Takedown Report

NAIA Women’s National Championships previews & results

2024 NAIA Women’s National Championship Preview

This weekend will be the 2nd annual NAIA Women’s Freestyle Championships. Here are some previews for each weight.
101 lbs: Top seed – Erin Hikiji, Providence
Erin Hikiji is hoping to cap off a tremendous season with a redemption finals result to end up on top. Standing in her way will be a few tough wrestlers that Hikiji has previously beaten on that side of the bracket with Alyssa Quezaire of Missouri Baptist, whom Hikiji teched at the Warrior Open, and Esther Walker of Midland, whom Hikiji teched at the North Central Open. However, 2-seed Stefana Jalacic of Lourdes will certainly press Hikiji in the finals, if she can make it past a tough Kayla McKinley-Johnson of Menlo. There is also an unseeded but tough Devyn Gomez here who could certainly shake things up.
109 lbs: Top seed – Mia Palumbo, William Penn
Mia Palumbo has already teched the 2-seed Alexsys Jacquez of St. Mary earlier this season, but there are plenty of ways this finals match could shape up. I would keep an eye on Providence’s Paige Morales at the 4 seed and Tehani Soares of Indiana Tech to make things interesting in their respective halves of the bracket. Regardless, I think Palumbo is on her way to an individual championship here as a leader on this William Penn team.
116 lbs: Top seed – Juliana Diaz, Missouri Baptist
Diaz got the win over Avery Ashley of Oklahoma City at conferences to claim the top spot, but I wouldn’t guarantee you’d see the same result if they were to meet up again. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/NAIA-womens-national-championship-preview
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The Complete NAIA Women’s Championship Preview
The NAIA Women’s Championships begin Friday in Jamestown, North Dakota. Get ready for all the action with our comprehensive preview.
Mar 6, 2024 by Derek Levendusky
The 2024 NAIA Women’s Championships are almost here.  On Friday and Saturday, the top NAIA women’s wrestlers in the country will converge in Jamestown, North Dakota, for the second sanctioned women’s championship. Southern Oregon will look to defend its title while other top-ranked NAIA programs bring their firepower to make a run at the top spots.
Wrestlers to Watch
Providence’s Erin Hikiji (101 pounds) 
Except for a loss to high school U17 world medalist Jaclyn Bouzakis at the Warrior Women’s Open, Providence’s Erin Hikiji went undefeated this year. A returning finalist, she was oh-so-close last season, falling in the finals to teammate Ira Navarro 2-1. She and #2 seed Jelacic haven’t hit in college, but if the final happens, it will be one to watch.
Doane’s Cristelle Rodriguez (123 pounds)
Cristelle Rodriguez took third last year at 130, but the 2019 Cadet World silver medalist has the stuff to win this weight and goes in as the favorite. She went undefeated this season at 18-0, winning every match by pin or technical fall except for her match against #4 seed Sophia Smith, an 8-4 win in a dual against Oklahoma City.
Southern Oregon’s Carolina Moreno (130 pounds)  
Carolina Moreno, one of the anchors of last year’s national championship team, returns as a two-time national champion, seeking her third title to keep her hopes of being a four-timer alive. Life’s #2 seeded Sarah Savidge, a finalist last year at this weight, looks to be her greatest obstacle. Moreno moved up a weight this season, setting up the potential final against Savidge in Jamestown.
William Penn’s Adaugo Nwanchukwu (136 pounds)  
William Penn’s Adaugo Nwachukwu heads to nationals with two titles already under her belt, which she secured while wrestling … story at … Flowrestling.org/NAIA-womens-championship-preview
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Menlo, Life top contenders for NAIA Women’s Nationals title in Jamestown, N.D., March 8-9
Mar. 6, 2024, 4:27 PM (ET) by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
NAIA Women’s preliminary brackets
NAIA Women’s coverage page on FloWrestling
FloWrestling live broadcast
The 2023 season was historic for women’s wrestling within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). It was the first year that women’s wrestling was an official NAIA championship sport. In previous seasons, it was considered a national invitational. The NAIA was the first college organization with an official women’s wrestling championships.
Southern Oregon won the initial NAIA Women’s Nationals in Jamestown, N.D., making history for their coach Gabrielle Weyhrich the first female head coach to lead a women’s college wrestling team to a national team championships. Another NAIA head coach, Ashley Flavin of Life, was the first to lead a women’s college team to a National Duals title.
The 2024 NAIA Women’s Nationals returns to Jamestown, March 8-9. No. 4 Southern Oregon is a contender to repeat as team champions, but the clear top favorites for the team title are No. 1 Menlo and No. 2 Life. The NAIA uses a similar system that Div. I men’s wrestling uses, … story at … Themat.com/Menlo-life-top-contenders-for-naia-women-s-nationals-title-in-jamestown
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Menlo Women’s Wrestling Claim NAIA National Championship with Ten All-Americans Placed
By: Ally Salzwedel
JAMESTOWN, ND. – Menlo Women’s Wrestling completed their season inside Harold Newman Arena on Saturday where 10 Oaks placed at the National Championships to take home 1st place and the Red Banner! Menlo led the tournament with 172 team points which included a National Champion, four 3rd place finishers, a 4th place finisher, a 6th place finisher, and three 7th place finishers. Across the two day tournament, Menlo was able to total up 16 pins and 8 tech falls to earn bonus points and clinch the Championship title before the Championship rounds even began. Tavia Heidelberg-Tilltoson becomes Menlo College’s most star-studded athlete after winning the 191-National Champion to suitably send a farewell to her college Wrestling career. 
 Head Coach Michael Ayala led the Women’s program to their second ever National title in his first year at the helm. After the Championship celebration, Coach Mike said, “today is a special day. I have never taken home a red banner before, I have never been a part of a team to take home a red banner, so this is a first for me. I have a young group so to get it done and bring it back to the Bay, it’s special”. After his first season, Ayala was named Cascade Collegiate Conference, NWCA, and NAIA Coach of the year for his unconditional leadership. What a way to begin a legacy! … story at … Menloathletics.com/Menlo-womens-wrestling-claim-naia-national-championship-with-ten-all-americans
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Heidelberg-Tillitson punctuates NAIA team title for Menlo College, Moreno and Nwachukwu become three-timers, Rodriguez named OW
Mar. 10, 2024, 12:42 AM (ET) by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Entering Saturday evening’s championship session with the team trophy in hand, Menlo College saw Tavia Heidelberg-Tillitson take the top spot at 191 pounds to put an exclamation mark on the Oaks historic run at the 2024 NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships.
The fifth-year heavyweight from Sacramento, Calif., finally broke through for a college national title with a gutsy 4-3 win over No. 2 seed Joanna Hendricks of Waldorf. It is the fifth All-America honor for Heidelberg-Tillitson, who now holds three at the NAIA level with Menlo, plus two NCWWC finals appearances from her time at King University.  
Four Menlo athletes battled back for third place honors— Mayla Mckinley-Johnson at 101 pounds, Alana Vivas at 123 pounds, Shannon Workinger at 155 pounds and Kalila Shrive at 170 pounds. The Oaks tacked on a fourth-place finisher, a sixth-place finisher and three seventh-place finishers to round out the All-America rounds on Saturday morning.
Head coach Michael Ayala helped guide Menlo to its first NAIA national title in his first season at the helm of the program and was named NWCA/NAIA National Coach of the Year. The Oaks outdistanced second place … story at … Themat.com/Heidelberg-tillitson-punctuates-naia-team-title-for-menlo-college-moreno-and-nwachukwu-become-three-timers-rodriguez-named-ow
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Moreno wins 3rd NAIA title, Davis tacks on another for SOU
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
SOU ALL-AMERICANS
1ST PLACE |Carolina Moreno (130), Caitlyn Davis (155)
3RD PLACE | Emma Baertlein (109), Bella Amaro (143)
4TH PLACE | Shenita Lawson (170)
5TH PLACE |Lia Ferreira (101)
7TH PLACE |Marissa Kurtz (116)
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Southern Oregon’s Carolina Moreno and Cailtyn Davis left the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships the same way they came into them: utterly untouchable. Moreno, a junior at 130 pounds, and Davis, a sophomore at 155, topped off their undefeated seasons with individual titles Saturday at Newman Arena, boosting the Raiders to third place in the final team standings. Moreno was never scored on in her third consecutive championship run and Davis beat up her opponents 38-3 combined, both proving worthy of their No. 1 seeds. SOU went 6-1 in its placing matches, … story at … SOUraiders.com/Moreno-wins-3rd-naia-title-davis-tacks-on-another-for-sou
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Vikings Place 5th at 2nd Annual NAIA National Championship
JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA – The Vikings took the mat for the final time this weekend. The Vikings would see two wrestlers eyeing a spot at the program’s first Individual National Championship title. Grand View University finished the weekend with a fifth place, adding 7 All-Americans and two runner-ups to the record books. 
The Vikings sent two for the first time to the finals. Maya Davis would lose by a TF to her opponent in the finals, resulting in a runner-up placing, bettering her mark from last season. In a rematch from Heart action, Abby McIntyre would drop a heartbreaker in the final seconds against Lekas.
Grand View finished the team race with 106 points, earning them fifth place. They finished their tournament with 7 All-Americans and 7 placers. The top spots in the finishes were Menlo in first with 172 points, Life University with 138, Southern Oregon with 134, and William Penn in fourth with 111.5 points.
TEAM SCORES 

	1	Menlo	172
	2	Life	138
	3	Southern Oregon	134
	4	William Penn	111.5
	5	Grand View	106

March 19, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized