Takedown Report

Women’s Collegiate Season – Mid-December

Three Takeaways from Week Six of the Women’s Collegiate Season
by Morgan Kopitsky; Erin Hikiji photo courtesy of University of Providence athletics

1. Ranked Missouri Matchup
#18 Central Methodist University made the quick trip across the state to compete in the #17 Missouri Baptist Duals featuring the two aforementioned teams along with Trinidad State and Westminster. While the two Missouri teams fared well against their other opponents, fans were eager to see the two closely ranked teams face off.
After a forfeit at 101 lbs, the two teams exchanged pins with #17 Alyssa King for Missouri Baptist getting one at 109 lbs and Karlee Lachance returning the favor for CMU at 116 lbs. At 123 lbs, #7 Juliana Diaz got a ranked tech fall over #14 Allison Hynes to extend Missouri Baptist’s lead. #16 Nonnie Justice bounced back for CMU getting a third-period pin at 130 lbs. #15 Lilly Gough kept things rolling for the Eagles with a tech fall at 136 lbs. However, after a pin at 143 lbs from Tiyahna Askew, the dual was all Missouri Baptist. They followed Askew’s lead earning two more pins at 155 lbs with #14 Josette Partney over Annsleigh Alexander and at 170 lbs with Anastasia Hardin over Tambria Wilson. MoBap earned 5 more team points from a forfeit at 191 lbs to close out the night making the final team score 34-14. 
While the final score was a bit lopsided, each team showed dominance at particular weights even against some ranked opponents. While I do not know how much this could affect team rankings given how close these two teams are, I think either has the potential to show out against an even higher-ranked team to really shake things up.

2. Cardinals and Tigers and Argos, Oh my!

The North Central Invite featured wrestlers from 25 different NAIA and NCAA-sanctioned programs as well as several talented unattached competitors as well. The North Central Cardinals took home first place with 177 team points and three champs. #1 Amani Jones defended her top seed with three pins and two techs to claim the title. Among her wins, … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Three-takeaways-from-week-six-of-the-womens-collegiate-season

Women’s Wrestling Battles Tough Competition at Kalahari Duals
Sandusky, OH – Alma College Women’s Wrestling was in action on Saturday at the Kalahari Duals. The Scots went 1-5 on the day, taking on some stiff competition, including multiple ranked opponents, one of which stands ranked in the top 10.
 
Alma 29, #23 Simpson B 9
Simpson B jumped out to a 4-0 advantage on a tech fall at 101 pounds. Alma’s MacKenzie Burger won at 109 via a 12-0 teach fall to tie the team score at 4-4. Alma then took a 9-4 lead via forfeit at 116 pounds. The scoring resumed at 130 pounds with a fall for Simpson B to tie the match at 9-9. The Scots answered in the form of Jaclyn Dietz winning via fall to snag 5 back for the Scots at 14-9. The Scots picked up 15 more points on forfeits, pulling away to win 29-9.
 
#13 Tiffin 29, Alma 15
Tiffin got to the board in the opening matches, winning at 101 (tech fall) and 109 (fall). The Scots won via forfeit at 116, before Tiffin piled on another 10 points at 123 (forfeit) and 130 (fall). Dietz won her second match of the day via fall at 136, and Clara Holtry also won via fall at 155. The opposition won the final two bouts at 170 (fall) and 191 (forfeit) to pull away.
 
#23 Simpson 40, Alma 8
After taking on Simpson’s B team earlier, Alma faced off with a tough Simpson squad. The Scots won the opening bout thanks to Burger at 101 pounds. The freshman won 8-3 to get the Scots on the board at 3-1. Simpson showed why they find themselves ranked in the NWCA Top 25, winning at every weight class with the exception of 191, where Alma picked up 5 more points via forfeit. … story at … Almascots.com/Womens-wrestling-battles-tough-competition-at-kalahari-duals

University of Sioux Falls breaking ground with women’s wrestling program
The Cougars have restarted their men’s program and launched a women’s team they hope can inspire growth in female wrestling
SIOUX FALLS — The University of Sioux Falls is going where only one other college in South Dakota has gone before. They’ve started a women’s wrestling team. Dakota Wesleyan was the first, launching their program in 2022.
The Cougars officially took the mat in November, and they’re off to a tremendous start — 4-0 in duals, and none of the four have even been close. That’s great — USF didn’t get into this sport not to win on the mat, after all. But this year at least, the Cougar women’s team is about more than takedowns and reversals. It’s about creating new opportunities for more women’s athletes, growing the sport of wrestling, establishing the legitimacy of women’s wrestling, and driving enrollment at the small, private school.
The Cougars’ inaugural roster is 12 women deep, made up of mostly freshmen, who have varying degrees of experience competing on the mat and come from nine different states. They claim six high school state champions. “It’s going great,” said coach Toby Bryant, who wrestled at South Dakota State and later coached at Aberdeen Central, Northern State and at the Metro Wrestling Academy he’s operated since 2015. “We’re just part of the overall gameplan of creating more NCAA opportunities (for women). This is a real thing. Most of our women were multi-sport athletes, and a lot of them have found they enjoy the martial art that wrestling provides more than the ball sports. They’re realizing they have a thirst for that. There’s definitely a chance to take advantage of the wrestling culture in the region and grow the sport for women.” … story at … Siouxfallslive.com/University-of-sioux-falls-breaking-ground-with-womens-wrestling-program

Four Gold Medals, Two Silver’s Charge PC to Another Dominant Showing at Wasp Open
EMORY, Va. – Corralling 16 pins, 11 technical falls, and 27 victories spread out between nine entrees, the 13^th-ranked Presbyterian College women’s wrestling program snatched the spotlight at the Wasp Open for the second straight season en route to an as-expected scorcher in the Commonwealth State on Friday afternoon. 
Held at Emory & Henry, the Blue Hose cast more than one eye-opener as a signifier to the talent level of their young core. Charlee Shuler (116), Madeline Kubicki (143), Henlee Haynes (170), and Ella Beam (191) never lost a single bout amongst them as they all climbed to a 1^st-place crown in their respective divisions. Not to be outdone, head coach Brian Vutianitis‘ squad continued to spread around the wealth by posting a 2^nd-place mark courtesy of Reagan Riddick and reigning Adidas / Game One Student-Athlete of the Week Cassia Zammit.
109-pounder Grace York and Haynes’ 170 mate Ta’Niya Roberts published bronze finishes in their own right, enabling Presby to showcase a tournament performance with their fingerprints littered all over its final results. Serving as a perfect preamble to the Midlands Championships – a famed bracket in Chicago … story at … GObluehose.com/Womens-wrestling-four-gold-medals-two-silvers-charge-pc-to-another-dominant-showing-at-wasp-open

Three-Time State Champ Dearwester Commits to Presbyterian College
(Harrison, Oh.) – Any college program would be lucky to have Chloe Dearwester on their roster.  But there can only be one college who is so lucky. On Wednesday morning, Dearwester announced that she will be attending Presbyterian College to wrestle at the Division I level.  Dearwester has become one of the top wrestlers in the nation over the course of her high school career. 
She put herself on the map in December of 2020 when she became the first female in Harrison High School history to win a varsity wrestling match. Dearwester would go on to win the OHSWCA Girls State Championship as a freshman, finishing the 2020-2021 season with a 32-1 record. In 2022, she was named the OHSWCA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year after winning he second consecutive state title at 105 lbs.
Dearwester three-peated in 2023 at the inaugural OHSAA Girls Wrestling State Tournament, where Harrison won the team championship. Her run to a third-straight state title was impressive, going 38-0 and winning the championship match by fall in just 59 seconds.
This past summer, Dearwester earned All-American status when she finished third at the USA Wrestling National Championship in North Dakota. More recently, Dearwester helped Harrison capture the championship at the first ever Women of Ironman Tournament. She was named the tournament Most Valuable Wrestler after defeating the #2 ranked wrestler in the nation in the championship match. … story at … Eaglecountryonline.com/3-time-state-champ-dearwester-commits-to-presbyterian-college

December 27, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized