Takedown Report

Menlo, led by five individual champions, wins historic first NAIA Women’s National Invitational title

By Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Led by five individual champions, three runners-up and a total of 12 All-Americans, Menlo College became the first-ever NAIA Women’s National Invitational team champion on Saturday night. This is a historic event, because it is the first officially recognized women’s college wrestling tournament by a national multi-sport organization at the college level. The NAIA gave women’s wrestling emerging sport status and created the National Invitational to be launched this year. This is the second national college women’s wrestling title for Menlo this year, as it also won the 2019 WCWA Nationals in February. The women’s college wrestling community has run national tournaments for teams from all college associations since 2005.

Menlo finished with 230.5 points, a full 76 points ahead of runner-up Oklahoma City with 154.5 points. Third went to the host University of Jamestown with 137.5 points. Campbellsville was fourth with 126.5 points and the University of the Cumberlands was fifth with 106.5 points. The five individual champions for the champion Oaks were Alleida Martinez (109), Tiana Jackson (123), Solin Piearcy (136), Marilyn Garcia (143) and Iman Kazem (155). Martinez and Piearcy were also WCWA national champions in February. Martinez, a freshman who has been dominant this year, scored a 10-0 technical fall over second seeded McKayla Campbell of Campbellsville in the finals. This was a rematch of the WCWA national finals, which Martinez won by pin. Piearcy, a junior, won her second national title of the year after defeating Erica Sotelo of Life, 8-1.
Rest of the results and story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/March/16/Menlo-wins-historic-first-NAIA-Womens-National-Invitational?mc_cid=95789d1a6c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

March 18, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized