Best of NCAA & NAIA Postseason
Campbellsville’s Emma Walker throws Wayland Baptist’s Jordan Suarez at the NAIA Women’s National Invitational. Photo courtesy of AJ Grieves/www.matfocus.com
by Emma Bruntil, AWW staff writer
Twitter & IG: @Emaaabruntil
Well, championship season came and went in women’s college wrestling, and again, it did not disappoint. It all started on March 6th when we got to see some of the fiercest women in the NCAA battle it out in Tiffin, Ohio. There were plenty of head-turning upsets, matches that came down to the final seconds, and an ever-exciting team race between perennial powers McKendree and King University. On the NAIA side of things, 10 new champions punched their tickets to Olympic Trials at the NAIA Invitational in Jamestown, North Dakota. Campbellsville won their second team title, and celebrated their first crown in the NAIA division. Let’s dive into some of the incredible matches and the thrilling storylines of this 2021 championship season.
UPSET SPECIAL
NCAA: Angie Gomez (Emmanuel)
There were a lot of women vying for the crown of “best upset” at this year’s set of nationals. In the NCAA Samantha Miller of Presbyterian (101) shocked the arena in Tiffin when she secured the fall over #2 Lizette Rodriguez after trailing 4-0 in the second period. We also saw Augsburg Freshman Autumn Flanigan (136) take out returning finalist Dalia Garibay of Colorado Mesa in the quarterfinals via first period tech-fall. In the end, it’s hard to beat the path Emmaunel’s Angie Gomez had to get through on her way to the 101 pound crown. In the quarterfinals, Gomez bested a returning All-American in Colorado Mesa’s Jennesis Martinez by a score of 4-0. Then, in the semi-finals, Gomez shut out #1 Jackie McNichols of King (whom she lost to earlier in the year). Then, in the finals, Gomez edged returning national champion Pauline Granados of McKendree 3-3, avenging her 6-0 loss to the 2020 NCWWC champ from the Tornado Duals in January. Gomez running the gauntlet earned her a 2021 NCWWC title, and also earns her the bragging rights of the NCWWC upset special award.
NAIA: Sienna Ramirez (Southern Oregon)
There were no shortages of upsets in the women’s NAIA tournament, either. At 116 pounds the #7 seed Campbellsville senior Charlotte Fowler took out #2 Stefana Jelacic in a tight 7-5 bout. In the 143 pound semi-final, #6 Erin Redford of Eastern Oregon beat #2 Sydney Freund of Oklahoma City in a 2-2 chess match. Jasmine Hernandez of Lyon gave the school their first-ever champion when she secured the second period fall over #1 Julia Vidallon of Life in the 123 pound finals. But the most impressive upset of all came at the hands of Southern Oregon's 155lb champion Sienna Ramirez. In the quarterfinals, #8 Ramirez beat Oklahoma City’s #1 Cierra Foster in a wild match. Ramirez was leading on criteria when she used a whizzer kick in the last 10 seconds to secure the fall at exactly 6:00 minutes—talk about clutch genes! Ramirez edged #5 Kendra Thompson of Campbellsville in the semi-finals before handling Baker’s #2 Morgan Mayginnes in the finals by a score of 10-0. For her incredible run at the 2021 NAIAs, Sienna Ramirez earns the title of upset special.
MOST EXCITING TO WATCH
NCAA: Felicity Taylor (McKendree)
This category was so hard to choose, I had to bring in the fans to vote on it! On the NCAA side, the fan favorite was none other than McKendree’s Felicity Taylor. Taylor was the #1 seed and had dominated her competition the entire season. However, that didn’t seem to matter to Tiffin’s #2 Sujey Ceja. Ceja seemed to have an answer for everything Taylor was throwing at her, and led 6-2 with under a minute to go in the match. With short time, Taylor quickly flipped the script when she scored two off of a high crotch attack, and then locked up a leg lace for a 16-6 technical fall. For scoring 14 unanswered points in a nail-biting final, Felicity earns the title of most exciting to watch!
NAIA: Peyton Prussin (Life)
Peyton Prussin’s incredible throw in her round of 16 match seemed to be the five that was heard around the world, as the photo by MatFocus.com’s Jim Thrall was circulating everywhere on the internet. The Life redshirt freshman was dominant all year, and the national tournament was no exception. Prussin secured 3 techs and a pin on her way to the 116 pound NAIA title and only surrendered two points to boot. In the 116 pound final, Prussin teched previous national team member and 2018 U23 world teamer Charlotte Fowler of Campbellsville. For her dominance and her ever-entertaining style of wrestling, Prussin earns most exciting to watch for the NAIA division. The real question now is, who will win if Prussin and Taylor meet at Olympic Trials in Fort Worth, Texas?
BEST FINALS MATCH
NCAA: Cameron Guerin (Mckendree) vs Amanda Martinez (North Central)
Again, there were many contenders in this year's “best finals” category. We already mentioned Felicity Taylor’s epic comeback win over Tiffin’s Sujey Ceja in the 116 pound finals, but the match that really impressed me was Cameron Guerin’s 9-6 win over North Central's Amanda Martinez. Earlier in the year Guerin tech-falled Martinez at the North Central duals, however, Martinez looked unstoppable on her path to the finals in Tiffin. She once again took out 2020 U23 National Champion Allison Petix of King in the semifinals, and looked to be in control of the finals match with a quick 4-0 lead. Guerin battled back, though, scoring in a key down-block-go-behind sequence and gritting out a 9-6 win. Since Guerin was already qualified for Trials via her 3rd place finish at 2019 Senior Nationals, Amanda Martinez punched her ticket to Fort Worth by making the finals at the NCWWC’s. So, we could very well see round three between these two athletes at the Olympic Trials.
NAIA: Mckayla Campbell (Campbellsville) vs Asia Ray (Wayland Baptist)
When you think of the word “exciting” it’s hard not to jump to the 109 pound NAIA final between McKayla Campbell of Campbellsville and Asia Ray of Wayland Baptist. Campbell was very familiar with being in the national finals, having made three trips there before and earning three consecutive runner-up finishes. Asia Ray, a 2019 WCWA champion, was no stranger to the spotlight as well. Ray appeared to be in control of the match in the first period, jumping out to a quick lead and scoring in some key exchanges on the edge of the mat. Campbell battled back with a few scores of her own, and there were several lengthy injury time stoppages. In the final 30 seconds, Ray lead 14-12 and looked to have the match all but wrapped up. After scoring two points in a series of cautions, Campbell pushed Ray to the edge and scored a huge 4 with less than 10 seconds remaining. When time expired, Campbell was declared the winner 16-14. Talk about thrilling!
BEST REVENGE MATCH
NCAA: Alara Boyd (McKendree) vs. Kayla Marano (Emmanuel)
Alara Boyd was ever so close to a national title in 2020, falling to Junior World bronze medalist Ana Godinez-Gonzalez in the finals at last year’s NCWWC’s. This year Boyd had a few hurdles to clear to earn herself a title in Tiffin, the biggest one being Cadet World bronze medalist Kayla Marano of Emmanuel. Boyd and Marano met in the Tornado Duals back in January, with Marano earning the 6-3 decision. Boyd, who bumped up a weight to wrestle at 155 pounds, earned her rematch with Marano after downing Augsburg’s Marlynne Deede with a 13-2 tech-fall in the semis. Marano, on the other hand, beat North Central’s Malea Palahniuk 4-1 in the semis to set up the ultimate showdown in the finals. The finals match proved to be all Boyd, though, as she dominated Marano by a score of 8-2. The turning point in the match proved to be an edge 4-pointer. Boyd had Marano in a quad-pod before taking her through on a gut wrench. An honorable mention for best revenge win goes to McKendree Junior Brenda Reyna. Reyna lost to her finals opponent, King’s Ana Luciano, 12-2 at the Tornado Duals in January. In the finals, Reyna won a 1-1 chess match to bring home her first ever college crown.
NAIA: Jordan Nelson (Life) vs. Alexandra Castillo (Campbellsville)
Jordan Nelson gave the Life contingent something to cheer about in the 170 pound finals, earning a 5-1 decision over Campbellsville’s #1 ranked Alexandra Castillo. In fact, the one point Nelson surrendered to Castillo for failing to score on the shot clock was the only point she gave up on her run to a national title. Campbellsville star Alexandra Castillo had previously beaten Nelson in a 3-2 meat grinder of a match in the Life vs Campbellsville dual in January. Nelson joined her teammate Peyton Prussin as an NAIA champion, boosting Life to a second place finish behind Campbellsville. With Nelson punching her ticket to compete at the Olympic Trials, Life now has three athletes eligible to compete in Fort Worth: NAIA champs Jordan Nelson and Peyton Prussin, and 2020 123lb WCWA champion & 2021 NAIA runner-up Julia Vidallon. Nelson, Prussin, and Vidallon will be accompanied by 72 kg Senior world team member Victoria Francis, who trains intermittently at Life University.
ROAD WARRIOR
NCAA: Lizette Rodriguez (McKendree)
The crowd at Tiffin was shocked when freshman Samantha Miller of Presbyterian stunned #2 ranked Lizette Rodriguez in the 101 pound quarterfinals. Rodriguez appeared to be in control of the match, that is until Miller flipped the script and secured the fall with short time on the clock. Rodriguez still impressed, though, as the true freshman battled back all the way to a third place finish, with arguably the toughest path to do so. Right off the bat, Rodriguez had to face UWSP’s Brooke Thurber, who had just fallen to 2020 NCWWC champion Pauline Granados in a wild 4-3 match. Rodriguez advanced with ease, earning the 10-0 tech-fall in 2:07. Next up, the the McKendree freshman had #1 Jackie McNichols of King, who came into nationals with an undefeated record and had wins over Jennesis Martinez, Pauline Granados, and eventual 2021 NCWWC champ Angie Gomez. Rodriguez earned a hard-fought 2-0 win, and iced her third place finish with a 6-4 decision over Colorado Mesa’s Jennesis Martinez.
NAIA: Ira Navarro (Providence)
While Ira Navarro didn’t wind up battling back to 3rd place, the University of Providence wrestler showed incredible guts fighting back from arguably one of the worst first round draws you could get: Wayland Baptist’s Nina Pham. After her 10-0 loss to Pham, Navarro put together a string of excellent wins to earn herself a spot in the 5th place match. Navarro won 12-3 over #2 seeded Dosado of Cumberlands, secured the fall over Blake (Indiana Tech) and Ramirez (Lyon), and earned the 12-0 tech-fall over Couch of Grandview. In the 5th place match, Navarro scored a 12-2 tech-fall over Life’s talented freshman Devyn Gomez.
While we won’t necessarily see any women’s matches contested in a college setting until next year, the college season sets the tone for what we can expect to see in the domestic competitions this spring. Between the Olympic Trials in two weeks, the U.S Open and U23 nationals at the end of April, and Women’s Nationals (formerly known as Body Bar) in early May, there will be no shortage of excellent women’s colleges wrestling matches! Stay tuned.