ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The King University women's wrestling team came into the WCWA National Championships as the favorite and defending champions, and the Tornado didn't disappoint. The top-ranked team in the country sent seven wrestlers to the finals, and had 13 All-Americans as they rolled to their second straight national title, racking up 269 points to top second place Campbellsville University who had 196 points.
The Tornado had three wrestlers win their second straight national titles, starting with Haley Augello at 116 pounds. The sophomore won her first three bouts on technical falls before topping Oklahoma City University's Shelby Morrison on a fall in 1:32 in the semifinals. She then made quick work of Diaysha Moore of Lindenwood University in the finals, taking a 12-2 technical fall win for her second straight national title.
Sarah Hildebrandt also won her second straight title, defeating teammate Hanna Grisewood in the finals. Hildebrandt earned a 10-6 win over Cady Chessin of Menlo College in the semifinals before topping Grisewood 8-0 in the finals. Grisewood earned her spot in the finals with a 5-2 win over second seed Tarkyia Mensah of Wayland Baptist University.
At 155 pounds, senior Julia Salata won her second straight title with a 10-0 technical fall win over Hanna hall of Campbellsville. In the semifinals she earned a tight 7-6 win over Lindenwood's Lisa Gonzalez. Amanda Hendey captured her first national title, defeating Kayla Aggio of Oklahoma City University in the 143-pound final. The junior made sure the final bout didn't last long, taking the win by fall in 1:07. In the semifinals, she earned a win by fall in 1:17 over Hannah Gladden of Campbellsville. In the tournament, Hendey won all five of her bouts on falls, not one taking longer than 1:55.
Along with Grisewood, freshmen Marina Doi and Jessi Kee both took runner-up finishes. Doi earned a spot in the 101-pound finals with a 7-6 victory over Wayland Baptist's Vanessa Smith. However, she fell to four-time national champion and top seed Emily Webster of Oklahoma City in the finals. Kee reached the finals at 130 pounds with a 6-4 decision over Jennifer Anderson of Simon Fraser University. In the finals she dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to top seed Jacarra Winchester of Missouri Valley College.
Senior Lorrie Ramos came in with a third place finish at 170 pounds for the Tornado. She dropped her semifinal bout 2-2 on criteria to Ashley Miles of McKendree University, but bounced back in the consolation bracket. She defeated Monika Podgorski of Simon Fraser 10-0 on a technical fall to reach the third place bout where she topped Wayland Baptist's Nahiela Magee on a fall in 1:12.
The Tornado trio of Breonnah Neal, Forrest Molinari and Jacqueline Williams all took fourth place finishes for King. At 109 pounds, Neal fell to Abby Lloyd of Simon Fraser on criteria 4-4 in the semifinals before defeating teammate Ashley Iliff 2-1 in the consolation semifinals. However, Neal fell to Grace Paxton of University of the Cumberlands in the third place bout.
At 136 pounds, Molinari fell to eventual champion Kayla Miracle on an 8-2 decision in the semifinals, but bounced back to top Simon Fraser's Francesca Giorgio on a fall in 5:13 to reach the third place bout. However, she dropped a 6-4 decision to Monica Ramirez of Lindenwood to take fourth. Williams fell to eventual champion Tiaria Scott of Campbellsville in the semifinals at 191 before coming back with a 5-2 decision over Kierra Boyce of Wayland Baptist to reach the third place match. However, the freshman fell to Payton Smith of Simon Fraser, giving her a fourth place finish.
At 109 pounds, Iliff won a pair of matches in the consolation bracket before falling to Neal. She then dropped a 15-14 decision to Campbellsville's Kait Fitzpatrick in the fifth place match, giving her a sixth place finish. Regina Doi was the final All-American for the Tornado, taking eighth at 101 pounds.
King wins their second WCWA national title in as many years, scoring 269 points while Campbellsville took second with a 196 points. Oklahoma City took third at 195, Simon Fraser fourth at 172 and Lindenwood fifth at 145.
Tornado head coach Jason Moorman was also named WCWA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. King also won the team scholastic award for the fourth straight year. Ramos was also named a WCWA Academic All-American.
Interview with head coach Jason Moorman and Julia Salata from Mattalk.com
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