Dual of the Week: #3 North Central vs. #11 Tiffin

Tiffin senior Sugey Ceja. Photo courtesy of Tiffin Athletics.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - We’re back to the NCAA for this week’s Dual of the Week as #3 North Central took on #11 Tiffin at the Desert Duals last Sunday in Las Vegas. The dual included matchups between top-ranked NCAA women, All-Americans, and strong freshmen looking to make their mark on the college scene. In the end, it was the Cardinals of North Central downing the Dragons 28-17.

Tiffin senior All-American Trinity Oredina got it started for the Dragons at 101 with a fall at 1:46 over North Central sophomore Kate Cacho. In a battle of freshman sensations, the #3 ranked Olivia Shore, normally a 101, took on the #5 at 109, North Central’s Sydney Petzinger. Up 4-0 at the break, the young Cardinal star proved too much for Shore, scoring flurry of second period points to button up the tech fall 11-0 with only a few ticks left on the clock.

At 116, #8 Sugey Ceja, the national runner-up from Tiffin last season, faced another freshman breakout, the Cardinals’ #5 ranked Kendra Ryan. The Tiffin senior handled the rising star, scoring a 14-5 decision, though Ryan made it interesting, hitting a 4-pointer late in the first period to make it 6-4 at the break. The veteran Ceja took over in the second, however, outscoring her opponent 8-1 to earn the decision.

Another freshman hammer, North Central’s #6 ranked Amani Jones outpaced Dragon freshman Solana Mottola 15-4 for the tech fall at 123. The Cardinals’ #6 ranked Niya Gaines followed suit, earning a tech fall at 130.

At 136, North Central’s #3 ranked Sara Sulejmani looked the part, getting a fall in 26 seconds, while NWCA Scholar All-American Nia Miranda of Tiffin scored an upset 6-2 decision over #4 ranked Kim Nunez at 143.

155 featured a compelling battle, as Tiffin’s 2x All-American Taylor Hites scored a fall over North Central’s Tiera Jimerson, a wrestler that was ranked #1 in high school during last year’s season. Jimerson recently took second in the competitive North Central Open. That was a solid win for Hites.

#1 in the country at 170, Yelena Makoyed, also ranked #3 in Senior Women’s Freestyle Rankings by FloWrestling, earned a fall over freshman Taryn Martin at the 1:25 mark. North Central’s Traeh Haynes, another powerhouse freshman, earned a first-period tech fall at 191.

North Central ran the table at the event, going a perfect 6-0 on the weekend in duals action. Tiffin’s A-team went 2-1, their only loss to the Cardinals.

North Central 34, Tiffin 19
101: Trinity Oredina (Tiffin University) over Kate Cacho (North Central College) (Fall 1:46)
109: Sydney Petzinger (North Central College) over Olivia Shore (Tiffin University) (TF 11-0 5:56)
116: Sugey Ceja (Tiffin University) over Kendra Ryan (North Central College) (Dec 14-5)
123: Amani Jones (North Central College) over Solana Mottola (Tiffin University) (TF 15-4 4:35)
130: Niya Teresita Gaines (North Central College) over Ariana Carrasquillo (Tiffin University) (TF 10-0 3:17)
136: Sara Sulejmani (North Central College) over Michal Buska (Tiffin University) (Fall 0:26)
143: Nia Miranda (Tiffin University) over Kim Nunez (North Central College) (Dec 6-2)
155: Taylor Hites (Tiffin University) over Tiera Jimerson (North Central College) (Fall 1:56)
170: Yelena Makoyed (North Central College) over Taryn Martin (Tiffin University) (Fall 1:25)
191: Traeh Haynes (North Central College) over Hollie Espinoza (Tiffin University) (TF 10-0 1:26)