Takedown Report

Campbellsville University women’s team places 6th at WCWA Nationals

By Jordan Alves / Campbellsville University Sports Information
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – History was made this weekend for Campbellsville Women’s Wrestling. The Lady Tigers came into the Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Tournament ranked No. 8 but finished in sixth place with 112 points and five All-Americans.  Breonnah Neal (109 pounds) led the way for Campbellsville for the second-straight day as she fought her way into the WCWA National Championship match but lost to defending national champion Victoria Anthony from Simon Fraser University. Neal is not only the first Lady Tiger national finalist in program history but is the first freshman to ever compete in the WCWA 109-pound national championship match.  Neal advanced to the championship with a comeback win in the semifinals. Trailing 3-0 early, she reversed and pinned No. 2 Kristi Garr (Oklahoma City University) to start the second period.  “Bre is a freshman who wrestled extremely well to get to the finals and got caught by a senior who was a four-time national world champion,” said first-year Lady Tiger head coach Lee Miracle. “She has a legitimate shot at winning three national titles before she graduates, and I cannot wait to see her grow in our program.”  Joining Neal as an All-American were fellow freshmen Rosemary Flores (third, 130 pounds) and Tiaira Scott (third, 191 pounds) and sophomores Hanna Hall (fourth, 143 pounds) and Michelle Organ (eighth, 155 pounds).  “The team exceeded everyone’s expectations and we were complimented all day on how hard our girls fought and how good they are for their youth and how good we are for a first year program,” said Miracle. “We placed sixth and there was a gap between where we finished and the rest of the field. These are programs that have been around a lot longer, and it shows just how far we have come in such a short period of time. I am extremely proud and cannot thank them enough for working as hard as they have all season long.”  CU started the day in eighth place with 54 points but roared back at the beginning of the consolation rounds.  Michelle Lomas started the day for the Lady Tigers, but dropped the elimination match in a hard-fought battle with No. 10 Laura Anderson from Simon Fraser, 5-4, to finish just shy of All-America status.  Flores followed and the tone for CU, defeating Dajan Treder (Jamestown) by major decision, 10-5.  The Lady Tigers dropped one more match in the fourth consolation round as 136-pounder Kasey Kruczek was pinned late in the second period by Rachel Young (Oklahoma City).  But then, CU pulled off six victories in a row, starting with Hall’s tech fall win over Yvone Galindo (Oklahoma City), 10-0. Organ followed suit and used an 11-1 tech fall against No. 9 Heiley Gacia (Oklahoma City). Scott then pinned Sonya Legate (Waldrof) in just 38 seconds.   The wins guaranteed the four grapplers their spot on the All-America podium at the end of the night.  Neal’s semifinal win kept the Lady Tigers’ pin streak alive.  Flores used her fourth pin of the tournament to beat Rachel Factora from Lindenwood in just 1:19, and Hall came back to win a major decision, 10-7, over Lisa Gonzalez from Lindenwood.  Going into the consolation semifinals, Flores upset No. 3 Cheyenne Youngblood by way of a pin in the first round. It was her second pin over Youngblood in their last two meetings. She went on to post another pin in the third-place match to finish with a team-high 26 points for CU on five pins.  Hall and Scott also collected pins in the consolation semifinals to send them to the third-place matches for their weights. Hall fell short in her third-place match to No. 5 Forrest Molinari (Missouri Baptist) for the second time in the tournament, while Scott collected a pin to finish two spots from the top. Scott joined Neal with 23 team points in the tournament.   Organ was the final Lady Tiger to compete in the consolation semifinals, but fell to No. 3 Mary Westman. She was then pinned by No. 10 Monika Podgoski to finish eighth at 155 pounds.  CU’s sixth-place team finish is the highest in the state of Kentucky, finishing 38 points ahead of University of the Cumberlands, which had four All-Americans. King University, which entered the tournament ranked No. 1, held on to its top spot by edging Oklahoma City University, 229-227, in the team standings. Simon Fraser University (219), Lindenwood University (148) and Wayland Baptist University (132) rounded out the Top 5.   The tournament concludes CU’s WCWA season, but CU has three other individual tournaments on their 2014 spring schedule: Dave Shultz Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan. 31-Feb. 1; University Nationals on March 29; the U.S. Senior Open in Las Vegas, April 17-20 and the FILA Junior Nationals in Lakeland, Fla., on May. 9.
Complete Results for Campbellsville University http://www.campbellsvilletigers.com/f/2014_WCWA_National_Championships.php

February 2, 2014 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized