiCugno won the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Coalition (NCWWC) national championship at 136 pounds Saturday night, her first national championship, and the fourth straight year that King has had at least one individual national champion.
THE BASICS
KING RESULTS: 3rd of 44 (163.0)
LOCATION: Alliant Energy Power House; Cedar Rapids, Iowa
HOW IT HAPPENED - SATURDAY
- C. DiCugno, who was ranked second in the nation entering the tournament, beat #6 Viktorya Torres of McKendree, 10-2 in the semifinals before winning a 10-0 tech fall over #1 Yele Aycock of North Central, her first career national championship.
- #4 Virginia Foard advanced to the national championship match with a 11-0 tech fall win over #1 Shelby Moore of McKendree. Wrestling in her first career collegiate national championship match, she dropped a 3-1 decision to #2 Amani Jones of North Central to take second.
- At 130 pounds, #1 Victoria Baez-Dilone won a 7-4 decision over North Central's Sara Sternet in the semifinals before narrowly falling in the championship match, 2-1 to #2 Cameron Guerin of McKendree.
- #6 Aine Drury started with a semifinal matchup against #1 Alara Boyd of North Central, which she won 7-4 to advance to the championship match, where she lost via pin to Iowa's second-ranked Reese Larramendy.
- #2 Chey Bowman advanced to the championship match with a 6-0 win over #6 Bella Mir of Iowa. She faced another Hawkeye in the finals in #1 Marlynne Deede, dropping a 9-3 decision.
- #8 Avery KIbelbek finished seventh, earning All-American status for the first time in her career. After dropping a decision in her first match of the day, she earned a win via fall over #10 Genesis Ramirez of Aurora in the seventh-place match.
- #6 Danielle Garcia became an All-American with a sixth-place finish. She won her first match of the day, 5-1 over Colorado Mesa's #7 Isabella Morales, but dropped both of her final two matches, including a 12-2 loss to #3 Jaslynn Gallegos in the fifth-place match.
- #5 Melanie Mendoza earned a fifth-place finish after winning a 7-1 decision over #9 Karissa Turnwall of Emmanuel. After falling in the consolation semifinals, she earned a 7-0 win over Carleigh Czerneski of Adrian, earning All-American status.
- Top ranked Samara Chavez dropped her semifinal match to Iowa's #4 Felicity Taylor before winning both of her final matches by pin. She took her consolation semifinal match over Czerneski before pinning North Central's #2 Sydney Petzinger in 5:19 to earn a third-place finish.
- After dropping her semifinal match to start the day, #3 Montana DeLawder won her next match via pin, beating Sacred Heart's #5 Alexandra Fitzgerald in 2:53 before beating #1 Shelby Moore of McKendree 7-2 in the third-place match.
- Yasmine Kallily Oliveira finished sixth, winning her first match via fall over Iowa's #5 Ella Schmit before narrowly dropping a 6-5 decision. She then lost via pin in the fifth-place match, earning All-American status.
- #7 Alexa Garcia took fourth at 191 pounds, dropping her championship semifinal match before winning a 9-0 decision over #4 Sara Lake of Lindenwood. She dropped the championship match via fall to #1 Traeh Haynes of North Central.
HOW IT HAPPENED - FRIDAY
- #1 Samara Chavez is through to the semifinals after going 3-0 on the day, with all three wins coming via pin. After beating Maddie Mackenzie of Simon Fraser in 1:31, she needed just 1:08 to pin East Stroudsburg's Emily Klein. In the quarterfinals, she faced Emmanuel's Karissa Turnwall, winning via pin in 4:14 to advance to the semifinals.
- #3 Montana DeLawder will also wrestle in the semifinals on Saturday morning, after winning all three of her matches, two of which came via tech fall. After opening her day with a 10-0 win, she pinned Angela LoRusso of Adrian College in the second round before beating Victoria Seal from Simon Fraser 10-0 in the quarterfinals.
- Joining her in the semifinals at 123 is #4 Virginia Foard, who won a pair of tech falls, including a 10-0 win over Iowa's Ava Rose in the opening round and a 10-0 tech fall win over Alexandra Fitzgerald of Sacred Heart.
- #1 Victoria Baez-Dilone won all three of her matches via tech fall, including a quarterfinal win over Kylie Rule of Wartburg. She also had wins over Danielle Ruiz of Albion (11-0) and Lillie Costilla of Frostburg State (10-0).
- #2 Claire DiCugno is also through to the semifinals after beating Natasha Markoutsis of Aurora 12-2 in the first round. She then faced North Central's Taylor Graveman, winning a 12-2 tech fall to punch her ticket to the semifinals.
- #6 Aine Drury went 3-0 at 143 pounds to advance to the semifinals. After beating Minot State's Haleigh Lematta, she pinned Brinley Green from the University of Sioux Falls in 0:42. In the quarterfinals, she faced Ella Schmit of Iowa, whom she pinned in 2:07.
- Yasmine Kalilliy Oliveira started her day with a loss to Maddie Kubicki of Presbyterian, but won her second match over Lematta in 0:43 to keep her tournament hopes alive. She then beat Athena Wilden of William Jewell in 40 seconds before winning a 6-0 decision over Morthern Michigan's Marisa Angelos.
- #2 Chey Bowman opened her tournament with a tech fall win over Jocelyn Yepez of Emmanuel before beating Sacred Heart's Madison Sandquist 11-0 in her quarterfinal contest.
- #7 Alexa Garcia will also wrestle in the semifinals, going 2-0 on the day. After beating Melissa Jacobs of Augsburg, she edged Brittyn Corbishley of North Central, 9-7 to advance to the semifinals.
- #8 Avery Kibelbek won her first bout of the day, 5-1 over Auora's Genesis Ramirez before falling to Iowa's Emillie Gonzalez in the quarterfinals.
- #6 Jessica Corredor won her first match via tech fall before dropping a 6-4 decision to Madison Avila of North Central.
- After dropping her first match of the day, Alyssa Guardiola won a 11-10 decision over Huntingdon's Shelby Fugate.
- #6 Danielle Garcia won a 9-0 decision to start her day before being pinned by North Central's Jaslynn Gallegos in the quarterfinals. She went on to win her next match by pin over Adriana Gomez of Colorado Mesa.
- #5 Melanie Mendoza won her first match via pin, before earning an 8-4 win in the second round. She dropped her quarterfinal match via pin to Felicity Taylor of Iowa. In her next match, she beat Austria Holland of Adams State 10-0 to advance to day two.
- Anna DiCugno went 1-2 on the day, winning her first match via 16-second fall over Delaney Burns of John Carroll. After dropping her second round matchup, she was pinned by Iowa's Emily Frost, eliminating her from the tournament.
RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
101 – #8
Avery Kibelbek 3-2, 7th; #6
Jessica Corredor 1-2
109 – #6
Danielle Garcia 3-3, 6th;
Alyssa Guardiola 1-2
116 – #1
Samara Chavez 5-1, 3rd; #5
Melanie Mendoza 5-2, 5th
123 – #4
Virginia Foard 3-1, 2nd; #3
Montana DeLawder 5-1, 3rd
130 – #1
Victoria Baez-Dilone 4-1, 2nd;
Anna DiCugno 1-2
136 – #2
Claire DiCugno 4-0, 1st
143 – #6
Aine Drury 4-1, 2nd; Yasmine Kallily Oliveira 4-3, 6th
155 – #2
Chey Bowman 3-1, 2nd
191 – #7
Alexa Garcia 3-2, 4th
UP NEXT
- DiCugno clinched an automatic entry into the USA Wrestling Olympic Trials tournament, scheduled for April 19 on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pa.
